Understanding Postpositions in Georgian

In Georgian, relationships that are often expressed with prepositions in English, like "in," "on," "with," or "to," are usually expressed with postpositions. Postpositions come after the noun, not before it.

In this chapter, you will see how some of the most common postpositions work, and how they combine with basic cases that you already know or will soon learn more deeply.

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What is a Postposition?

In English:

• in the house
• with my friend
• to Tbilisi

In Georgian, the equivalent words usually come after the noun:

• სახლში ში (literally "house in")
• ჩემს მეგობართან თან (literally "my friend with")
• თბილისში (literally "Tbilisi in")

Many of these are not written as separate words. They are suffixes that attach to the noun.

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Postpositions of Location: “In,” “At,” “On”

Postposition **-ში** “in, inside, at”

The ending -ში often corresponds to English "in" or "at."

Examples:

Example sentences:

• მე ვარ სახლში.
  me var sakhlshi
  "I am at home."
• ის სწავლობს უნივერსიტეტში.
  is sts'avlobs universit'etshi
  "He / she studies at university."
• ბავშვები არიან ეზოში.
  bavshvebi arian ezoši
  "The children are in the yard."

Notice that English can use both "in" and "at," but Georgian mostly uses the same -ში form for many static locations.

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Postposition **-ზე** “on, about, at”

The ending -ზე usually means "on" or "onto," but also "about" or even "at" in some expressions.

Physical location:

Sentences:

• წიგნი დევს მაგიდაზე.
  tsigni devs magidaze
  "The book is on the table."
• კატა ზის სკამზე.
  kata zis skamze
  "The cat sits on the chair."

Topic "about":

• ლაპარაკობენ ფილმზე.
  lap'arak'oben pilmze
  "They talk about the film."
• ვწერ წიგნზე.
  vts'er tsignze
  "I am writing about a book."

Some fixed expressions:

• შვებულებაზე ვარ.
  shvebulebaze var
  "I am on vacation."

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Postposition **-იდან / -დან** “from, out of”

The endings -დან and -იდან express "from" a place or "from within." The exact form depends on the noun, but as a beginner you can simply learn the combined forms.

Examples:

Sentences:

• მე მოვდივარ სახლიდან.
  me movdivar sakhlidan
  "I am coming from home."
• ის მოდის უნივერსიტეტიდან.
  is modis universit'etidan
  "He / she comes from the university."
• ავტობუსი მოდის ქალაქიდან.
  avt'obusi modis kalakidan
  "The bus comes from the city."

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Putting location postpositions together

Compare:

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Postposition “With”: **თან**

The idea of "with someone" is often expressed with თან, attached to a noun in a special form.

At beginner level, focus on learning the complete forms.

Common patterns:

Sentences:

• მე ვარ დედასთან.
  me var dedastan
  "I am with my mother."
• ის არის მეგობართან.
  is aris megobartan
  "He / she is with a friend."
• ბავშვები არიან ბებიასთან.
  bavshvebi arian bebiastan
  "The children are with grandmother."

To say "with something" in a more instrumental sense, Georgian often uses different structures that you will meet later. For people, თან forms like "მეგობართან" are very common.

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Basic Goal / Direction: **კენ** and **კენით**

You will often see კენ or კენით with motion verbs like "go" or "come." At this level you only need a basic feel.

Meaning: "toward, in the direction of"

Sentences:

• მანქანა მიდის თბილისისკენ.
  manqana midis t'bilisk'en
  "The car goes toward Tbilisi."
• ვირბენთ სახლისკენ.
  virbent sakhlisk'en
  "We run toward the house."

You can understand კენ as "in the direction of." You do not need to form it yourself perfectly yet, just recognize it.

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Basic Movement “To”: **კენ** vs **ში / ზე**

For many everyday expressions of "going to" a place, Georgian uses postpositions of location with motion verbs, not a separate word like "to."

Compare:

Here -ში is used with a motion verb to express "to." So:

• სკოლაში მივდივარ.
  sk'olashi mivdivar
  "I am going to school."

For more specific "toward" direction, you can meet კენ:

• სახლისკენ მივდივარ.
  sakhlisk'en mivdivar
  "I am going toward the house."

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Time Expressions With Postpositions

Some postpositions are used in time expressions. At beginner level you can learn a few very frequent ones.

