The Georgian language is rich in idioms and sayings. Some of them have a meaning behind it, but some are just a saying that derived from an everyday life of the locals since the existence of the country. When translated into English, those idioms sound funny and might seem that they don’t make much of the scene. However, they are an integral part of local. So, if you’d like to talk a bit like them when visiting the country, we prepared some of the most common sayings you can master beforehand.
რას აიტკიე აუტკივარი თავი – Ras Aitkie Autkivari Tavi
This one is a bit hard to translate and sounds like ‘Why did you cause your head to ache when it wasn’t hurting?’ Georgian’s use it describing a situation when a person gets himself or herself into a challenging situation.
თავში ქვა გიხლია – Tavshi Qva Gikhlia
When a friend, relative, or a family member doesn’t take into consideration an advice given, a person giving an advice would say ‘hit your head with a stone’, meaning ‘you can do whatever, I don’t care anymore’.
კოვზის ნაწარში ჩაგდება – Kovzis Natsarshi Chagdeba
Translated as ‘to drop a spoon in ashes’, the saying is used when a certain plan fails, or when someone is disappointed with the outcome.
დაიკიდე – Daikide
This is a slang, used in every other word by many youngsters. Translated as ‘to hang it [ on your balls]’ the saying means ‘don’t worry’, or ‘don’t pay too much of an attention to it’.
ვირზე შეჯდომა – Virze Shejdoma
‘To sit on a donkey’ saying describes a very stubborn person, who doesn’t take any advice and does whatever he or she thinks is the best choice.
შვიდი პარასკევი გაქვს დღეში – Shvidi Paraskevi Gaqvs Dgeshi
‘To have seven Fridays in a day’ describes a person who is very undecided and changes his or her frequently.
მარცხენა ფეხზე ავდექი – Martskhena Pekhze Avdeki
When someone has a bad day, they say ‘I got up on a left leg’.
ყვავი ჩხიკვის მამიდა – Kvavi Ckhikvis Mamida
Georgians have a saying that describes a very far relative, the one they don’t even know in person. The direct translation of the saying would be ‘Raven is an aunt of a Jay’.
დაბალი ღობე – Dabali Ghobe
‘To be a low fence’ expression describes a person who is often a subject of bullying or various pranks from friends.
შენს პირს შაქარი – Shens Pirs Shaqari
Shens Pirs Shaqari, or ‘Sugar to your mouth’ is one of the most used idioms. It’s used as an answer to good news or expressing a hope that a particular situation gets better. The idiom is believed to originate from the fact that a person would give a messenger sweets when delivering good news.
არც მწვადი დაწვა არც შამფური – Arts Mtsvadi Datsva Arc Shampuri
‘He didn’t burn Mtsvadi (BBQ meat skewers) nor the skewer’ describes a person who managed to do something without hurting anyone’s feelings.
ბედი კარზე მომდგომია – Bedi Karze Momdgomia
Georgians are big believers of faith. They even have a special day dedicated to it – January 2. Therefore, there are several idioms around the topic. This one ‘the faith is at my doorstep’ means that something very pleasant happened to a person.
ბუზების თვლა – Buzebis Tvla
Translated as ‘to count flyes’ is often used when someone is doing nothing, just sitting or laying around, when others are busy preparing something.
გველის ხვრელში გასვლა – Gvelis Khvrelshi Gasvla
‘To pass through a whole of a snake” describes a person who is determined to do anything and overcome challenges in order to get what he or she desires.
გრძელი ენა – Grzeli Ena
‘To have a long thought’ is another characteristic saying describing a person who likes to talk a lot and tells everything to everyone, even things she or he was asked to keep private.
ენაზე კბილის დაჭერა – Enaze Kbilis Dachera
‘To put your teeth on your tongue’ is used when stopping someone from saying something unnecessary.
ენის წვერზე ადგას – Enis Tsverze Adgas
When you can’t remember a name of someone or something, you can say: ‘It’s on a tip of my tongue’.
ზღვაში წვეთი – Zgvashi Tsveti
There’s the same idiom in English ‘a drop in an ocean’, but for Georgians, it’s a ‘drop in the sea’.
იხტიბარს არ იტეხს – Ikhtibars Ar Itekhs
The idiom describes a situation when a person doesn’t lose a hope.
კალაპოტიდან ამოვარდნა – Kalapotidan Amovardna
‘To come out of the river-bed’ describes a situation when someone has a whole day or week planned out and something changes.
კაცია და გუნება – Katsia Da Guneba
The direct translation of this saying would be ‘a man and a mood’ meaning that every person has its own character and opinion to do something he or she thinks is the right choice.
ორ ცეცხლშუა ჩავარდნა – Or Tsetskhlshua Chavardna
‘To be in between two fires’ means to be in a hopeless or desperate situation in need to make a tough choice.
შენს პირში ჩემი მტერი ჩავარდეს – Shens Pirshi Chemi Mteri Chavardes
Translated as ‘my enemy should be dropped in your mouth’, means to become a subject of someone’s gossip.
აქ ყოფილა ძაღლის თავი დამრხული – Aq Kopila Dzaglis Tavi Damarkhuli
‘This is where the dog’s head was buried’ describes a situation when a person finds out a cause or truth for a certain situation.
სახტად დარჩენა – Sakhtad Darchena
The saying is used when a person is surprised by the conversation, or someone told him or her something that made him or her speechless.
გავიდა გაღმა, მარილზე – Gavida Gaghma, Marilze
‘To walk beyond, on salt’ is the direct translation meaning a person died.
ორშაბათიც ხომ შაბათია – Orshabatits Khom Shabatia
‘Monday is also a Saturday’ used very often to describe a situation of an unemployed person who doesn’t really care if it’s a Monday, Thursday or Saturday.
