დაჯექი and ნუ გეშინია: requests, commands and prohibitions
Cheering someone up is mostly the imperative: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't get upset'. It is not hard to build in Georgian, but there is one trap that flips a sentence to its opposite. For example: “ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” — Don't be nervous, everything will work out. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Cheering someone up is mostly the imperative: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't get upset'. It is not hard to build in Georgian, but there is one trap that flips a sentence to its opposite.
A 'you' command is the aorist form without the prefix 'ვ-' — the very one that means 'I'. Compare: 'დავჯექი' — I sat down, დაჯექი (dajeki) — sit down. 'მოვიტანე (movitane)' — I brought, მოიტანე (moitane) — bring. No special ending needs learning: remove 'ვ-' and you have a request.
The polite 'you' is the same word plus '-თ': დაჯექით, მოიტანეთ (moitanet), გამაგრდით. This is the same '-თ' that greets politely ('გამარჯობათ (gamarjobat)') and thanks ('გმადლობთ (gmadlobt)'), and with a stranger it is obligatory.
And now the trap. The prohibition is built with 'ნუ (nu)', not with 'არ (ar)'. 'არ' denies a fact: 'არ გეშინია (ar geshinia)' means 'you are not afraid' — a statement, not a request. A prohibition goes only through 'ნუ': ნუ გეშინია (don't be afraid), ნუ ნერვიულობ (don't be nervous), ნუ დაღონდები (don't be upset). This is the most frequent foreigner's error, and it is heard at once.
Note also which verb follows 'ნუ': not the aorist, as in a command, but the present or future tense — 'ნუ ნერვიულობ', not 'ნუ ინერვიულე'. Politely — again '-თ': 'ნუ გეშინიათ', 'ნუ ღონდებით'.
And two softeners without which a request sounds sharp. The first is 'თუ შეიძლება (tu sheidzleba)' (if possible) at the end: 'დამირეკე (damireke), თუ შეიძლება'. The second is the conditional form instead of the direct one: 'გირჩევდი' — I would advise you, 'გთხოვდით' — I would ask you. You have seen both already in wave 3, and in talk about feelings they matter more than anywhere else.
Table
| What we say | How it is built | Informal you | Polite you |
|---|---|---|---|
| a command, a request | the aorist without 'ვ-' | დაჯექი — sit down | დაჯექით |
| bring | the aorist without 'ვ-' | მოიტანე | მოიტანეთ |
| a prohibition | 'ნუ' + the present | ნუ გეშინია — don't be afraid | ნუ გეშინიათ |
| a prohibition | 'ნუ' + the future | ნუ დაღონდები | ნუ დაღონდებით |
| not a ban, a fact | 'არ' + a verb | არ გეშინია — you are not afraid | არ გეშინიათ |
| a soft request | + 'თუ შეიძლება' | დამირეკე, თუ შეიძლება | დამირეკეთ, თუ შეიძლება |
| polite advice | the conditional form | გირჩევდი | გირჩევდით |
By example
- ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდებაnu nerviulob, qvelaperi mogvardebaDon't be nervous, everything will work out
- დამირეკე საღამოს, თუ შეიძლებაdamireke saghamos, tu sheidzlebaCall me in the evening, if you can
- ნუ დაღონდებით, ეს დროებითი პრობლემააnu daghondebit, es droebiti problemaaDon't be upset, this is a temporary problem
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
requests, commands and prohibitions: how does it work in Georgian?
Cheering someone up is mostly the imperative: 'hold on', 'don't be afraid', 'don't get upset'. It is not hard to build in Georgian, but there is one trap that flips a sentence to its opposite.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ნუ ნერვიულობ, ყველაფერი მოგვარდება” (nu nerviulob, qvelaperi mogvardeba) — Don't be nervous, everything will work out. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.