სანამ
“სანამ” (sanam) — while (all the time) in Georgian. Conjunction, level A1, topic — basic words. The course met sanam as 'until': one word holds both senses, and the verb tells them apart — sanam mushaobs, while he works. In a live sentence: “სანამ ვსწავლობ, ტელეფონს ვთიშავ” — While I study, I switch my phone off. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ს, ა, ნ, ა, მ.
In short
| Written in Georgian | სანამ |
| Read in Latin letters | sanam |
| Translation | while (all the time) |
| Part of speech | conjunction |
| Level | A1 |
- სანამsanamwhile (all the time)
Why it looks that way
The course met sanam as 'until': one word holds both senses, and the verb tells them apart — sanam mushaobs, while he works
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.
- სანამ ვსწავლობ, ტელეფონს ვთიშავsanam vstsavlob, telepons vtishavWhile I study, I switch my phone off
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- დიახdiakhyesThe polite yes: for elders and strangers. Between friends the short ho does the job instead
- ჰოhoyeahThe everyday yes of friends and family. To a stranger answer diakh — that is the respectful one
- არაaranoAlso the negation particle: ar vitsi means 'I don't know' — one word doing both jobs
- კარგადkargadwellAlso a farewell: kargad! alone means 'all the best!' when you part
- ცუდადtsudadbadlyThe partner of kargad: both adverbs end in -ad. The adjective is tsudi, bad
- ძალიან კარგადdzalian kargadvery wellDzalian means 'very', from dzala, strength. Said with a smile it closes most small talk
- დაdaandThe very same word means 'sister'; only the place in the sentence tells: deda da mama, mother and father, but chemi da, my sister
- მაგრამmagrambutIts bookish partner is tumca, 'however'. In speech magram is what sounds most often
- ნახევარიnakhevarihalfAfter a number it is the market's most used word: nakhevari kilo, half a kilo
- კიდევ ერთიkidev ertione moreKidev is 'more'. In a cafe it is half of every order: kidev erti qava
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “while (all the time)” in Georgian?
The course met sanam as 'until': one word holds both senses, and the verb tells them apart — sanam mushaobs, while he works
- How do you say “and” in Georgian?
The very same word means 'sister'; only the place in the sentence tells: deda da mama, mother and father, but chemi da, my sister
- How do you say “no” in Georgian?
Also the negation particle: ar vitsi means 'I don't know' — one word doing both jobs
- How do you say “one more” in Georgian?
Kidev is 'more'. In a cafe it is half of every order: kidev erti qava
- How do you say “very well” in Georgian?
Dzalian means 'very', from dzala, strength. Said with a smile it closes most small talk
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 “while (all the time)” in Georgian?
«სანამ», read “sanam”. In a live sentence: “სანამ ვსწავლობ, ტელეფონს ვთიშავ” — While I study, I switch my phone off. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Conjunction, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ს, ა, ნ, ა, მ.
How is “სანამ” written in Latin letters?
sanam. 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?
The course met sanam as 'until': one word holds both senses, and the verb tells them apart — sanam mushaobs, while he works. 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.