ძალიან, საკმაოდ, ზედმეტად: exactly how much
'Very' is ძალიან, which you already know. Between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and grown-up conversation rests on them. For example: “ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყო” — This exam was too hard. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
'Very' is ძალიან (dzalian), which you already know. Between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and grown-up conversation rests on them.
The order is strict: the booster before the adjective, the adjective before the noun. ზედმეტად ძვირი ბინა (zedmetad dzviri bina) — too expensive a flat. Nothing may wedge in between.
საკმაოდ (sakmaod) — quite, restrained praise: საკმაოდ კარგი ხელფასია. ზედმეტად (zedmetad) — too much, and reproach is audible in it: ზედმეტად გვიან მოხვედი (zedmetad gvian mokhvedi). ოდნავ — slightly: ოდნავ ცივია.
The phrase არც ისე (arts ise) — 'not that ...' — stands apart: არც ისე რთული გამოცდა იყო (arts ise rtuli gamotsda iqo), the exam was not that hard. This is the commonest polite disagreement, worth learning whole.
Table
| Booster | Meaning | Example | Shade |
|---|---|---|---|
| ძალიან | very | ძალიან რთული | a neutral boost |
| საკმაოდ | quite, fairly | საკმაოდ ძვირი | a measured judgment |
| ზედმეტად | too, overly | ზედმეტად გვიან | with reproach: beyond the norm |
| ოდნავ | slightly, barely | ოდნავ ცივი | hardly noticeable |
| არც ისე | not that | არც ისე რთული | soft disagreement |
| უფრო … ვიდრე | more … than | უფრო იაფი, ვიდრე ეს | comparing two things |
| -ზე | than someone (colloquial) | ჩემზე მაღალი | comparing with a person |
By example
- ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყოes gamotsda zedmetad rtuli iqoThis exam was too hard
- ბინა საკმაოდ დიდია, მაგრამ არც ისე ნათელიbina sakmaod didia, magram arts ise nateliThe flat is quite big, but not that bright
- ახალი სამსახური უფრო საინტერესოა, ვიდრე ძველიakhali samsakhuri upro sainteresoa, vidre dzveliThe new job is more interesting than the old one
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
exactly how much: how does it work in Georgian?
'Very' is ძალიან, which you already know. Between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and grown-up conversation rests on them.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყო” (es gamotsda zedmetad rtuli iqo) — This exam was too hard. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.