მგზავრი
“მგზავრი” (mgzavri) — passenger in Georgian. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. Four consonants around one vowel — an ordinary affair. Hence also mgzavroba, a trip. In a live sentence: “მგზავრი ბილეთს ეძებს” — The passenger is looking for a ticket. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters მ, გ, ზ, ა, ვ, რ, ი. One of 14 words in the set “transport” in the Georgian course.
In short
| Written in Georgian | მგზავრი |
| Read in Latin letters | mgzavri |
| Translation | passenger |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- მგზავრიmgzavripassenger
Why it looks that way
Four consonants around one vowel — an ordinary affair. Hence also mgzavroba, a trip
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.
- მგზავრი ბილეთს ეძებსmgzavri bilets edzebsThe passenger is looking for a ticket
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- მეტროmetrometroTwo lines in Tbilisi; the announcements in the cars run in Georgian and in English
- ავტობუსიavtobusibusA borrowing with the -i. 'By bus' is avtobusith: the ending -it means 'by means of'
- ტაქსიtaksitaxiThe t is ejective, with no puff of air. Ordered by app nowadays, but 'call a taxi' is understood everywhere
- სადგურიsadguristationAlso 'station' in general: the metro station and the railway station are the same word
- გაჩერების პუნქტიgacherebis punktitransit stopThe signs say simply gachereba, but the course gave that word to the verb 'to stop'. The p is ejective
- დასაჯდომიdasajdomiseatThe da-sa-...-omi ring from jdoma, to sit: 'that which one sits on'. The j is one letter for the fused j sound
- მოაჯირიmoajirihandrailThe same word means a stairway railing. moajirse echide — hold on to the handrail, with no preposition 'on'
- კონტროლიორიkontrolioriticket inspectorA borrowing, but with the tail -i and ejective k and t
- მგზავრობის საფასურიmgzavrobis sapasurifaresapasuri comes from pasi, price: 'that which is paid for'. There is no preposition 'for', there is a genitive on the left
- გადატვირთულიgadatvirtuliovercrowdedFrom tvirthi, a load: literally 'overloaded'. A bus and a road are spoken of alike
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “passenger” in Georgian?
Four consonants around one vowel — an ordinary affair. Hence also mgzavroba, a trip
- How do you say “handrail” in Georgian?
The same word means a stairway railing. moajirse echide — hold on to the handrail, with no preposition 'on'
- How do you say “taxi” in Georgian?
The t is ejective, with no puff of air. Ordered by app nowadays, but 'call a taxi' is understood everywhere
- How do you say “overcrowded” in Georgian?
From tvirthi, a load: literally 'overloaded'. A bus and a road are spoken of alike
- How do you say “seat” in Georgian?
The da-sa-...-omi ring from jdoma, to sit: 'that which one sits on'. The j is one letter for the fused j sound
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 “passenger” in Georgian?
«მგზავრი», read “mgzavri”. In a live sentence: “მგზავრი ბილეთს ეძებს” — The passenger is looking for a ticket. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters მ, გ, ზ, ა, ვ, რ, ი.
How is “მგზავრი” written in Latin letters?
mgzavri. 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?
Four consonants around one vowel — an ordinary affair. Hence also mgzavroba, a trip. 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.