A buzz, a puff, a crisp stop

Meet zen, tan, kan, las and practise telling them apart.

Read from left to right

These lessons use Mkhedruli, the everyday Georgian script. Each letter keeps its identity wherever it appears in a word; there are no Arabic-style joining forms. Mtavruli capitals appear in headings and emphasis, but everyday Georgian does not capitalise the first letter of a sentence.

zen

Zen makes z, as in zoo. Its sound has a buzz; san ს has no buzz.

ზ

zen

tan

Tan is t with a puff of air. Compare თ ტ დ: airy t, ejective t, voiced d.

თ

tan

kan

Kan is an ejective k, made with a brief throat closure. It is different from airy ქ.

კ

kan

las

Las makes l. Compare ლ დ ღ and notice where each arch opens.

ლ

las