How to type Georgian with this keyboard
Choose a mode with the tabs on the keyboard:
- Georgian (standard): the Georgian QWERTY layout used on computers in Georgia. Your keys type Georgian right away. It is easy to learn because nearly every letter sits on the English key with a similar sound: A is ა, B is ბ, G is გ, M is მ. Seven letters need Shift, see the layout below.
- Transliteration: type Georgian in Latin letters and it turns into Georgian as you type. gamarjoba becomes გამარჯობა (hello) and madloba becomes მადლობა (thank you). Two-letter combinations make one letter (sh → შ), and an apostrophe after a consonant makes the ejective (k' → კ).
- Alphabet: all 33 letters in alphabetical order, each with its Latin spelling. Click a letter to add it. The last row has the old letters and the lari sign.
The buttons above the keyboard add Georgian punctuation and symbols: the low opening quote „ and closing quote “ used in Georgian, the lari sign ₾ and the old paragraph mark ჻. Click Old letters for ჱ ჲ ჳ ჴ ჵ ჶ ჷ. Press Esc to switch between Georgian and normal English typing.
Georgian keyboard layout (QWERTY)
This is the Georgian QWERTY layout, called "Georgian (QWERTY)" on Windows and "Georgian - QWERTY" on a Mac. It is by far the most common Georgian layout. The number row and the punctuation keys are the same as on a US keyboard. The small letter on each key is the English key in the same place.
Georgian has more letters than there are letter keys, so these are on the Shift layer, each on a key with a related sound:
| Letter | Keys | Without Shift |
|---|---|---|
| ჭ | Shift+W | წ |
| ღ | Shift+R | რ |
| თ | Shift+T | ტ |
| შ | Shift+S | ს |
| ჟ | Shift+J | ჯ |
| ძ | Shift+Z | ზ |
| ჩ | Shift+C | ც |
| ₾ | Shift+L | ლ |
On this page, Shift with any other letter key types the same Georgian letter, since Georgian has no capitals. On a real Georgian QWERTY keyboard those combinations type Latin capitals instead (Shift+Q gives Q).
Windows also has older Georgian layouts: Georgian (Legacy), based on the Georgian typewriter, and Georgian (Ergonomic), which arranges the letters by how often they are used. If you learned on a typewriter-style keyboard, those are the ones to add.
The Georgian alphabet (Mkhedruli)
Modern Georgian is written in the Mkhedruli script (მხედრული). It has 33 letters, one for each sound, so words are spelled the way they are said. The table shows each letter, its Georgian name, the official Latin spelling (the national romanization used on Georgian passports and road signs), the sound and the key on the Georgian QWERTY layout.
| Letter | Name | Latin | Sound | Key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ა | ani | a | a as in father | A |
| ბ | bani | b | b | B |
| გ | gani | g | g as in go | G |
| დ | doni | d | d | D |
| ე | eni | e | e as in bed | E |
| ვ | vini | v | v (close to w after a consonant) | V |
| ზ | zeni | z | z | Z |
| თ | tani | t | t with a puff of air, as in top | Shift+T |
| ი | ini | i | ee as in see, but short | I |
| კ | k'ani | k' | ejective k: no puff of air, a sharp pop | K |
| ლ | lasi | l | l | L |
| მ | mani | m | m | M |
| ნ | nari | n | n | N |
| ო | oni | o | o as in more, short | O |
| პ | p'ari | p' | ejective p | P |
| ჟ | zhani | zh | s in measure | Shift+J |
| რ | rae | r | a tapped r, as in Spanish | R |
| ს | sani | s | s | S |
| ტ | t'ari | t' | ejective t | T |
| უ | uni | u | oo as in food, short | U |
| ფ | pari | p | p with a puff of air, as in pot | F |
| ქ | kani | k | k with a puff of air, as in kit | Q |
| ღ | ghani | gh | a voiced sound in the throat, like a French r | Shift+R |
| ყ | q'ari | q' | ejective k made far back in the throat | Y |
| შ | shini | sh | sh | Shift+S |
| ჩ | chini | ch | ch as in church | Shift+C |
| ც | tsani | ts | ts as in cats | C |
| ძ | dzili | dz | dz as in adze | Shift+Z |
| წ | ts'ili | ts' | ejective ts | W |
| ჭ | ch'ari | ch' | ejective ch | Shift+W |
| ხ | khani | kh | ch as in Scottish loch | X |
| ჯ | jani | j | j as in jam | J |
| ჰ | hae | h | h | H |
The five vowels are ა ე ი ო უ. Stress is light and there are no accent marks, so what you see is what you say. Many online converters and older texts leave out the apostrophes, writing k for both ქ and კ, which is why this page lets you type either form of the apostrophe (' or ’).
