Nature and animals in Georgian
14 words
მზეmze— sun
mmm… zzz: You lie in the warm SUN, sigh “MMM…”, and doze off: “ZZZ.” MMM + ZZZ + e = M-Z-E, the sun.
ზღვაzghva— sea
guava: A lone GUAVA bobs on the open SEA. Buzz a z in front: z-GHVA. (ღ is a throaty, French-style gh.)
მთაmta— mountain
mountain: Squeeze the vowels out of MounTAin and you get M-TA. Georgian skips the climb in the middle and goes straight for the peak.
წვიმაts'vima— rain
swim: So much RAIN that you have to SWIM to work: ts'-VIM-a.
ძაღლიdzaghli— dog
zigzag: A muddy DOG tears across the park, ZIG-ZAG, ZIG-ZAG, ears flying: dz-AGH-li, dz-AGH-li!
კატაk'at'a— cat
cat: You almost know this one: K'AT'-a, cat with an extra -a. Both consonants are clipped, a little click on each: k'a-t'a.
ცაtsa— sky
pizza: A PIZZA spins across the SKY like a flying saucer, cheese trailing behind it: piz-TSA!
თოვლიtovli— snow
towel: Straight out of the sauna in just a TOWEL, you dive into fresh snow: TOV-li — snow.
ტყეt'q'e— forest
ticks: Hiking through the forest, you check your socks for TICKs: T'Q'E, two sharp clicks — forest.
ხეkhe— tree
heh: The wind tickles its leaves and the old TREE chuckles: “KHE-heh!” Say the kh harsh, like clearing your throat: khe.
მდინარეmdinare— river
dinner: Your DINNER floats away down the RIVER on a little raft, plate and all: m-DINAR-e.
ამინდიamindi— weather
mind: Your phone keeps nagging: “MIND the WEATHER! MIND the WEATHER!” So you grab an umbrella: a-MIND-i.
მთვარეmtvare— moon
ცხენიtskheni— horse
skinny: A long, SKINNY HORSE pokes its head through your kitchen window: ts-KHE-ni. Start with “ts”, then a harsh kh.
Read them yourself
Learn the 33 letters first, in one or two evenings. Then the app teaches these words, each read letter by letter, and brings each one back just before you would forget it.