How to Say ‘Thank You’ and Other Basic Georgian Etiquette

Why Georgian Is Worth the Effort in 2026

Georgia’s tourism numbers hit a new peak in 2025 and have held steady into 2026, partly because new direct flights from London Gatwick, Dubai, and Warsaw now land in both Tbilisi and Kutaisi without a stopover. More visitors than ever are arriving — and most of them land speaking only English, relying on the assumption that someone nearby will translate. That assumption is mostly safe in Tbilisi. It is much less safe in Kakheti wine villages, mountain communities near Mestia, or the older market streets of Kutaisi. Even in Tbilisi, making zero effort with the local language sends a signal that people notice. Georgian hospitality is famously generous, but it warms considerably faster when a visitor tries even two or three words. This guide gives you those words — phonetically, practically, and in enough cultural context that you will not accidentally cause offence while trying to be polite.

The Georgian Script and Language Family

Georgian is not related to Russian, Turkish, Arabic, or any Indo-European language. It belongs to the Kartvelian language family — a group that includes only a handful of languages, all of them native to the South Caucasus. Linguists consider Georgian one of the world’s most ancient literary languages, with written records going back to the 5th century AD.

The script used today is called Mkhedruli (მხედრული), which roughly translates as “script of the horsemen.” It has 33 letters. Every letter corresponds to exactly one sound, which actually makes Georgian more phonetically consistent than English. There are no capital letters in the modern system — the same letter form is used everywhere. The script flows left to right, like English.

What throws most newcomers is the consonant clusters. Georgian words can stack several consonants together in ways that look unpronounceable on paper. The word for “to peel” — gvprtskvnis — is a genuine Georgian word and a genuine test of nerve. But everyday vocabulary is far more approachable. Gamarjoba (hello), gmadlobt (thank you), ki (yes) — these are sounds you can produce on day one.

Understanding that Georgian stands entirely on its own — not a dialect of anything, not a cousin of anything nearby — helps explain why Georgians take such pride in their language. When you make the effort, even a small one, it lands differently than it might elsewhere.

How to Say Thank You — and Mean It

The standard phrase for “thank you” in Georgian is გმადლობთ, romanised as gmadlobt (pronounced roughly: guh-MAD-lobt, with a very short unstressed first syllable). This is the formal or plural form, appropriate for anyone you have just met, shop staff, drivers, hosts, or anyone older than you.

If you are thanking a close friend or someone younger, you might hear or use gmadloba (გმადლობა) — the informal singular. In practice as a visitor, stick with gmadlobt. It works in every context and never sounds stiff.

A heartfelt, emphatic thank you — the kind you use when someone has gone well out of their way — is didi madloba (დიდი მადლობა), which literally means “big thanks.” If a host has spent three hours cooking a meal, if someone has driven you somewhere without asking for anything, if a stranger has sorted out a problem you could not have solved alone — didi madloba is the phrase. Georgians use it freely among themselves and they will recognise immediately that you understand the weight of what they did.

The response you will often hear when you thank someone is arafers (არაფერს) — the Georgian equivalent of “don’t mention it” or “it’s nothing.” You may also hear bevri madloba (“many thanks”) used informally.

• gmadlobt — thank you (standard, formal/plural)
• gmadloba — thank you (informal, to a friend)



• didi madloba — thank you very much
• arafers — you’re welcome / don’t mention it

Greetings From Morning to Night

Georgian has a full set of time-specific greetings, but one word does the heavy lifting for most of the day: gamarjoba (გამარჯობა). It means “hello” and is used from morning through the early evening. The literal meaning is something like “be victorious” — a greeting rooted in a culture that has had to be resilient. Pronounce it: gah-mar-JO-ba, with stress on the third syllable.

If you are greeting more than one person, or want to be more formal, say gamarjobat (გამარჯობათ) — the -t ending marks plural or polite address, a pattern you will see throughout Georgian.

The full set of daily greetings:

• dila mshvidoba (დილა მშვიდობა) — good morning (literally “peaceful morning”)
• gamarjoba — hello / good day
• saghamo mshvidoba (საღამო მშვიდობა) — good evening
• ghame mshvidoba (ღამე მშვიდობა) — good night

For goodbyes, the most common phrase is nakhvamdis (ნახვამდის) — “until we meet again.” It sounds warm rather than final. A more casual option is monaхule or simply waving and saying bye-bye, which younger Georgians in cities use freely. For a short parting — stepping out of a shop, leaving a taxi — gamarjoba itself works as a farewell in some informal contexts, though nakhvamdis is more correct.

