LingoflyHow many: -ები, pairs and counting words
Georgian has a single plural ending, -ები. The interesting part is the reverse: the places where English puts a plural and Georgian does not. For example: “ორი ბილეთი, თუ შეიძლება” (ori bileti, tu sheidzleba) — Two tickets, please. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Georgian has a single plural ending, -ები. The interesting part is the reverse: the places where English puts a plural and Georgian does not.
First, after a number the noun stays singular: ორი (ori) ბილეთი (bileti) (ori bileti) — two tickets, ხუთი (khuti) ვაშლი (vashli) (khuti vashli) — five apples. The number has already said how many.
Second, a pair is one thing: ხელთათმანი (kheltatmani) — gloves, შარვალი (sharvali) — trousers, სათვალე (satvale) — glasses, all singular. A pair of socks is წყვილი (tsqvili) წინდა (tsinda) (tsqvili tsinda). It is not fully consistent: წინდები (tsindebi) does sound plural.
Third, the counting word ცალი (tsali) — 'piece'. When the thing is not named but has to be counted: ხუთი (khuti) ცალი (tsali) (khuti tsali) — five of them. At the market that is half of all phrases.
Table
| in English | in Georgian | why |
|---|---|---|
| two tickets | ორი (ori) ბილეთი (bileti) | singular after a number |
| gloves | ხელთათმანი (kheltatmani) | a pair counts as one thing |
| trousers | შარვალი (sharvali) | the same |
| two pairs of socks | ორი (ori) წყვილი (tsqvili) წინდა (tsinda) | the counting word წყვილი (tsqvili) — a pair |
| five pieces | ხუთი (khuti) ცალი (tsali) | the counting word ცალი (tsali) — a piece |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How many: how does it work in Georgian?
Georgian has a single plural ending, -ები. The interesting part is the reverse: the places where English puts a plural and Georgian does not.
What does it look like in a Georgian example sentence?
“ორი ბილეთი, თუ შეიძლება” (ori bileti, tu sheidzleba) — Two tickets, please. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.