Lingoflyდაჯექი and ნუ გეშინია: requests, commands and prohibitions
Supporting someone is mostly commands and requests: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't be upset'. The build is easy, with one trap that flips the meaning. For example: “ნუ (nu) ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” (qvelaperi mogvardeba) — Don't be nervous, everything will work out. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Supporting someone is mostly commands and requests: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't be upset'. The build is easy, with one trap that flips the meaning.
A command to 'you' is the past form without ვ-, the letter that means 'I'. დავჯექი — I sat down, დაჯექი (dajeki) — sit down. მოვიტანე (movitane) — I brought, მოიტანე (moitane) — bring. Drop the ვ- and you have a request.
The polite 'you' is the same word plus -თ: დაჯექით, მოიტანეთ (moitanet). It is the same -თ that greets and thanks politely.
Now the trap: a ban uses ნუ (nu), not არ (ar). არ (ar) denies a fact: არ (ar) გეშინია (geshinia) (ar geshinia) means 'you are not afraid'. A ban goes only through ნუ (nu): ნუ გეშინია (nu geshinia) (don't be afraid), ნუ (nu) ნერვიულობ (don't fret). The verb after ნუ (nu) stands in the present.
Table
| What we say | How it is built | Informal you | Polite you |
|---|---|---|---|
| a command, a request | the past form without 'ვ-' | დაჯექი (dajeki) — sit down | დაჯექით |
| bring | the past form without 'ვ-' | მოიტანე (moitane) | მოიტანეთ (moitanet) |
| a ban | 'ნუ' + the present | ნუ გეშინია (nu geshinia) — don't be afraid | ნუ (nu) გეშინიათ |
| a ban | 'ნუ' + the future | ნუ (nu) დაღონდები | ნუ (nu) დაღონდებით |
| not a ban, a fact | 'არ' + a verb | არ (ar) გეშინია (geshinia) — you are not afraid | არ (ar) გეშინიათ |
| a soft request | + 'თუ შეიძლება' | დამირეკე (damireke), თუ შეიძლება (tu sheidzleba) | დამირეკეთ (damireket), თუ შეიძლება (tu sheidzleba) |
| polite advice | the would-form | გირჩევდი | გირჩევდით |
By example
- ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდებაnu nerviulob, qvelaperi mogvardebaDon't be nervous, everything will work out
- ნუ დაღონდებით, ეს დროებითი პრობლემააnu daghondebit, es droebiti problemaaDon't be upset, this is a temporary problem
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
requests, commands and prohibitions: how does it work in Georgian?
Supporting someone is mostly commands and requests: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't be upset'. The build is easy, with one trap that flips the meaning.
What does it look like in a Georgian example sentence?
“ნუ (nu) ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” (qvelaperi mogvardeba) (nu nerviulob, qvelaperi mogvardeba) — Don't be nervous, everything will work out. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.