Lingoflyორშაბათს, ხუთ საათზე, ერთ წელიწადში: time without a single preposition
Fixing a meeting is almost all time words, and Georgian builds them with endings on the word itself. There are no prepositions, so 'on', 'in', 'until' and 'ago' all live at the end. For example: “ორშაბათს (orshabats) ხუთ (khut) საათზე (saatze) შევხვდეთ” (shevkhvdet) — Let's meet on Monday at five o'clock. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Fixing a meeting is almost all time words, and Georgian builds them with endings on the word itself. There are no prepositions, so 'on', 'in', 'until' and 'ago' all live at the end.
A day takes -ს, and no 'on'. ორშაბათს (orshabats) — on Monday, ხუთ (khut) მაისს — on the fifth of May, იმ (im) დღეს (dghes) (im dghes) — that day. The same ending covers how long: ორ (or) საათს (saats) ველოდი — I waited two hours.
An hour takes -ზე, the same 'on' as on a table. ხუთ (khut) საათზე (saatze) (khut saatze) — at five, and in speech just ხუთზე. 'In' takes -ში: ერთ წელიწადში (ert tselitsadshi) — in a year, ხუთ (khut) წუთში (tsutshi) (khut tsutshi) — in five minutes.
'Ago' is -ის (-is) plus the word წინ (tsin): ორი (ori) წლის (tslis) წინ (tsin) (ori tslis tsin) — two years ago. A trap: წინ (tsin) here is not 'in front of' but 'ago'. Only time or place tells them apart.
Table
| Meaning | How it is built | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| on Monday | the '-ს' ending | ორშაბათს (orshabats) | on Monday |
| at five o'clock | '-ზე' | ხუთ (khut) საათზე (saatze) | at five o'clock |
| in a year | '-ში' | ერთ წელიწადში (ert tselitsadshi) | in a year |
| two years ago | '-ის' plus წინ (tsin) | ორი (ori) წლის (tslis) წინ (tsin) | two years ago |
| until evening | '-მდე' | საღამომდე (saghamomde) | until evening |
| since morning | '-იდან' | დილიდან (dilidan) | since morning |
| toward evening | '-კენ' | საღამოსკენ (saghamosken) | toward evening |
| two hours (how long) | the '-ს' ending | ორ (or) საათს (saats) ველოდი | I waited two hours |
By example
- დილიდან საღამომდე დაკავებული ვარdilidan saghamomde dakavebuli varFrom morning till evening I am busy
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
time without a single preposition: how does it work in Georgian?
Fixing a meeting is almost all time words, and Georgian builds them with endings on the word itself. There are no prepositions, so 'on', 'in', 'until' and 'ago' all live at the end.
What does it look like in a Georgian example sentence?
“ორშაბათს (orshabats) ხუთ (khut) საათზე (saatze) შევხვდეთ” (shevkhvdet) (orshabats khut saatze shevkhvdet) — Let's meet on Monday at five o'clock. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.