“How are you?” is rogor khar? (როგორ ხარ?) informally, or rogor brdzandebit? (როგორ ბრძანდებით?) formally. The standard positive response is kargad (კარგად) — “well” or “fine.” If someone asks and you respond kargad, gmadlobt, you have just had a complete Georgian exchange and most locals will smile.

Yes, No, Please, and Sorry

Four words handle the majority of situations where you need to communicate without a full sentence.

Yes in Georgian is ki (კი), pronounced exactly as it looks — like the English word “key.” No is ara (არა), two clean syllables: AH-rah. These two words alone will carry you through a taxi ride, a market purchase, and most yes/no questions from hotel staff.

Please is slightly more complex. Georgian uses tu sheidzleba (თუ შეიძლება) to mean “if it is possible / please” — used when making a request. You will also hear gtkhovt (გთხოვთ), a more direct “I ask you / please,” used in more formal or written contexts. For everyday use, tu sheidzleba is your phrase. It shows politeness without being stiff.

Excuse me or sorry splits into two depending on context. If you bump into someone or need to apologise: bodishi (ბოდიში), pronounced bo-DEE-shee. If you want to get someone’s attention — a waiter, a shopkeeper, someone on the street: ukatsravad (უკაცრავად), pronounced oo-kats-RAH-vahd. It literally means “without rudeness” and functions like “excuse me” in the attention-seeking sense.

• ki — yes
• ara — no
• tu sheidzleba — please (making a request)
• bodishi — sorry / I apologise
• ukatsravad — excuse me (to get attention)

One practical note: shaking the head side to side means “yes” in some parts of Georgia — the opposite of what most Western visitors expect. It is not universal and is more common among older generations, but if someone nods ambiguously at you, confirm with a ki?

Numbers, Bargaining, and Prices

Georgian numbers follow a vigesimal system — base 20 — for numbers above 20. This means 30 is literally “twenty-ten,” 40 is “two-twenties,” and so on. It is logical once you learn the pattern, but it does mean that memorising 1 through 10 is not enough for prices.

For markets and taxis, focus on these:

• erti (ერთი) — 1
• ori (ორი) — 2
• sami (სამი) — 3
• otkhi (ოთხი) — 4
• khuti (ხუთი) — 5
• ekvsi (ექვსი) — 6
• shvidi (შვიდი) — 7
• rva (რვა) — 8
• tskhra (ცხრა) — 9
• ati (ათი) — 10
• oci (ოცი) — 20
• asi (ასი) — 100

When asking for a price: ra ghirs? (რა ღირს?) — “how much does it cost?” This is the single most useful commercial phrase you will learn.

If the price is displayed digitally — on a phone screen, a register, a sign — vendors will often just show you rather than say the number. In most Tbilisi shops and all supermarkets, prices are fixed. In Dezerter Bazaar or smaller village markets, gentle negotiation is acceptable but not expected the way it is in some other countries. The phrase ძვირია (dzvir-ia) means “it’s expensive” — useful if you want to signal you find something overpriced, without being rude about it.

At the Table: Phrases for Food, Drink, and the Supra

Eating in Georgia is rarely just eating. A meal with a Georgian family or at a traditional restaurant involves ritual, toasting, and a specific social structure. Knowing a handful of phrases changes your experience from spectator to participant.

The most important word at any Georgian table is gaumarjos (გაუმარჯოს) — the toast. It means “to victory” or “to health” and is used every time glasses are raised. You will hear it repeatedly throughout any Georgian feast. Responding with gaumarjos while making eye contact with each person at the table before you drink is correct and expected.

At a supra — the traditional Georgian feast managed by a tamada (the toastmaster) — the tamada controls when people drink and leads the toasts. The toasts are never trivial. They address peace, Georgia, guests, the dead, children, love, and the future — in that rough order. If you are called on to toast (and as a foreign guest, you almost certainly will be), a simple gaumarjos Sakartvelos — “to Georgia’s victory” — will earn you warm approval.

Other useful table phrases:

• gemrieli iyo (გემრიელი იყო) — “it was delicious” (said after eating)
• meti ar minda (მეტი არ მინდა) — “I don’t want more” (polite refusal of second helpings)
• minda (მინდა) — “I want / I would like”
• tsqali (წყალი) — water
• ghvino (ღვინო) — wine
• yava (ყავა) — coffee
• chai (ჩაი) — tea

The warmth of a candlelit wine cellar in Sighnaghi on a cool October evening, when the tamada raises a horn of amber qvevri wine and begins a toast in Georgian — that moment is inaccessible if you have no vocabulary at all. Even knowing gaumarjos and gmadlobt turns it from a performance you watch into an exchange you are part of.