Ejectives: k and k', t and t'
The hardest part of Georgian for English speakers is the set of ejective consonants. Each has a plain partner said with a puff of air. Mixing them up changes the word, so it matters which one you type.
| With a puff of air | Ejective | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ქ k | კ k' | ქალი (woman), კალამი (pen) |
| ფ p | პ p' | ფული (money), პური (bread) |
| თ t | ტ t' | თბილისი (Tbilisi), ტყე (forest) |
| ც ts | წ ts' | ცა (sky), წყალი (water) |
| ჩ ch | ჭ ch' | ჩაი (tea), ჭამა (eating) |
| ხ kh (and ღ gh) | ყ q' | ხე (tree), ყავა (coffee) |
Typing Georgian in Latin letters
In Transliteration mode, type these Latin letters and they turn into Georgian as you go. Capital letters are read as small ones, because Georgian has no case. The spelling follows the national romanization, the same system used for Georgian names in English: sakartvelo gives საქართველო (Georgia), ts'q'ali gives წყალი (water).
| Georgian | Type |
|---|---|
| ა ბ გ დ ე ვ ზ ი ლ მ ნ ო რ ს უ ჯ ჰ | a b g d e v z i l m n o r s u j h |
| თ / ტ | t / t' |
| ქ / კ | k / k' |
| ფ / პ | p (or f) / p' |
| ყ | q or q' |
| ც / წ | ts (or c) / ts' |
| ჩ / ჭ | ch / ch' |
| ხ | kh (or x) |
| ღ | gh |
| შ | sh |
| ჟ | zh |
| ძ | dz |
Because t and s together make ც, type the rare თს sequence with the Georgian (standard) mode or the Alphabet tab.
The lari sign ₾
The Georgian currency, the lari, has its own sign: ₾. It is based on the letter ლ (l) and was chosen by the National Bank of Georgia in 2014. Unicode added it in 2015 as U+20BE GEORGIAN LARI SIGN. On the Georgian QWERTY layout it is Shift+L. In Microsoft Word, type 20BE and press Alt+X. In HTML, use ₾. Prices are usually written with the sign after the number: 25 ₾.
Mtavruli, old letters and the three Georgian scripts
Georgian has been written in three scripts over its history. Asomtavruli (Ⴀ Ⴁ Ⴂ) is the oldest, found in inscriptions from the 5th century. Nuskhuri (ⴀ ⴁ ⴂ) was used in church manuscripts, and together the two are called Khutsuri, which the Georgian Orthodox Church still uses. Mkhedruli is the everyday script today. In 2016 UNESCO added the living culture of the three Georgian writing systems to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Mtavruli (ᲛᲗᲐᲕᲠᲣᲚᲘ) is Mkhedruli drawn as capitals, all the same height. It is used for whole words in headings, on signs and in logos, never for the first letter of a sentence. Unicode added Mtavruli in 2018 (U+1C90 to U+1CBF), but font support is still patchy: if you see boxes, your font lacks it. For normal text, use the ordinary letters this keyboard types.
A few letters of the old alphabet are no longer used for Georgian itself:
| Letter | Name | Old use |
|---|---|---|
| ჱ | he | a long e (ey) |
| ჲ | hie | a y or i sound |
| ჳ | vie | a w sound |
| ჴ | har | a q sound, separate from ხ |
| ჵ | hoe | a long o |
| ჶ | fi | f in foreign words |
| ჷ | yn | a schwa (uh), used to write Svan and Mingrelian |
ჱ ჲ ჳ ჴ ჵ fell out of use in Modern Georgian by the late 19th century. You still see them in old books and in church texts. On this keyboard they are behind the Old letters button and in the last row of the Alphabet tab.
How to add a Georgian keyboard to your device
Windows
Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Georgian (ქართული). Then click the three dots next to Georgian → Language options → Add a keyboard and choose Georgian (QWERTY), the layout shown above. Remove any other Georgian keyboard you don't want. Switch between keyboards with Windows+Space or Alt+Shift.
Mac
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Georgian, and choose Georgian - QWERTY. Switch with Control+Space or the Globe key.
iPhone and iPad
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Georgian. Tap the globe key to switch between keyboards.
Android
In Gboard, open Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Georgian (ქართული). Tap the globe key or hold the space bar to switch.
Chromebook
Settings → Device → Keyboard and inputs → Input settings → Add input methods → Georgian. Switch with Ctrl+Space.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type Georgian without a Georgian keyboard?
Use this page. In Georgian (standard) mode your keys work like a real Georgian keyboard: A types ა, B types ბ, G types გ, and so on. In Transliteration mode you type Georgian in Latin letters and it converts as you go: gamarjoba becomes გამარჯობა. Then press Copy and paste the text anywhere.
Where are ჭ, ღ, თ, შ, ჟ, ძ and ჩ on the Georgian keyboard?
They need Shift. Georgian has 33 letters but a keyboard has only 26 letter keys, so seven letters sit on the Shift layer of a related key: Shift+W is ჭ, Shift+R is ღ, Shift+T is თ, Shift+S is შ, Shift+J is ჟ, Shift+Z is ძ and Shift+C is ჩ.
How do I type the lari sign ₾?
On the Georgian QWERTY layout, press Shift+L. On this page there is also a ₾ button above the keyboard. The sign was introduced by the National Bank of Georgia in 2014 and added to Unicode as U+20BE in 2015. In Word you can type 20BE and press Alt+X.
Does Georgian have capital letters?
Not in normal writing. Modern Georgian uses one set of letters, Mkhedruli, with no capitals at the start of sentences or names. There is an all-caps style called Mtavruli (ᲒᲐᲛᲐᲠᲯᲝᲑᲐ) used for headings, signs and logos. It became part of Unicode in 2018 (version 11.0), but many fonts and apps still don't support it, so most people use ordinary letters in titles too.
What is the difference between კ and ქ, or ტ and თ?
Georgian has ejective consonants. ქ, თ, ფ, ც and ჩ are said with a puff of air, like English k, t, p, ts and ch at the start of a word. კ, ტ, პ, წ and ჭ are ejectives: said with no puff of air and a sharp pop from the throat. In Latin spelling the ejectives get an apostrophe: k', t', p', ts', ch'. ყ (q') is an ejective made further back.
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