დაჯექი 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 ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” — 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 denies a fact: არ გეშინია (ar geshinia) means 'you are not afraid'. A ban goes only through ნუ: ნუ გეშინია (don't be afraid), ნუ ნერვიულობ (don't fret). The verb after ნუ 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 — sit down | დაჯექით |
| bring | the past form without 'ვ-' | მოიტანე | მოიტანეთ |
| a ban | 'ნუ' + the present | ნუ გეშინია — don't be afraid | ნუ გეშინიათ |
| a ban | 'ნუ' + the future | ნუ დაღონდები | ნუ დაღონდებით |
| not a ban, a fact | 'არ' + a verb | არ გეშინია — you are not afraid | არ გეშინიათ |
| a soft request | + 'თუ შეიძლება' | დამირეკე, თუ შეიძლება | დამირეკეთ, თუ შეიძლება |
| polite advice | the would-form | გირჩევდი | გირჩევდით |
By example
- ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდებაnu nerviulob, qvelaperi mogvardebaDon't be nervous, everything will work out
- დამირეკე საღამოს, თუ შეიძლებაdamireke saghamos, tu sheidzlebaCall me in the evening, if you can
- 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 an example sentence Georgian?
“ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” (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.