ერთხელ
“ერთხელ” (ertkhel) — once in Georgian. Adverb, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. Literally 'one time': erti plus -xel, which counts turns — orjer, twice, is from here too. At the start of a story ertxel means 'once upon a time', in the middle just 'once'. In a live sentence: “ერთხელ მთაში ღამე გავათენე” — Once I spent a night in the mountains. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ე, რ, თ, ხ, ე, ლ.
In short
| Written in Georgian | ერთხელ |
| Read in Latin letters | ertkhel |
| Translation | once |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | B1 |
- ერთხელertkhelonce
Why it looks that way
Literally 'one time': erti plus -xel, which counts turns — orjer, twice, is from here too. At the start of a story ertxel means 'once upon a time', in the middle just 'once'
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- ერთხელ მთაში ღამე გავათენეertkhel mtashi ghame gavateneOnce I spent a night in the mountains
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- საათიsaatihourThe same word names the wristwatch and the wall clock: ert saati, one hour; saati makvs, I have a watch
- დღეdghedayTwo consonants and one vowel — a thoroughly Georgian word
- დღესdghestodaydghe plus -s: the ending turns 'day' into 'today'
- ხვალkhvaltomorrowOne of the few time words with no ending. Khvalamde, 'until tomorrow', is a standard goodbye
- გუშინgushinyesterdayThe day before yesterday is gushintsin: the same word plus tsin, before. Sharshantsin, the year before last, is built the same way
- საღამოsaghamoeveningThe evening greeting saghamo mshvidobisa is built on the model of the morning dila mshvidobisa
- ღამეghamenightGhame mshvidobisa, good night, follows the model of the morning greeting
- რომელ საათზე?romel saatze?at what time?Literally 'on which hour': the familiar saati plus -ze
- უკვე გვიანიაukve gvianiait is already lateukve is already, gviani is late plus -a. Early is adrea
- საუზმეsauzmebreakfastAlready met whole in sauzme passhi shedis, breakfast is included. To have breakfast is the single word sauzmoba
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “once” in Georgian?
Literally 'one time': erti plus -xel, which counts turns — orjer, twice, is from here too. At the start of a story ertxel means 'once upon a time', in the middle just 'once'
- How do you say “night” in Georgian?
Ghame mshvidobisa, good night, follows the model of the morning greeting
- How do you say “today” in Georgian?
dghe plus -s: the ending turns 'day' into 'today'
- How do you say “breakfast” in Georgian?
Already met whole in sauzme passhi shedis, breakfast is included. To have breakfast is the single word sauzmoba
- How do you say “evening” in Georgian?
The evening greeting saghamo mshvidobisa is built on the model of the morning dila mshvidobisa
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “once” in Georgian?
«ერთხელ», read “ertkhel”. In a live sentence: “ერთხელ მთაში ღამე გავათენე” — Once I spent a night in the mountains. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters ე, რ, თ, ხ, ე, ლ.
How is “ერთხელ” written in Latin letters?
ertkhel. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally 'one time': erti plus -xel, which counts turns — orjer, twice, is from here too. At the start of a story ertxel means 'once upon a time', in the middle just 'once'. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.