გამარჯობა, როგორ ხარ?
gamarjoba, rogor khar?
To say "hello how are you" in Georgian, use გამარჯობა, როგორ ხარ? (gamarjoba, rogor khar?)
The phrase is a common greeting used to say hello and ask about someone's well-being. The first part, გამარჯობა, is the most common way to say hello in Georgian.
What does it mean word for word?
The greeting გამარჯობა is derived from the word for "victory" or "success".
Which one should you use?
The term ხარ in the phrase is the second-person singular form of the verb "to be", used for friends or children. If you are addressing more than one person, or if you want to be more polite, you should use the form როგორ ხართ? instead of როგორ ხარ?
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing a group or using a polite register, change the singular verb ხარ to the plural/polite form ხართ?
How do you pronounce it?
gamarjoba, rogor khar?
When do people say it?
When someone asks how you are, a common response is კარგად, meaning "well". You can also say Madloba, kargad! to mean "Thank you, I'm fine!" or Dzalian kargad to say "I'm very well".
Did you know?
- In Georgian culture, the greeting გამარჯობა is more than a simple 'hello' as it echoes the country's long history of constant defense and struggle for survival.
- In highly traditional settings, a greeting like გამარჯობა may be accompanied by a toast, as the idea of 'victory' is central to the 'supra' or traditional feast.
- While გამარჯობა means 'victory', the word for 'goodbye', წარმატებები, translates to 'successes'. This creates a linguistic pair where you greet someone with a win and send them off with a wish for future progress.
Example conversation
Giorgi and Nino meet on the street.
- ნინო Ninoგამარჯობა, როგორ ხარ?gamarjoba, rogor khar?Hello, how are you?
- გიორგი Giorgiკარგად ვარ, გმადლობ!kargad var, gmadlob!I am well, thank you!
- ნინო Ninoმიხარია, რომ კარგად ხარ.mikharia, rom kargad khar.I am glad that you are well.
- გიორგი Giorgiშენც კარგად ხარ?shents kargad khar?Are you well too?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries გამარჯობა, CC BY-SA 4.0.
