ძალიან, მეტისმეტად, ალბათ: how strongly, and how sure you are
Two different questions are handled by similar little words, and that is why they get mixed up. One: how strongly — very, too, fairly. The other: how sure you are — probably, it seems, of course. For example: “ეს წიგნი ძალიან საინტერესოა” — This book is very interesting. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Two different questions are handled by similar little words, and that is why they get mixed up. One: how strongly — very, too, fairly. The other: how sure you are — probably, it seems, of course.
Degree stands before the word and never changes. ძალიან (dzalian) — very, plain reinforcement. მეტისმეტად (metismetad) — too, excessively, and that is already bad: მეტისმეტად ძვირია (metismetad dzviria) — dearer than you are willing to pay. საკმაოდ (sakmaod) — fairly, ცოტა (tsota) — a little.
The steady mistake here: 'very expensive' is ძალიან ძვირი (dzalian dzviri), not მეტისმეტად.
How sure you are covers the whole sentence and stands first, cut off by a comma. ალბათ (albat) — probably, მგონი (mgoni) — it seems to me, რა თქმა უნდა (ra tkma unda) — of course.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Where it stands | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ძალიან | very | before the word | ძალიან ლამაზი |
| მეტისმეტად | too, excessively | before the word | მეტისმეტად ცხელი |
| საკმაოდ | quite, fairly | before the word | საკმაოდ ახლოს |
| ცოტა | a little | before the word | ცოტა დაღლილი |
| უფრო | more, -er | before the word | უფრო იაფი |
| ალბათ | probably | at the front | ალბათ, ხვალ |
| რა თქმა უნდა | of course | at the front | რა თქმა უნდა, მოვალ |
| მგონი | I guess, it seems to me | at the front | მგონი, დაიკარგა |
By example
- ეს წიგნი ძალიან საინტერესოაes tsigni dzalian sainteresoaThis book is very interesting
- ხმის სიმაღლე მეტისმეტად დიდიაkhmis simaghle metismetad didiaThe volume is too loud
- მგონი, კურიერი დააგვიანებსmgoni, kurieri daagvianebsI guess the courier will be late
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 strongly, and how sure you are: how does it work in Georgian?
Two different questions are handled by similar little words, and that is why they get mixed up. One: how strongly — very, too, fairly. The other: how sure you are — probably, it seems, of course.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს წიგნი ძალიან საინტერესოა” (es tsigni dzalian sainteresoa) — This book is very interesting. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.