Georgian distinguishes between aspirated and non-aspirated (ejective) consonants. An aspirated consonant is accompanied by a puff of air when you say it. In Georgian, there is even more of a "puff" of air for aspirated consonants than you would hear in English.
A non-aspirated consonant in Georgian, however, actually contains no puff of air whatsoever. Georgians close the back of their throat, similar to what you do before you cough or the closed throat moment between uh and oh in "uh-oh." They then pronounce the non-aspirated consonants without any exhalation at all. Don't worry if you have trouble producing this type of sound, though, in context you will be understood! Non-aspirated consonants are marked above with an apostrophe.
| Georgian Aspirated & Non-Aspirated Consonants | |||||
| English approximation | t | p | k | ch | ts |
| Aspirated consonant | თ | ფ | ქ | ჩ | ც |
| Non-aspirated consonant | ტ | პ | კ | ჭ | წ |
Finally, the Georgian letter ყ is difficult for most Westerners to pronounce. It is similar to the Arabic "qaf" (ﻕ). To pronounce this letter, try to pronounce the English letter k, only way down at the bottom of your throat. The Georgian ყ is non-aspirated.