Postposition **-ზე** for time

-ზე can be used with days and parts of the day.

Common pattern for fixed arrangements or planned time:

• ორშაბათზე ვმუშაობ.
  orshabatze vmushaob
  "I work on Monday."
• შაბათზე თავისუფალი ვარ.
  shabatze tavisupali var
  "I am free on Saturday."

You will also see forms without -ზე like ორშაბათს. For now, just recognize -ზე as one way to mark a day as a time expression.

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Combining Postpositions in Simple Sentences

Here are some simple patterns that combine postpositions with basic verbs.

Pattern 1: Location with “to be”

Structure:
Noun + postposition + form of "to be"

Examples:

• მე ვარ სახლში.
  me var sakhlshi
  "I am at home."
• ის არის უნივერსიტეტში.
  is aris universit'etshi
  "He / she is at university."
• ჩვენ ვართ მაგიდასთან.
  chven vart magidastan
  "We are at the table."
  (Note the different postposition, "თან," here as part of a fixed phrase.)
• წიგნი არის თაროზე.
  tsigni aris taroze
  "The book is on the shelf."

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Pattern 2: Movement “from” a place

Structure:
Noun + (-დან / -იდან) + movement verb

Examples:

• ის მოდის სკოლიდან.
  is modis sk'olidan
  "He / she comes from school."
• მე მოვდივარ სახლიდან.
  me movdivar sakhlidan
  "I am coming from home."
• ავტობუსი მოდის ქალაქიდან.
  avt'obusi modis kalakidan
  "The bus comes from the city."

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Pattern 3: “With someone” and “talk about something”

With someone:

• მე ვარ მეგობართან.
  me var megobartan
  "I am with a friend."
• ის მიდის მასწავლებელთან.
  is midis mas-ts'avlebel-tan
  "He / she is going to the teacher."

About something (using -ზე):

• ისინი ლაპარაკობენ წიგნზე.
  isini lap'arak'oben tsignze
  "They talk about the book."
• ვსაუბრობთ ფილმზე.
  vsaubrob't pilmze
  "We talk about the film."

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Mini Dialogues with Postpositions

Read and analyze these short dialogues. Notice the postpositions and how they link to places, people, and times.

Dialogue 1: Where are you?

A: შენ სად ხარ?
shen sad khar?
"Where are you?"

B: სახლში ვარ.
sakhlshi var
"I am at home."

A: დედა სად არის?
deda sad aris?
"Where is mother?"

B: ის არის სამსახურში.
is aris samuskrushi
"She is at work."

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Dialogue 2: Where are you going?

A: სად მიდიხარ ახლა?
sad midikhar akhla?
"Where are you going now?"

B: სკოლაში მივდივარ.
sk'olashi mivdivar
"I am going to school."

A: მეგობართან?
megobartan?
"To your friend?"

B: არა, მასწავლებელთან.
ara, mas-ts'avlebel-tan
"No, to the teacher."

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Dialogue 3: Coming from, talking about

A: საიდან მოდიხარ?
saidin modikhar?
"Where are you coming from?"

B: უნივერსიტეტიდან მოვდივარ.
universit'etidan movdivar
"I am coming from university."

A: რაზე ლაპარაკობ მეგობართან?
raze lap'arak'ob megobartan?
"What are you talking about with your friend?"

B: ფილმზე და წიგნზე.
pilmze da tsignze
"About a film and about a book."

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Practice Ideas

Here are some practical ideas to practice postpositions:

1. Place labels:
   Choose objects around you and make pairs:
• მაგიდაზე / მაგიდიდან
• სკამზე / სკამიდან
• ოთახში / ოთახიდან
2. Where am I now?:
   Make your own sentences:
• ახლა ვარ ___ში.
• ახლა ვარ ___ზე.
• ახლა ვარ ___თან.
3. From where, to where:
   Create movement sentences:
• მოვდივარ ___იდან.
• მივდივარ ___ში.
• მივდივარ ___კენ.

Try with "home," "school," "city," "university," "friend," "mother," etc.

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New Vocabulary for This Chapter

Below is a list of useful words and forms that appear in this chapter. Forms are given in a simple dictionary style or in common postpositional combinations.

These words and patterns will help you recognize and begin to use postpositions in simple Georgian sentences.

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