ორი მეტრი, მეოთხედი, ორიოდე: measure, fraction and 'roughly that much'
Until this unit the whole course had one measure — the kilogram — and nothing to measure with. Now there are a dozen, and with them come three things that English does with words and Georgian with an ending. For example: “თოკი ორი მეტრი და ოციოდე სანტიმეტრია” — The rope is two meters and some twenty centimeters. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Until this unit the whole course had one measure — the kilogram — and nothing to measure with. Now there are a dozen, and with them come three things that English does with words and Georgian with an ending.
A measure after a number stands in the singular. 'ორი მეტრი (ori metri)', 'ხუთი ლიტრი (khuti litri)', 'ასი გრამი (asi grami)' — no '-ები'. You know the rule already, but with measures it is most visible, because English puts a plural exactly here: 'two meters', 'five liters'. And the thing measured stays singular too: 'ორი კილო ვაშლი (ori kilo vashli)' — two kilos of apples.
A measure declines like any noun. 'ორი მეტრით გრძელია' — longer by two meters (the instrumental), 'ლიტრზე ნაკლებია' — less than a liter (the postposition '-ზე'), 'მეტრნახევარია' — a meter and a half. To say 'in length, in width', take the genitive: 'ოთხი მეტრი სიგრძისაა (otkhi metri sigrdzisaa)'.
Times is the suffix '-ჯერ (-jer)'. ორჯერ (orjer), სამჯერ (samjer), ათჯერ (atjer); 'once' falls out of the row — ერთხელ (ertkhel). Multiples build on it: 'ორჯერ მეტი (orjer meti)' (twice as much), 'სამჯერ იაფი (samjer iapi)' (three times cheaper).
Fractions are the frame 'მე- (me)…-ედი' around the number. მესამედი (a third), მეოთხედი (a quarter), მეხუთედი (a fifth). Half falls out of the system and has its own word — ნახევარი (nakhevari).
Approximation is done in four ways, and they are not interchangeable. დაახლოებით (daakhloebit) stands before the number and sounds neutral: 'დაახლოებით ორმოცი (daakhloebit ormotsi)'. The suffix -ოდე climbs inside the number and sounds homely: 'ორიოდე დღე (oriode dghe)' — a couple of days. The postposition -მდე attaches after and means 'up to, some': 'ოცამდე კაცი (otsamde katsi)' — some twenty men. And 'more than' and 'less than' go through the postposition '-ზე': 'ასზე მეტი', 'ასზე ნაკლები'.
And two words that English takes for adverbs and Georgian takes for case forms: საშუალოდ (on average) and ზუსტად (exactly). Both end in '-ად', and there is a separate note on that ending in the course.
Table
| Tool | Where it stands | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| number + measure | the measure stays singular | ხუთი ლიტრი | five liters |
| -ჯერ | onto the number | ორჯერ მეტი | twice as much |
| მე-…-ედი | around the number | მეოთხედი | a quarter |
| ნახევარი | a separate word | ნახევარი კილო | half a kilo |
| დაახლოებით | before the number | დაახლოებით ორმოცი | about forty |
| -ოდე | inside the number | ორიოდე დღე | a couple of days |
| -მდე | after the number | ოცამდე კაცი | some twenty men |
| -ზე მეტი | after the number | ასზე მეტი | more than a hundred |
By example
- თოკი ორი მეტრი და ოციოდე სანტიმეტრიაtoki ori metri da otsiode santimetriaThe rope is two meters and some twenty centimeters
- ბოთლში ლიტრზე ნაკლები დარჩაbotlshi litrze naklebi darchaLess than a liter is left in the bottle
- ნამცხვრის მეოთხედი და ერთი კანფეტი შევჭამეnamtskhvris meotkhedi da erti kanpeti shevchameI ate a quarter of the cake and one candy
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
measure, fraction and 'roughly that much': how does it work in Georgian?
Until this unit the whole course had one measure — the kilogram — and nothing to measure with. Now there are a dozen, and with them come three things that English does with words and Georgian with an ending.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“თოკი ორი მეტრი და ოციოდე სანტიმეტრია” (toki ori metri da otsiode santimetria) — The rope is two meters and some twenty centimeters. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.