5.4 Days of the Week

Understanding Days of the Week in Georgian

In this chapter you will learn the Georgian names of the days of the week, how they are built, and how to use them in simple phrases and sentences.

The Days of the Week: Overview

Georgian days of the week are:

All days except Friday come from numbers. You have already seen or will see Georgian numbers in more detail in other chapters, but here you can notice the pattern.

Number Pattern in the Days

Look at these words:

• ორშაბათი (orshabati)
• სამშაბათი (samshabati)
• ოთხშაბათი (otkhshabati)
• ხუთშაბათი (khutshabati)
• შაბათი (shabati)

Inside them you can recognize the Georgian words for numbers:

The second part, შაბათი (shabati), is related to Sabbath. So literally:

• ორშაბათი, "second Sabbath" → Monday
• სამშაბათი, "third Sabbath" → Tuesday
• ოთხშაბათი, "fourth Sabbath" → Wednesday
• ხუთშაბათი, "fifth Sabbath" → Thursday
• შაბათი, "Sabbath" → Saturday

Sunday, კვირა (kvira), means "week" and also "Sunday". Paraskevi is a borrowed word for Friday.

You do not need to use the numbers directly yet. Just remember that the pattern helps you recognize and memorize the words.

Capitalization and Spelling

In Georgian, days of the week are usually written with a lowercase first letter.

• ორშაბათი
• სამშაბათი
• ოთხშაბათი
• ხუთშაბათი
• პარასკევი
• შაბათი
• კვირა

In English you write "Monday", "Tuesday" and so on with capitals, but in Georgian you write them normally, like any common noun.

Using "on" with Days

In English you say "on Monday". In Georgian there is no separate preposition "on" before the day.

You simply use the day word by itself, often with the verb.

• ორშაბათს ვარ თბილისში.
  Orshabats var Tbilisshi.
  "On Monday I am in Tbilisi."

Here the ending -ს is added and gives a dative form. The case system belongs to other chapters, so here you can just remember example patterns:

• ორშაბათს მივდივარ.
  Orshabats mivdivar.
  "I am going on Monday."
• შაბათს ვმუშაობ.
  Shabats vmushaob.
  "I work on Saturday."

In very simple speech, especially in lists or in short answers, you may also see the basic form without -ს, but in full sentences you will often meet the pattern [day] + -ს.

Saying “Today”, “Tomorrow” and Days

Here are three very useful time words:

You can combine them with days of the week to give more precise information.

Example sentences:

• დღეს ორშაბათია.
  Dghes orshabatia.
  "Today is Monday."
• ხვალ სამშაბათია.
  Khval samshabatia.
  "Tomorrow is Tuesday."
• გუშინ შაბათი იყო.
  Gushin shabati iko.
  "Yesterday was Saturday."

Another combination:

• დღეს პარასკევია, ხვალ შაბათია.
  Dghes paraskevia, khval shabatia.
  "Today is Friday, tomorrow is Saturday."

Asking and Saying What Day It Is

A basic pattern to ask "What day is it today?" is:

• დღეს რა დღეა?
  Dghes ra dghea?
  "What day is today?"

Answer patterns:

• დღეს ორშაბათია.
  Dghes orshabatia.
  "Today is Monday."
• დღეს კვირაა.
  Dghes kviraa.
  "Today is Sunday."

You can also mention the day without "today":

• ორშაბათია.
  Orshabatia.
  "It is Monday."
• შაბათია.
  Shabatia.
  "It is Saturday."

The linking verb "to be" will be covered in detail in another chapter, so focus here on recognizing the pattern:

$$
\text{[Time word]} + \text{[day of the week]} + \text{forms of “to be”}
$$

For example: "დღეს + ორშაბათი + ა" → დღეს ორშაბათია.

Talking About Weekly Routines

You can combine verbs you already know, or will soon learn, with days to talk about your weekly schedule.

Typical simple patterns:

• შაბათს ვისვენებ.
  Shabats visveneb.
  "I rest on Saturday."
• კვირას ვსწავლობ.
  Kviras vstsavlob.
  "I study on Sunday."
• პარასკევს ვმუშაობ.
  Paraskevs vmushaob.
  "I work on Friday."
• ოთხშაბათს ქართულს ვსწავლობ.
  Otkhshabats kartuls vstsavlob.
  "I study Georgian on Wednesday."

Again you see the frequent pattern [day] + -ს before the verb.

You can also list several days:

• ორშაბათს და ოთხშაბათს ქართულს ვსწავლობ.
  Orshabats da otkhshabats kartuls vstsavlob.
  "On Monday and Wednesday I study Georgian."
• სამშაბათს, ხუთშაბათს და პარასკევს ვმუშაობ.
  Samshabats, khutshabats da paraskevs vmushaob.
  "I work on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday."

Weekdays and Weekend

In Georgian there is no exact everyday equivalent for "weekend" as one single word, but people often say "Saturday and Sunday" together.

• შაბათი და კვირა
  Shabati da kvira
  "Saturday and Sunday (weekend)"

Sometimes you will hear:

• სამუშაო დღეები
  samushao dghebi
  "working days, weekdays"
• დასვენების დღეები
  dasvenebis dghebi
  "rest days, days off"

Examples:

• სამუშაო დღეებში ვმუშაობ.
  Samushao dgheebshi vmushaob.
  "I work on weekdays."
• შაბათსა და კვირას ვისვენებ.
  Shabatsa da kviras visveneb.
  "I rest on Saturday and Sunday."

You do not need to master the complex case forms like დღეებში or შაბათსა yet. For now, try to recognize the day names inside.

Short Dialogues with Days of the Week

Here are some short example dialogues.

Dialogue 1

A: დღეს რა დღეა?
Dghes ra dghea?
"What day is today?"

B: დღეს სამშაბათია.
Dghes samshabatia.
"Today is Tuesday."

Dialogue 2

A: შაბათს საქართველოში ვარ.
Shabats Sakartveloshi var.
"On Saturday I am in Georgia."

B: კვირას სად ხარ?
Kviras sad khar?
"Where are you on Sunday?"

A: კვირას თბილისში ვარ.
Kviras Tbilisshi var.
"On Sunday I am in Tbilisi."

Dialogue 3

A: ორშაბათს გცალია?
Orshabats gtsalia?
"Are you free on Monday?"

B: არა, ორშაბათს ვმუშაობ.
Ara, orshabats vmushaob.
"No, I work on Monday."

A: სამშაბათს?
Samshabats?
"On Tuesday?"

B: კი, სამშაბათს თავისუფალი ვარ.
Ki, samshabats tavisupali var.
"Yes, I am free on Tuesday."

Practice Ideas

To learn the days of the week well, you can:

1. Say the list from Monday to Sunday aloud, first slowly, then faster:

ორშაბათი, სამშაბათი, ოთხშაბათი, ხუთშაბათი, პარასკევი, შაბათი, კვირა.

2. Say it backwards from Sunday to Monday.
3. Write simple sentences about your week, for example:
• ორშაბათს ქართულს ვსწავლობ.
• პარასკევს ვხედავ მეგობარს.
• შაბათს და კვირას ვისვენებ.
4. Listen to native speech or recordings and try to pick out day names.

New Vocabulary from This Chapter