🇬🇪 ქართული ანბანი
The Georgian alphabet
Georgian is written in Mkhedruli, the third of three scripts the language has used since antiquity (after Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri). The oldest dated Georgian inscriptions go back to the 5th century AD, and the script is unrelated to Latin, Greek or Cyrillic in shape: its rounded, looping letters are instantly recognisable. Mkhedruli has no capital letters, and the modern alphabet has 33 letters, each standing for one sound.
Vowels 5
Consonants close to English 15
Aspirated consonants (with a puff of air) 5
Ejective consonants (no puff, a "popped" sound) 6
Throat sounds 2
The good news: Georgian spelling is almost perfectly phonetic, so once you know the 33 letters you can read any word aloud correctly. Most learners can recognise every letter within one to two weeks of short daily practice. The real challenge is not the shapes but a few sounds: the aspirated/ejective consonant pairs (თ/ტ, ფ/პ, ქ/კ, ჩ/ჭ, ც/წ, plus the ejective ყ) and the throaty ღ and ხ. Focus your ear on those contrasts, because they distinguish real words.
How to learn it fast
- Learn the letters in the order of the alphabet chant (ანი, ბანი, განი…): the letter names themselves give the word ანბანი (anbani, 'alphabet').
- Write each letter by hand while saying its sound. Many Mkhedruli letters differ only by a small loop or tail (ა/ღ, ბ/გ, ტ/ფ, ო/ლ), and handwriting fixes the differences in memory faster than reading alone.
- Practise the five aspirated/ejective pairs side by side: თ–ტ, ფ–პ, ქ–კ, ჩ–ჭ, ც–წ. Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth: it should flutter for the aspirated sound and stay still for the ejective one.
- Don't look for capitals: Georgian has none in normal text, so names and sentence starts look like every other word. The all-caps style (Mtavruli) appears only in headings and signs.
- Read real signs and menus early: words like ჩაი (chai, tea), ყავა (q'ava, coffee) and პური (p'uri, bread) give quick wins because they are short and common.
- Because spelling is phonetic, read words out loud from day one; a word that you can decode letter by letter is pronounced exactly as written.
Did you know?
- In 2016 UNESCO inscribed the 'Living culture of three writing systems of the Georgian alphabet' (Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli) on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- The word for 'alphabet', ანბანი (anbani), is made from the names of the first two letters, ანი (ani) and ბანი (bani), just as 'alphabet' comes from Greek alpha + beta.
- Georgian loves consonant clusters: the verb გვფრცქვნი (gvprtskvni, 'you peel us') starts with eight consonants in a row.
- Mkhedruli originally had more letters; five that no longer matched distinct sounds (such as ჱ, ჲ, ჳ, ჴ, ჵ) were dropped from the standard alphabet in the late 19th century, leaving the 33 used today.
- Georgian has no upper and lower case in ordinary writing. The old Asomtavruli-inspired Mtavruli letters are used only as an all-caps style for titles and signage, and were added to Unicode in 2018.
Quick quiz: which sound is this?
Questions
How many letters are in the Georgian alphabet?
33.
How long does it take to learn the Georgian alphabet?
Most learners can recognise every letter within one to two weeks of short daily practice, and read slowly but accurately within a month. Reading real text — even very simple text — is what makes the letters automatic.
What's the best way to learn it?
Learn the letters in the order of the alphabet chant (ანი, ბანი, განი…): the letter names themselves give the word ანბანი (anbani, 'alphabet'). Write each letter by hand while saying its sound. Many Mkhedruli letters differ only by a small loop or tail (ა/ღ, ბ/გ, ტ/ფ, ო/ლ), and handwriting fixes the differences in memory faster than reading alone. Practise the five aspirated/ejective pairs side by side: თ–ტ, ფ–პ, ქ–კ, ჩ–ჭ, ც–წ. Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth: it should flutter for the aspirated sound and stay still for the ejective one.