Lingoflyგილოცავ, გისურვებ, გაგიმარჯოს: the form for congratulations and wishes
A celebration in Georgian is above all what is said out loud. Congratulations at the door, a wish at the table, an answer to a toast. For example: “დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ (dabadebis dghes gilotsav) და (da) ბედნიერებას გისურვებ” (gisurveb) — Happy birthday, and I wish you happiness. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A celebration in Georgian is above all what is said out loud. Congratulations at the door, a wish at the table, an answer to a toast.
Congratulations go with გილოცავ (gilotsav). The person congratulated already sits inside it: გილოცავ (gilotsav) — you, გილოცავთ (gilotsavt) — you politely. What you congratulate about takes -ს: დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ (dabadebis dghes gilotsav). There is no word for 'on' in the phrase.
Wishes go with გისურვებ (gisurveb), and the thing wished takes -ს as well: ბედნიერებას გისურვებ (gisurveb) (bednierebas gisurveb), წარმატებას გისურვებთ. The noun from it is სურვილი (survili) — a wish.
The wish itself is a special form with no უნდა (unda): გაგიმარჯოს (gagimarjos) — may victory be yours, ღმერთმა დაგლოცოს — God bless you. Who is wishing is never named, and that is the whole point.
Table
| Formula | Literally | When it is said |
|---|---|---|
| გილოცავ (gilotsav) | I congratulate you | a birthday, a holiday |
| გილოცავთ (gilotsavt) | I congratulate you (polite, plural) | politely and to many |
| გისურვებ (gisurveb) | I wish you | before what is wished |
| გაგიმარჯოს (gagimarjos) | may victory be yours | an answer to a toast, a send-off |
| ღმერთმა დაგლოცოს | God bless you | thanking an elder |
| ნეტავ + the wish form | if only | a daydream, not a request |
| ნუ (nu) + a command | don't | a wish against something |
By example
- დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ და ბედნიერებას გისურვებdabadebis dghes gilotsav da bednierebas gisurvebHappy birthday, and I wish you happiness
- ღმერთმა ხელი მოგიმართოს ახალ სამსახურშიghmertma kheli mogimartos akhal samsakhurshiMay God lend you a hand in the new job
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
the form for congratulations and wishes: how does it work in Georgian?
A celebration in Georgian is above all what is said out loud. Congratulations at the door, a wish at the table, an answer to a toast.
What does it look like in a Georgian example sentence?
“დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ (dabadebis dghes gilotsav) და (da) ბედნიერებას გისურვებ” (gisurveb) (dabadebis dghes gilotsav da bednierebas gisurveb) — Happy birthday, and I wish you happiness. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.