Georgian Alphabet Guide for Beginners

The modern Georgian alphabet has 33 letters. This chart pairs each letter with a recording from Tbilingo’s introductory course, so you can connect a new shape to a sound before trying to read whole words.

You do not need to memorize the chart in one sitting. Start with the five vowels, add a few consonants, and use the short reading exercise below. The alphabet is your starting point for the app’s vocabulary, sentence, and story lessons.

How to use the Georgian alphabet chart

The first column shows the letter used in everyday Georgian writing. The letter name helps you refer to it; the sound hint helps you begin reading. These hints are not a complete phonetic transcription. Listen to the recording instead of applying English spelling rules to them.

A raised ʰ marks an aspirated sound, with a release of air. The mark ʼ identifies an ejective consonant. Compare the recordings in the pronunciation guide to hear why those distinctions matter.

Start with five vowels

Find ა, ე, ი, ო, უ in the chart. Their reading hints are a, e, i, o, and u. Play each recording, repeat it, and then look away from the chart. Can you match the sound to its letter when you return?

On your next pass, change the order. Recognizing a letter on its own is more useful for reading than remembering where it sits in the alphabet.

Build your first words

Add მ (m), ს (s), რ (r), and ვ (v) to the vowels you know. You can now read these words from the numbers course:

Read სამი one letter at a time: ს + ა + მ + ი. Then join the sounds and check the recording. Repeat with ორი. Save რვა for a second pass: its two opening consonants take more care.

Does Georgian have capital letters?

Everyday Georgian uses Mkhedruli letters, including at the beginnings of sentences and names. Georgian also has Mtavruli capital forms, commonly used for emphasis and all-capital text. You may see them in headings and signs.

That is different from the English habit of capitalizing the first letter of every sentence. Begin with the everyday forms in this chart. See the Unicode Mkhedruli reference and Mtavruli reference for the script forms.

A short reading practice

1. Listen to the five vowels without reading their sound hints.
2. Read ორი and სამი, then check their audio.
3. Write down three letters you confused. Compare their shapes and recordings side by side.
4. Return tomorrow and try those letters before adding new ones.

When you can recognize a few words, move on to greetings with audio. You can keep learning the remaining letters while practicing words you will actually use.