გილოცავ, გისურვებ, გაგიმარჯოს: the form for congratulations and wishes
A Georgian celebration is first of all things said out loud: congratulations at the door, wishes at the table, an answer to a toast. All three rest on forms scattered across the course, and here they are gathered together. For example: “დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ და ბედნიერებას გისურვებ” — Happy birthday, and I wish you happiness. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A Georgian celebration is first of all things said out loud: congratulations at the door, wishes at the table, an answer to a toast. All three rest on forms scattered across the course, and here they are gathered together.
Congratulating is the verb გილოცავ (gilotsav). The one congratulated is already inside it: გილოცავ — you, გილოცავთ (gilotsavt) — you all, or one person politely. What you congratulate on stands in the dative: 'დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ (dabadebis dghes gilotsav)', 'ახალ წელს გილოცავთ (akhal tsels gilotsavt)'. There is no word 'on' in the phrase, and none should be added.
Wishing is the verb გისურვებ (gisurveb), and what is wished for is in the dative too: 'ბედნიერებას გისურვებ (bednierebas gisurveb)', 'წარმატებას გისურვებთ'. The noun from it is the familiar სურვილი (survili), which means both 'desire' and 'wish'.
The wish itself is the subjunctive without 'უნდა (unda)'. You have seen the form after 'უნდა' ('უნდა წავიდე (unda tsavide)'); standing on its own, it stops being a duty and becomes a blessing: გაგიმარჯოს (may victory be yours), ღმერთმა დაგლოცოს (God bless you), ღმერთმა ხელი მოგიმართოს (may God lend you a hand). Who wishes is not named, and that is the whole point: it is not an order but a wish.
The particle ნეტავ — 'if only'. With it the verb is also in the subjunctive: 'ნეტავ წვიმდეს', 'ნეტავ ხვალ მოვიდეს'. The shade is of a daydream, not a request.
At the table all of it comes together in the სადღეგრძელო (sadghegrdzelo) — the toast, literally 'for a long day'. The tamada pronounces it, the rest answer გაუმარჯოს (gaumarjos) — the very same form, only with the third person inside. And the last thing: a negative wish goes with 'ნუ (nu)', not with 'არ (ar)' — 'ნუ დაიღლები' (don't tire yourself out), 'ნუ გეშინია (nu geshinia)' (don't be afraid). Saying 'არ დაიღლები' would mean 'you won't get tired' — a message instead of a wish.
Table
| Formula | Literally | When it is said |
|---|---|---|
| გილოცავ | I congratulate you | a birthday, a holiday |
| გილოცავთ | I congratulate you (polite, plural) | politely and to many |
| გისურვებ | I wish you | before what is wished |
| გაგიმარჯოს | may victory be yours | an answer to a toast, a send-off |
| ღმერთმა დაგლოცოს | God bless you | thanking an elder |
| ნეტავ + subjunctive | if only | a daydream, not a request |
| ნუ + imperative | don't | a negative wish |
By example
- დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ და ბედნიერებას გისურვებdabadebis dghes gilotsav da bednierebas gisurvebHappy birthday, and I wish you happiness
- ღმერთმა ხელი მოგიმართოს ახალ სამსახურშიghmertma kheli mogimartos akhal samsakhurshiMay God lend you a hand in the new job
- თამადამ სადღეგრძელო თქვა და ყველამ გაუმარჯოს უთხრაtamadam sadghegrdzelo tkva da qvelam gaumarjos utkhraThe tamada gave a toast, and everyone answered 'gaumarjos'
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
the form for congratulations and wishes: how does it work in Georgian?
A Georgian celebration is first of all things said out loud: congratulations at the door, wishes at the table, an answer to a toast. All three rest on forms scattered across the course, and here they are gathered together.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“დაბადების დღეს გილოცავ და ბედნიერებას გისურვებ” (dabadebis dghes gilotsav da bednierebas gisurveb) — Happy birthday, and I wish you happiness. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.