სუნთქვა
“სუნთქვა” (suntkva) — to breathe in Georgian. Verb, level A2, topic — verbs. Hidden inside is suni, smell: to breathe in Georgian is to draw in scent. ghrmad isuntekh — breathe deeply. In a live sentence: “ძნელად ვსუნთქავ” — It is hard for me to breathe. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ს, უ, ნ, თ, ქ, ვ, ა. One of 78 words in the set “verbs” in the Georgian course.
In short
| Written in Georgian | სუნთქვა |
| Read in Latin letters | suntkva |
| Translation | to breathe |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A2 |
- სუნთქვაsuntkvato breathe
Why it looks that way
Hidden inside is suni, smell: to breathe in Georgian is to draw in scent. ghrmad isuntekh — breathe deeply
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.
- ძნელად ვსუნთქავdznelad vsuntkavIt is hard for me to breathe
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- მინდაmindaI wantLiterally 'it is wanted by me': the m- at the front is 'to me', the same m- as in mkvia, I am called
- მიყვარსmiqvarsI loveLiterally 'it is loved by me'. The m- again marks the one who feels it; all the emotion verbs are built this way
- მივდივარmivdivarto goOne word for both English verbs: on foot or by transport it is mivdivar. The form is personal, 'I go': the v inside the stem is 'I' — mi-v-divar. He goes is midis
- ვჭამvchamto eatA personal form: vcham, I eat. The v- at the very start is 'I', then the root cham. He eats is chams
- ვსვამvsvamto drinkA personal form: vsvam, I drink. He drinks is svams, we drink is vsvamt
- ვკითხულობvkitkhulobto readA personal form: vkitkhulob, I read. The same root as in kitkhva, question: asking and reading are kin in Georgian
- ვლაპარაკობvlaparakobto speakA personal form: vlaparakob, I speak. You have seen it in the plural: laparakobth? — do you speak?
- ვმუშაობvmushaobto workA personal form: vmushaob, I work. He works is mushaobs: the v- leaves, the -s arrives
- ვცხოვრობvtskhovrobto liveA personal form: vtskhovrob, I live. About where you live, not about being alive — that is tsotskhali var
- მაქვსmakvsI haveA personal form: makvs, I have. Only about things; about people and animals the word is mqavs. You have is gakvs
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to breathe” in Georgian?
Hidden inside is suni, smell: to breathe in Georgian is to draw in scent. ghrmad isuntekh — breathe deeply
- How do you say “to speak” in Georgian?
A personal form: vlaparakob, I speak. You have seen it in the plural: laparakobth? — do you speak?
- How do you say “to go” in Georgian?
One word for both English verbs: on foot or by transport it is mivdivar. The form is personal, 'I go': the v inside the stem is 'I' — mi-v-divar. He goes is midis
- How do you say “I have” in Georgian?
A personal form: makvs, I have. Only about things; about people and animals the word is mqavs. You have is gakvs
- How do you say “to read” in Georgian?
A personal form: vkitkhulob, I read. The same root as in kitkhva, question: asking and reading are kin in Georgian
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 “to breathe” in Georgian?
«სუნთქვა», read “suntkva”. In a live sentence: “ძნელად ვსუნთქავ” — It is hard for me to breathe. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A2, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters ს, უ, ნ, თ, ქ, ვ, ა.
How is “სუნთქვა” written in Latin letters?
suntkva. 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?
Hidden inside is suni, smell: to breathe in Georgian is to draw in scent. ghrmad isuntekh — breathe deeply. 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.