ვიყიდე or ვუყიდე: the vowel that says who it is for
The shopping unit is all 'bought it for myself', 'bought it for him', 'borrowed from him'. English handles this with separate words and prepositions. Georgian solves it with a single vowel inside the verb — it is called version. For example: “ჩანთა ჩემთვის ვიყიდე, შარფი კი დედას ვუყიდე” — I bought the bag for myself, and the scarf for my mom. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as…
How it works
The shopping unit is all 'bought it for myself', 'bought it for him', 'borrowed from him'. English handles this with separate words and prepositions. Georgian solves it with a single vowel inside the verb — it is called version.
Compare three forms of one root: ვიყიდე (viqide) — I bought (for myself), ვუყიდე (vuqide) — I bought (for someone), ვყიდულობ — I am buying (neutral; for whom is not the point). They differ in the vowel before the root, and this vowel is no decoration: it *is* 'for myself' or 'for him'.
ი- — for oneself. ვიყიდე (bought for myself), ვისესხე (borrowed), ვიშოვე (got hold of for myself). No separate word 'for myself' is added: it is already inside.
უ- — for another. ვუყიდე (bought for him), ვასესხე (lent to him), ვუჩუქე (gave it to him as a gift). Note the pair ვისესხე / ვასესხე: one word with different vowels means 'I borrowed' and 'I lent' — opposite things, told apart only by the version.
ა- and the neutral form — when there is no recipient at all: ვაკეთებ (I am making), ვწერ (I write).
For the sentence to come together, one more piece is needed — the recipient's person prefix, which you know from wave 2: 'მ-' — to me, 'გ-' — to you. მიყიდა — he sold it to me, გიყიდა — he bought it for you, მაჩუქა — he gave it to me as a present, გაჩუქა — he gave it to you as a present. Adding the recipient to the version, Georgian fits into one word what English needs three for.
Assembling these forms yourself will not work at once, and it need not. What works, and pays off at every step: hear 'ვი-' and think 'for myself', hear 'ვუ-' and think 'for someone else'. Half of the everyday misunderstandings in shops and at dinner parties are about exactly this vowel.
Table
| Form | Vowel | For whom | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ვიყიდე | ი- | for oneself | I bought it (for myself) |
| ვუყიდე | უ- | for another | I bought it for him |
| ვისესხე | ი- | for oneself | I borrowed it |
| ვასესხე | ა- | for another | I lent it |
| ვუჩუქე | უ- | for another | I gave it to him as a gift |
| მაჩუქა | the recipient 'მ-' | to me | he gave it to me as a gift |
| ვყიდულობ | neutral | — | I am buying |
By example
- ჩანთა ჩემთვის ვიყიდე, შარფი კი დედას ვუყიდეchanta chemtvis viqide, sharpi ki dedas vuqideI bought the bag for myself, and the scarf for my mom
- მეზობელს ბურღი ვასესხე, თოკი კი მისგან ვისესხეmezobels burghi vaseskhe, toki ki misgan viseskheI lent my neighbor the drill and borrowed a rope from him
- დაბადების დღეზე წიგნი მაჩუქესdabadebis dgheze tsigni machukesFor my birthday they gave me a book
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 I bought it for myself in Georgian?
The shopping unit is all 'bought it for myself', 'bought it for him', 'borrowed from him'. English handles this with separate words and prepositions. Georgian solves it with a single vowel inside the verb — it is called version.
Ვიყიდე vs ვუყიდე?
Compare three forms of one root: ვიყიდე — I bought (for myself), ვუყიდე — I bought (for someone), ვყიდულობ — I am buying (neutral; for whom is not the point). They differ in the vowel before the root, and this vowel is no decoration: it *is* 'for myself' or 'for him'.
The Georgian vowel that says who it is for?
ი- — for oneself. ვიყიდე (bought for myself), ვისესხე (borrowed), ვიშოვე (got hold of for myself). No separate word 'for myself' is added: it is already inside.
Ვისესხე or ვასესხე: borrowed or lent?
უ- — for another. ვუყიდე (bought for him), ვასესხე (lent to him), ვუჩუქე (gave it to him as a gift). Note the pair ვისესხე / ვასესხე: one word with different vowels means 'I borrowed' and 'I lent' — opposite things, told apart only by the version.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ჩანთა ჩემთვის ვიყიდე, შარფი კი დედას ვუყიდე” (chanta chemtvis viqide, sharpi ki dedas vuqide) — I bought the bag for myself, and the scarf for my mom. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.