Georgian words, one at a time
Nakhvamdis: the Georgian “goodbye” that promises a next meeting.
ნახვამდის (nakhvamdis) is the standard Georgian goodbye. Its parts — nakhva, “seeing”, plus -mdis, “until” — literally say “until we see each other”.
What nakhvamdis means.
ნახვამდის is the everyday way to say goodbye: leaving a shop, ending a phone call, parting with friends. It is neutral and polite, and works in any situation.
The word itself carries a promise: it is built from ნახვა (nakhva), “seeing”, and the ending -მდის (-mdis), “until” — so it means “until the seeing”, the same idea as “see you”.
How to pronounce nakhvamdis.
- Four syllables: na-KHVAM-dis, with a light stress on “khvam”.
- ხ is the “kh” of Scottish loch — and here it runs straight into the “v”: khv.
- Every letter is pronounced: Georgian spelling is almost perfectly phonetic.
Hearing it beats reading about it: the free Phonetics course in tqvi lets you hear Georgian words in two voices, at normal and careful speed.
How to reply to nakhvamdis.
Say ნახვამდის back — an echo is the normal reply. Among friends you will also hear კარგად (kargad), “all right, take care”, used as a casual bye.
A more formal farewell is მშვიდობით (mshvidobit), “in peace” — the tone of ceremonies and announcements rather than shop counters.
The words that come next.
- გამარჯობა (gamarjoba) — “hello”
- მადლობა (madloba) — “thank you”
- როგორ ხარ? (rogor khar?) — “how are you?”
tqvi teaches Georgian one sentence at a time, building on what you already understand — from hello to goodbye and everything between. Courses run A1 through B1, in English or Russian, and the first 10 lessons are free.
Nakhvamdis: common questions
What does nakhvamdis mean?
Nakhvamdis (ნახვამდის) means “goodbye” in Georgian. Literally it is “until the seeing” — nakhva, “seeing”, plus -mdis, “until” — like “see you”.
How do you pronounce nakhvamdis?
Na-KHVAM-dis: four syllables with a light stress on “khvam”. The ხ is the “kh” of Scottish “loch”, pronounced together with the following v.
How do you reply to nakhvamdis?
Say nakhvamdis back — that is the standard reply. Casually, Georgians also say კარგად (kargad), “all right, take care”.
Is nakhvamdis formal or informal?
It is neutral: correct with friends, strangers and officials alike. For a more formal or ceremonial farewell, Georgians use მშვიდობით (mshvidobit), “in peace”.
What is nakhvamdis in Georgian writing?
ნახვამდის, written in the Mkhedruli alphabet. The Latin spelling “nakhvamdis” is the common way to type it in chats without a Georgian keyboard.
Goodbye is just
“until the seeing”.
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