უკაცრავად and ბოდიში: the two Georgian sorries
English makes one word, 'sorry' or 'excuse me', do two jobs: asking forgiveness and hailing a stranger in the street. Georgian split the jobs between two words — bodishi and ukatsravad in practical spelling — and mixing them up means sounding off target. For example: “უკაცრავად, სად არის აფთიაქი?” — Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English makes one word, 'sorry' or 'excuse me', do two jobs: asking forgiveness and hailing a stranger in the street. Georgian split the jobs between two words — bodishi and ukatsravad in practical spelling — and mixing them up means sounding off target.
ბოდიში (bodishi) is the short apology for a fault: you bumped into someone in a minibus, stepped on a foot, came late. ბოდიში, ვერ გავიგე (ver gavige) — sorry, I did not understand. What exactly you are sorry for hangs on the postposition -ისთვის, 'for': ბოდიში დაგვიანებისთვის (bodishi dagvianebistvis), sorry for being late.
უკაცრავად (ukatsravad) is the same apology, politer and longer — and, above all, it is the word for addressing a stranger when you need to ask something. Where ბოდიში would sound too curt, this one goes. Next to it stands a third expression — თუ შეიძლება (tu sheidzleba), literally 'if it is possible'. Georgian has no single word covering the English 'please' wholesale: in a request across the counter they take this phrase, and in writing and official speech the verb გთხოვთ (gtkhovt), 'I ask you'.
Table
| the word | closest to | when | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ბოდიში | 'sorry' | for a fault: bumped, came late | ბოდიში, ვერ გავიგე |
| უკაცრავად | 'excuse me' | to hail a stranger; politer | უკაცრავად, სად არის…? |
| ბოდიში …-ისთვის | 'sorry for…' | when you name the cause | ბოდიში დაგვიანებისთვის |
| თუ შეიძლება | 'if it is possible' | the Georgian 'please' in a request | ნელა, თუ შეიძლება |
By example
- უკაცრავად, სად არის აფთიაქი?ukatsravad, sad aris aptiaki?Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?
- ბოდიში, ვერ გავიგეbodishi, ver gavigeSorry, I did not understand
- ბოდიში დაგვიანებისთვისbodishi dagvianebistvisSorry for being late
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 sorry in Georgian?
English makes one word, 'sorry' or 'excuse me', do two jobs: asking forgiveness and hailing a stranger in the street. Georgian split the jobs between two words — bodishi and ukatsravad in practical spelling — and mixing them up means sounding off target.
Უკაცრავად vs ბოდიში?
ბოდიში is the short apology for a fault: you bumped into someone in a minibus, stepped on a foot, came late. ბოდიში, ვერ გავიგე — sorry, I did not understand. What exactly you are sorry for hangs on the postposition -ისთვის, 'for': ბოდიში დაგვიანებისთვის, sorry for being late.
How to get a stranger attention in Georgian?
უკაცრავად is the same apology, politer and longer — and, above all, it is the word for addressing a stranger when you need to ask something. Where ბოდიში would sound too curt, this one goes. Next to it stands a third expression — თუ შეიძლება, literally 'if it is possible'. Georgian has no single…
How to say sorry for being late in Georgian?
უკაცრავად is the same apology, politer and longer — and, above all, it is the word for addressing a stranger when you need to ask something. Where ბოდიში would sound too curt, this one goes. Next to it stands a third expression — თუ შეიძლება, literally 'if it is possible'. Georgian has no single…
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“უკაცრავად, სად არის აფთიაქი?” (ukatsravad, sad aris aptiaki?) — Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.