Georgian uses postpositions instead of prepositions to express location, direction, and relationships between words.

This means words like “in”, “on”, and “with” attach directly to the end of a noun.

Understanding how these suffixes work is a huge step toward building basic sentences.

I’ll explain the most common Georgian postpositions and the simple grammar rules required to use them correctly.

What are Georgian postpositions?

English relies heavily on prepositions.

The prefix pre- means “before”, so these words always come before the noun they modify.

Georgian has postpositions, meaning they’re placed after the noun.

Instead of writing them as separate words, Georgian postpositions attach directly to the end of the noun as a suffix.

They also interact directly with Georgian noun cases.

When you attach a postposition, the noun must be conjugated into a specific case.

Sometimes the final letter of that case marker drops off to make pronunciation easier.

Postpositions taking the dative case

The dative case in Georgian usually ends with the letter -ს (-s).

When you attach the postpositions -ში (-shi), -ზე (-ze), or -თან (-tan) to a noun, the final -ს of the dative case is dropped.

The postposition -ში (-shi)

This postposition means “in” or “inside”.

Let’s take the word ქალაქი (kalaki), which means “city”.

The stem of the word is ქალაქ (kalak).

In the dative case, it becomes ქალაქს (kalaks).

We drop the final -ს and add -ში, leaving us with ქალაქში (kalakshi).

The postposition -ზე (-ze)

This postposition translates to “on” or “about”.

Let’s use the word მაგიდა (magida), meaning “table”.

The dative form is მაგიდას (magidas).

After dropping the -ს and adding -ზე, we get მაგიდაზე (magidaze).

The postposition -თან (-tan)

This postposition means “with” (when referring to a person), “near”, or “at someone’s place”.

Take the word მეგობარი (megobari), which means “friend”.

The dative stem becomes მეგობარს (megobars).

We drop the -ს and attach -თან to form მეგობართან (megobartan).

Postpositions taking the genitive case

The genitive case in Georgian expresses possession and usually ends in -ის (-is) or -ს (-s).

Certain postpositions require the noun to be in this exact case before attaching.

The postposition -თვის (-tvis)

This suffix means “for”.

Unlike the dative postpositions, -თვის (-tvis) attaches directly to the full genitive case word without dropping any letters.

Let’s use the name გიორგი (Giorgi).

The genitive form is გიორგის (Giorgis).

You simply add -თვის to the end, resulting in გიორგისთვის (Giorgistvis).

The postposition -დან (-dan)

This postposition means “from”.

It requires the genitive case, but the final -ს (-s) is dropped before attaching the suffix.

Let’s use the word სკოლა (skola), meaning “school”.

The genitive form is სკოლის (skolis).

We drop the -ს and add -დან, giving us სკოლიდან (skolidan).

Postpositions taking the adverbial case

The adverbial case usually ends in -ად (-ad) or -დ (-d).

It expresses transformation, destination, or a state of being.

The postposition -მდე (-mde)

This postposition translates to “up to”, “until”, or “as far as”.

It requires the adverbial case, but drops the final -დ (-d) before attaching.

Take the word სახლი (sakhli), meaning “house”.

The adverbial form is სახლად (sakhlad).

Drop the final -დ and add -მდე to get სახლამდე (sakhlamde).

Summary of common postpositions

Here’s a simple reference table showing the most common Georgian postpositions, their required cases, and examples.