Comparison: one word instead of a whole set of endings
In English the word itself changes: cheap — cheaper — the cheapest. Georgian takes another road: the adjective stays exactly as it is, and უფრო (more) or ყველაზე (most) simply stands in front of it. For example: “ეს უფრო იაფია” — This is cheaper. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In English the word itself changes: cheap — cheaper — the cheapest. Georgian takes another road: the adjective stays exactly as it is, and უფრო (more) or ყველაზე (most) simply stands in front of it.
ძვირი (dzviri) — expensive → უფრო ძვირი (upro dzviri) — more expensive → ყველაზე ძვირი (qvelaze dzviri) — the most expensive. The same works for any other word: იაფი (iapi), მძიმე (mdzime), ახალი (akhali).
'Than' is ვიდრე (vidre): ბაზარი უფრო იაფია (bazari upro iapia), ვიდრე მაღაზია (vidre maghazia). In speech it is often dropped, and the thing compared against takes the ending -ზე: ბაზარზე იაფია (bazarze iapia) — cheaper than at the market.
One trap in the whole topic: a couple of words kept an old, fused comparative form — უკეთესი (better) and უფროსი (older, senior — and also 'boss'). You already saw the second one in the unit about work: a boss in Georgian is literally 'the more senior one'.
Table
| plain | more | most |
|---|---|---|
| ძვირი — expensive | უფრო ძვირი | ყველაზე ძვირი |
| იაფი — cheap | უფრო იაფი | ყველაზე იაფი |
| ახალი — new | უფრო ახალი | ყველაზე ახალი |
| კარგი — good | უკეთესი (a special form) | ყველაზე კარგი |
By example
- ეს უფრო იაფიაes upro iapiaThis is cheaper
- ბაზარი უფრო იაფია, ვიდრე მაღაზიაbazari upro iapia, vidre maghaziaThe market is cheaper than the shop
- ეს ყველაზე ძვირი ღვინოაes qvelaze dzviri ghvinoaThis is the most expensive wine
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
Comparison: how does it work in Georgian?
In English the word itself changes: cheap — cheaper — the cheapest. Georgian takes another road: the adjective stays exactly as it is, and უფრო (more) or ყველაზე (most) simply stands in front of it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს უფრო იაფია” (es upro iapia) — This is cheaper. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.