მომწონს, მტკივა, მენატრება: 'it pleases me' instead of 'I like it'
You have long been saying მიყვარს — I love, and მინდა — I want, without asking why they begin with მ-. That is not chance but a whole class of verbs. For example: “ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონს” — I like this play very much. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You have long been saying მიყვარს (miqvars) — I love, and მინდა (minda) — I want, without asking why they begin with მ-. That is not chance but a whole class of verbs.
In an ordinary verb the one who acts is marked by ვ-: ვწერ (vtser) — I write. In verbs of feeling it is the other way round. The one who feels is marked by მ- (to me) or გ- (to you). The thing liked or hurting becomes the main word.
Hence an order that surprises you. ეს ფილმი მომწონს (es pilmi momtsons) — 'this film pleases me'. And თავი მტკივა (tavi mtkiva) — 'the head hurts to me', where English says 'I have a headache'.
The person changes by a prefix, not by an ending: მომწონს (momtsons) — I like it, გომწონს — you like it. The list is closed: მჭირდება (mchirdeba), მტკივა (mtkiva), მენატრება (menatreba), მეშინია (meshinia), მცივა.
Table
| form | literally | in English | what is the subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| მომწონს | pleases me | I like it | the thing that is liked |
| გომწონს | pleases you | you like it | the thing that is liked |
| მტკივა | hurts to me | it hurts, I have pain | the place that hurts |
| მენატრება | is longed-for by me | I miss | the one who is missed |
| მჭირდება | is needed by me | I need it | the thing that is needed |
| მეშინია | is feared by me | I am afraid | — |
| მეკუთვნის | belongs to me | it belongs to me | the thing |
| მაინტერესებს | interests me | I am interested | the thing that interests |
By example
- ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონსes spektakli dzalian momtsonsI like this play very much
- ვარჯიშის შემდეგ ზურგი მტკივაvarjishis shemdeg zurgi mtkivaAfter the workout my back hurts
- ბავშვობის მეგობარი მენატრებაbavshvobis megobari menatrebaI miss my childhood friend
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 to say I like it in Georgian?
You have long been saying მიყვარს — I love, and მინდა — I want, without asking why they begin with მ-. That is not chance but a whole class of verbs.
What მომწონს means?
In an ordinary verb the one who acts is marked by ვ-: ვწერ — I write. In verbs of feeling it is the other way round. The one who feels is marked by მ- (to me) or გ- (to you). The thing liked or hurting becomes the main word.
Why Georgian says the head hurts to me?
Hence an order that surprises you. ეს ფილმი მომწონს — 'this film pleases me'. And თავი მტკივა — 'the head hurts to me', where English says 'I have a headache'.
Georgian verbs that begin with მ?
The person changes by a prefix, not by an ending: მომწონს — I like it, გომწონს — you like it. The list is closed: მჭირდება, მტკივა, მენატრება, მეშინია, მცივა.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონს” (es spektakli dzalian momtsons) — I like this play very much. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.