Modern Georgian · Mkhedruli

Georgian alphabet

Learn all 33 modern Georgian letters, compare similar shapes, and start reading small words. Continue with A1–A2 written practice in reading, vocabulary and grammar.

Mkhedruli is the everyday script. Its 33 letters keep their identity throughout a word. Mtavruli capitals appear in headings and emphasis, rather than at the start of ordinary sentences.

Georgian letters in alphabetic order
#	Letter	Name	Sound & recognition cue
1	ა	an	An is the vowel a, like the a in father.
2	ბ	ban	Ban makes b. Compare its tall stem with the shorter vin: ბ ვ.
3	გ	gan	Gan makes a hard g, as in go; never the g in giant.
4	დ	don	Don makes d. Compare the closed parts of დ with the open arches of ლ.
5	ე	en	En makes a short e, approximately the vowel in bed.
6	ვ	vin	Vin makes v. Compare ვ კ პ: follow each curve all the way to its end.
7	ზ	zen	Zen makes z, as in zoo. Its sound has a buzz; san ს has no buzz.
8	თ	tan	Tan is t with a puff of air. Compare თ ტ დ: airy t, ejective t, voiced d.
9	ი	in	In makes ee, as in see. Keep it a single vowel, not English eye.
10	კ	kan	Kan is an ejective k, made with a brief throat closure. It is different from airy ქ.
11	ლ	las	Las makes l. Compare ლ დ ღ and notice where each arch opens.
12	მ	man	Man makes m. Compare მ ნ: look at the whole outline, not just the round part.
13	ნ	nar	Nar makes n. Compare ნ მ and trace the upright part before guessing.
14	ო	on	On makes a single rounded o, without the glide at the end of English go.
15	პ	par	Par is ejective p. Compare პ ფ ბ: ejective p, airy p, voiced b.
16	ჟ	zhan	Zhan is the sound in the middle of measure. It is the voiced partner of shin შ.
17	რ	rae	Rae makes a tongue-tip r, often a tap or a short trill, rather than English r.
18	ს	san	San makes s, as in sun. Compare ს ხ: khan has a crossing in its outline.
19	ტ	tar	Tar is ejective t. It is a separate letter from aspirated tan თ.
20	უ	un	Un makes oo, as in food. Compare უ ი: un has an extra curl.
21	ფ	phar	Phar is p with a puff of air, not English f. Georgian has no separate native letter f.
22	ქ	khar	Khar is k with a puff of air. Do not confuse it with khan ხ, the friction sound.
23	ღ	ghan	Ghan is a voiced friction sound at the back of the mouth. Compare ღ ლ დ visually.
24	ყ	qar	Qar is an ejective sound made farther back than k. English has no exact equivalent.
25	შ	shin	Shin makes sh. Compare შ ჩ ც: similar curves do not mean the same sound.
26	ჩ	chin	Chin makes ch with a puff of air. Compare ჩ ჭ ჯ: airy ch, ejective ch, voiced j.
27	ც	tsan	Tsan combines t and s with a puff of air. It is one consonant, unlike two separate letters.
28	ძ	dzil	Dzil makes dz, as at the end of adds. Compare ძ წ ჭ by tracing their lower parts.
29	წ	tsil	Tsil makes ejective ts. It is different from the airy ts of tsan ც.
30	ჭ	char	Char makes ejective ch. Compare ჭ წ ძ and look for the additional crossing.
31	ხ	khan	Khan is the friction sound in Scottish loch, not the airy k of khar ქ.
32	ჯ	jan	Jan makes j, as in jam. Compare ჯ ჩ ჭ: voiced j, airy ch, ejective ch.
33	ჰ	hae	Hae makes h, as in hat. It is lighter than khan ხ.

Letter names identify characters; DIN describes spelling, while IPA and phonetic notes describe sounds. English comparisons are approximate.

Script reference: The Unicode Standard. Practise with guided lessons →