Georgian Alphabet: Complete Chart with Pronunciation Guide

The Georgian alphabet is one of the most beautiful writing systems in the world — and one of the most unique. It’s one of only 14 alphabets in the world that belongs to a single language.

Good news: despite looking intimidating, the Georgian alphabet is actually quite logical and learnable. With focused practice, you can master it in a few days.

The Georgian Alphabet at a Glance

Georgian uses an alphabet called მხედრული (mkhedruli), which means “cavalry” or “military” — named because it was the script used for everyday, secular writing.

Key facts:

• 33 letters (5 vowels, 28 consonants)
• No capital letters — Georgian doesn’t distinguish uppercase/lowercase
• Phonetic — each letter represents exactly one sound
• No silent letters — what you see is what you say

Complete Georgian Alphabet Chart

Letter	Name	Sound	Example Word	Meaning
ა	an	a (as in “father”)	არა	no
ბ	ban	b	ბაბუა	grandfather
გ	gan	g (as in “go”)	გოგო	girl
დ	don	d	დედა	mother
ე	en	e (as in “bed”)	ერთი	one
ვ	vin	v	ვარდი	rose
ზ	zen	z	ზღვა	sea
თ	tan	t (aspirated)	თბილისი	Tbilisi
ი	in	i (as in “machine”)	იქ	there
კ	kan	k (ejective)	კაცი	man
ლ	las	l	ლუდი	beer
მ	man	m	მამა	father
ნ	nar	n	ნანა	mom (informal)
ო	on	o (as in “more”)	ოთხი	four
პ	par	p (ejective)	პური	bread
ჟ	zhan	zh (as in “measure”)	ჟურნალი	magazine
რ	rae	r (rolled)	რვა	eight
ს	san	s	სახლი	house
ტ	tar	t (ejective)	ტყე	forest
უ	un	u (as in “rule”)	უნდა	want
ფ	par	p (aspirated)	ფული	money
ქ	kan	k (aspirated)	ქალი	woman
ღ	ghan	gh (deep throat)	ღვინო	wine
ყ	kar	q (deep ejective)	ყავა	coffee
შ	shin	sh	შვიდი	seven
ჩ	chin	ch	ჩაი	tea
ც	tsan	ts	ცხრა	nine
ძ	dzil	dz	ძმა	brother
წ	tsil	ts (ejective)	წიგნი	book
ჭ	char	ch (ejective)	ჭამა	eat
ხ	khan	kh (as in “Bach”)	ხე	tree
ჯ	jhan	j	ჯინსი	jeans
ჰ	hae	h	ჰაერი	air

The 5 Georgian Vowels

Georgian has only 5 vowels, and they’re straightforward:

Letter	Sound	Like in English
ა	ah	father
ე	eh	bed
ი	ee	machine
ო	oh	more
უ	oo	rule

Good news: Georgian vowels don’t have the variations that English vowels have. ა is always “ah”, never “ay” or “uh”. This makes pronunciation predictable.

The Tricky Consonants

Most Georgian consonants are familiar. A few need special attention:

Ejective Consonants (კ, პ, ტ, წ, ჭ, ყ)

Georgian has a set of “ejective” consonants — sounds made by compressing air in your throat and releasing it sharply. English doesn’t have these.

• კ — like “k” but sharper, no breath after
• პ — like “p” but sharper, no breath after
• ტ — like “t” but sharper, no breath after
• წ — like “ts” but ejective
• ჭ — like “ch” but ejective
• ყ — deep in the throat, the hardest sound

Tip: Practice by saying “cup” vs “skate” — the “k” in “skate” is closer to Georgian კ because there’s no puff of air after it.

Aspirated Consonants (თ, ფ, ქ)

These are consonants with a puff of air after them — similar to English consonants at the start of words:

• თ — like “t” in “top” (with breath)
• ფ — like “p” in “pot” (with breath)
• ქ — like “k” in “kite” (with breath)

Guttural Sounds (ღ, ხ)

These come from the back of the throat:

• ხ — like the “ch” in German “Bach” or Scottish “loch”
• ღ — similar to French “r” or the gargling sound

The Unique ყ

The letter ყ is often considered the hardest Georgian sound for foreigners. It’s an ejective sound produced deep in the throat — almost like a sharp cough combined with a “k”.

Practice word: ყავა (q’ava) — coffee ☕

Learning Tips

1. Group similar-looking letters

Some Georgian letters look similar. Learn them together to avoid confusion:

Round letters: ა, ბ, დ, ვ, მ, ო, რ, ს Letters with tails: გ, ე, თ, ი, კ, ლ, ნ, პ, ტ, ფ, ქ, ყ, შ, ც, ძ, წ, ჭ, ხ, ჯ

2. Learn through real words

Don’t just memorize the alphabet — learn it through words you’ll actually use:

• გამარჯობა (gamarjoba) — hello
• მადლობა (madloba) — thank you
• კარგი (kargi) — good/okay
• დიახ (diakh) — yes
• არა (ara) — no

3. Practice writing

Georgian letters have a specific stroke order. Writing them helps cement the shapes in your memory. Start with the vowels, then add consonants gradually.

4. Use our Alphabet Video

We created a free video that teaches all 33 letters through Georgian street signs and familiar words. It’s the fastest way to learn — watch it on YouTube.

Reading Practice

Once you know the letters, try reading these common signs you’ll see in Tbilisi:

Georgian	Transliteration	Meaning
რესტორანი	restoran-i	restaurant
აფთიაქი	aptiaki	pharmacy
მეტრო	metro	metro
ბანკი	bank-i	bank
მარკეტი	market-i	market
ტაქსი	taksi	taxi
კაფე	kape	café
ჰოტელი	hoteli	hotel

Notice: Many loan words from English are almost the same in Georgian — just written in Georgian letters!

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mixing up similar letters

• ვ (v) vs კ (k) — look similar but sound completely different
• ო (o) vs ბ (b) — the tails differ
• რ (r) vs ყ (q’) — very different sounds!

Forgetting the 5 vowels

Every syllable in Georgian has a vowel. If you’re struggling to read a word, make sure you’ve identified all the vowels first.

Pronouncing ejectives like English consonants

კ is not the same as English “k”. Practice the ejective versions — they’re crucial for being understood.

Alphabet Pronunciation Audio

Want to hear how each letter sounds? Our Audio Course includes pronunciation drills for every letter and common sound combinations.

Summary: The Georgian Alphabet

• 33 letters — 5 vowels, 28 consonants
• Fully phonetic — each letter = one sound
• No capitals — Georgian doesn’t have uppercase
• Unique features — ejective consonants, guttural sounds
• Learnable — most people master reading in 1-2 weeks

The Georgian alphabet is beautiful, logical, and absolutely learnable. Once you can read it, you’ve unlocked access to one of the world’s most unique languages.

გაგიმარჯოთ! (Good luck!)

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Related Guides

• Georgian Verbs: A Beginner’s Guide — Next step after the alphabet
• Essential Georgian Phrases — Start speaking immediately
• Is Georgian Hard to Learn? — Honest assessment