Reading the Script: A Beginner’s Guide to Mkhedruli

You do not need to read Georgian fluently to benefit from recognising a few key letters. Menus, street signs, bus destinations, and product labels in 2026 Georgia are increasingly bilingual — the new Tbilisi metro extensions opened in 2025 post signs in both Georgian and English — but in smaller towns and village shops, Georgian-only labels are still the norm.

A handful of Mkhedruli letters are worth memorising because they appear constantly and are easy to identify:

• მ — looks like a small crown or three arches. This is the letter M. You see it in madloba, minda, metro.
• ა — a simple curved shape, something like a backwards 6. This is A. It appears in nearly every Georgian word.
• ო — a circle with a small tail at the bottom. This is O.
• გ — resembles a reversed G. It is, in fact, G. You see it in gamarjoba, ghvino.
• ი — a simple descending curve, like a lowercase j without the dot. This is I.

With these five letters, you can begin to decode the shapes of common words even before you know their meaning. The yeasty warmth rising from a fresh puri bread being pulled from a tone oven — and the single Georgian word პური (puri) stencilled on the bakery sign above it — connects more quickly once the shapes are familiar.

Several apps available in 2026 — including updated versions of Georgianist and the Georgian Letters learning tool — offer quick drills for the Mkhedruli alphabet. Thirty minutes before your trip is enough to recognise a dozen letters reliably.

2026 Budget Reality: What Things Cost and the Words to Pay

Georgia remains genuinely good value in 2026, though prices in Tbilisi have risen noticeably since 2023, partly due to sustained tourism growth and the continued influx of remote workers. Here is what to expect across budget levels, with the vocabulary to navigate each:

Budget (travelling carefully)

• Street food — puri bread: 0.80–1.50 GEL per loaf
• Marshrutka (minibus) fare within a city: 1 GEL
• Guesthouse bed in a village: 40–60 GEL per night
• Local restaurant lunch (soup, main, soft drink): 18–30 GEL

Mid-range (comfortable travel)

• Three-star hotel in Tbilisi or Batumi: 130–220 GEL per night
• Sit-down dinner for two with wine: 90–160 GEL
• Tbilisi to Batumi by train (standard seat): 35–55 GEL — Georgian Railway updated its Tbilisi–Batumi schedule in early 2026, adding two night departures
• Guided day tour from Tbilisi: 120–180 GEL per person

Comfortable (no compromises)

• Boutique hotel in Old Tbilisi: 350–600 GEL per night
• Private car hire for a full day: 300–450 GEL
• Tasting menu at an upscale Tbilisi restaurant: 180–280 GEL per person

Key payment phrases:

• angarishi, tu sheidzleba (ანგარიში, თუ შეიძლება) — the bill, please
• barti miigebat? (ბარათს მიიღებთ?) — do you accept card?
• romel valutashi? (რომელ ვალუტაში?) — in which currency? (useful at some border areas)

In 2026, contactless card payment is widely accepted in Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi. In smaller towns and villages, cash in GEL is still the safer assumption. ATMs in Tbilisi dispense GEL reliably; TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia machines are the most widely distributed and the least likely to add unexpected fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Georgian difficult to learn as an English speaker?

Georgian is considered one of the harder languages for English speakers — its grammar, verb system, and consonant clusters are genuinely complex. But basic spoken phrases are learnable quickly because the phonetics are consistent. Ten to fifteen words of practical Georgian will noticeably improve your daily interactions within the first 24 hours of arrival.

Do most Georgians in Tbilisi speak English in 2026?

English is widely spoken by younger Georgians in Tbilisi, especially in hospitality, retail, and transport. In rural areas, older guesthouses, and village settings, English is much less common. Russian was historically the fallback second language, but younger Georgians are often more comfortable in English than Russian as of 2026.

Is it rude to decline food or drink at a Georgian table?

Refusing food can feel impolite to a Georgian host, but a firm, warm didi madloba, meti ar minda (“thank you very much, I don’t want more”) is respected. For alcohol refusals, health or medication reasons are universally accepted without pressure. Refusing the first offer is normal; refusing the second is final.

What does the Georgian head-shake for “yes” look like exactly?

It is a slight side-to-side tilt of the head — more of a gentle wobble than a definitive shake. It is more common among older generations and in rural areas. When in doubt, ask for verbal confirmation with ki? (yes?). Younger urban Georgians typically nod for yes in the same way Western visitors expect.

Are there any phrases that are considered rude or offensive for visitors to accidentally use?

The main risk is mispronouncing words into something unintended — Georgian has sounds that do not exist in English, and guessing can occasionally produce a different word. More practically, avoid using Russian to communicate unless your host has already done so. In 2026, addressing a Georgian in Russian without invitation can be taken as dismissive of Georgian identity.

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📷 Featured image by Slava Taukachou on Unsplash.