The Georgian alphabet: learn to read signs in an evening — letter chart, history and fun facts

The first thing that strikes visitors to Georgia is the beautiful rounded letters on signs, like curling grapevine tendrils. Many assume they're impossible to learn, but the Georgian alphabet is one of the most logical in the world: one letter, one sound, no exceptions. In an evening you can learn to read street and metro station names, and in a couple of days restaurant menus. Here's how, plus some fun facts.

A little history

Georgian writing is among the oldest in the Caucasus. There are three scripts that developed in turn:

1. Asomtavruli — the oldest "capital" script with large, angular letters, seen on the walls of ancient churches, for example in 5th-century inscriptions.
2. Nuskhuri — the ecclesiastical script used in manuscripts.
3. Mkhedruli — the "military" script used today. It became dominant in the Middle Ages and is used in secular texts and everyday life.

In 2016 UNESCO inscribed the "Living culture of three writing systems of the Georgian alphabet" on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Fun facts

• No capital letters. Mkhedruli has no upper and lower case. Headings sometimes use the Mtavruli style, with letters drawn to a single height, but it works more like a font than a separate case.
• One letter, one sound. Words are read exactly as written.
• Stress is weak and usually doesn't change meaning.
• Lots of consonants in a row. A famous example is გვფრცქვნი (gvprtskvni, "you peel us") — eight consonants in a row.
• No grammatical gender. "He" and "she" are the same word.
• The Georgian language belongs to the Kartvelian family and is unrelated to Russian, Armenian or Turkish.

Letter chart

Here are all 33 letters of the modern alphabet with approximate transliteration. Sounds marked with an apostrophe are ejectives (pronounced with a sharp catch in the throat); at first you can read them as ordinary sounds.

How to learn fast

Step 1. Start with the vowels

There are only five: ა (a), ე (e), ი (i), ო (o), უ (u). Spot them on signs and you're halfway there.

Step 2. Learn letters from names

The quickest way is to read familiar words:

• თბილისი — Tbilisi;
• ბათუმი — Batumi;
• მეტრო — metro;
• ბანკი — bank;
• აფთიაქი — aptiaki (pharmacy);
• ღვინო — ghvino (wine);
• ხაჭაპური — khachapuri;
• ქუჩა — kucha (street);
• გამზირი — gamziri (avenue).

Step 3. Watch out for look-alikes

Some letters are easy to confuse: ბ (b) and ზ (z), ლ (l) and ღ (gh), ო (o) and თ (t). Pay attention to the tails and loops.

Step 4. Practise in town

The Tbilisi metro is a perfect trainer: station names are written in Georgian and English. Compare them and read aloud.

Useful words on signs

Where to see the history of writing

• Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi — ancient manuscripts and inscriptions.
• National Centre of Manuscripts in Tbilisi — a collection of medieval manuscripts; check which exhibitions are open to visitors.
• Ancient churches — for example Asomtavruli inscriptions at Bolnisi Sioni and elsewhere.
• Alphabetic Tower in Batumi — a modern 130-metre tower on the seafront, spiralled with the letters of the Georgian alphabet, with a viewing platform at the top.

How the alphabet helps on your trip

Even without knowing the language, being able to read the letters makes travel much easier:

• you'll read village names on road signs and minibus destinations;
• you'll make sense of menus in small cafés with no translation;
• you'll find the right stop and street;
• you'll pleasantly surprise locals — Georgians greatly appreciate interest in their language.

Alphabet souvenirs

On the Dry Bridge and in souvenir shops you'll find magnets, T-shirts, jewellery and ceramics with Georgian letters. A nice gift is a pendant with your name in Georgian or a children's alphabet book.

In short

The Georgian Mkhedruli alphabet has 33 letters, one letter per sound and no capitals. Start with the five vowels, read city and metro station names, and within a couple of days you'll be reading signs with ease — while touching one of the world's oldest and most beautiful scripts, recognised by UNESCO as part of humanity's heritage.