ძალიან, საკმაოდ, ზედმეტად: exactly how much
You have known 'very' since the first unit: ძალიან. What follows is what this note is here for: between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and telling them apart is what B1 asks of you. For example: “ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყო” — This exam was too hard. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You have known 'very' since the first unit: ძალიან (dzalian). What follows is what this note is here for: between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and telling them apart is what B1 asks of you.
The order is rigid: the booster always comes before the adjective, and the adjective before the noun. 'ზედმეტად ძვირი ბინა (zedmetad dzviri bina)' — a too expensive flat. Nothing may wedge itself between them.
საკმაოდ (sakmaod) — quite, fairly enough: measured praise, 'საკმაოდ კარგი ხელფასია'. ზედმეტად (zedmetad) — too, overly, and the word carries a note of reproach: 'ზედმეტად გვიან მოხვედი (zedmetad gvian mokhvedi)'. ოდნავ — slightly, barely: 'ოდნავ ცივია'. Set apart is the phrase არც ისე (arts ise) — 'not that': 'არც ისე რთული გამოცდა იყო (arts ise rtuli gamotsda iqo)' — the exam was not that hard. It is the most frequent form of polite disagreement and is worth learning whole.
You can compare not only single words but whole phrases, and there are two ways. უფრო (upro) … ვიდრე (vidre) — more … than: 'ახალი სამსახური უფრო საინტერესოა (akhali samsakhuri upro sainteresoa), ვიდრე ძველი (vidre dzveli)'. The more colloquial way is to put what you compare against into the postposition -ზე: 'ჩემზე მაღალია (chemze maghalia)' — taller than me, 'ძველზე იაფია' — cheaper than the old one. Equality goes through the pair ისეთივე (isetive) … როგორც (rogorts): 'ისეთივე ძვირი (isetive dzviri), როგორც აქ (rogorts ak)' — as expensive as here.
Table
| Booster | Meaning | Example | Shade |
|---|---|---|---|
| ძალიან | very | ძალიან რთული | a neutral boost |
| საკმაოდ | quite, fairly | საკმაოდ ძვირი | a measured judgment |
| ზედმეტად | too, overly | ზედმეტად გვიან | with reproach: beyond the norm |
| ოდნავ | slightly, barely | ოდნავ ცივი | hardly noticeable |
| არც ისე | not that | არც ისე რთული | soft disagreement |
| უფრო … ვიდრე | more … than | უფრო იაფი, ვიდრე ეს | comparing two things |
| -ზე | than someone (colloquial) | ჩემზე მაღალი | comparing with a person |
By example
- ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყოes gamotsda zedmetad rtuli iqoThis exam was too hard
- ბინა საკმაოდ დიდია, მაგრამ არც ისე ნათელიbina sakmaod didia, magram arts ise nateliThe flat is quite big, but not that bright
- ახალი სამსახური უფრო საინტერესოა, ვიდრე ძველიakhali samsakhuri upro sainteresoa, vidre dzveliThe new job is more interesting than the old one
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
exactly how much: how does it work in Georgian?
You have known 'very' since the first unit: ძალიან. What follows is what this note is here for: between 'good' and 'very good' there are four more shades, and telling them apart is what B1 asks of you.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს გამოცდა ზედმეტად რთული იყო” (es gamotsda zedmetad rtuli iqo) — This exam was too hard. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.