Meaning
Food with too much salt.
Cultural Background
The 'In Love' Myth: If you over-salt food, Georgians will immediately ask who you are in love with. It's a cultural 'get out of jail free' card for bad cooking. Bread and Salt (Puri da Marili): This is the traditional welcome. While 'salty food' can be a complaint, 'salt' itself is a symbol of hospitality and loyalty. Svanuri Marili: This is a famous spiced salt from the mountains. If food is made with this, it's 'მარილიანი' but in a very delicious, aromatic way. Preservation: Historically, many Georgian foods (like cheeses and pickles) were heavily salted to survive the winter. Thus, 'მარილიანი საჭმელი' was often a necessity, not a mistake.
The 'Is' Suffix
Always add '-ა' to the end of 'მარილიანი' if you are making a full sentence: 'საჭმელი მარილიანია'.
Don't be too blunt
If a host asks how the food is, saying 'მარილიანია' can be rude. Add 'ცოტა' (a little) to be polite.
Meaning
Food with too much salt.
The 'Is' Suffix
Always add '-ა' to the end of 'მარილიანი' if you are making a full sentence: 'საჭმელი მარილიანია'.
Don't be too blunt
If a host asks how the food is, saying 'მარილიანია' can be rude. Add 'ცოტა' (a little) to be polite.
Svanuri Marili
If you want to sound like an expert, ask if the food has 'Svanuri Marili' (Svanetian salt).
Test Yourself
Fill in the missing adjective to say 'The food is salty.'
საჭმელი ___________.
We need the adjective with the 'is' suffix (-ა) to complete the sentence.
Which sentence means 'I don't like salty food'?
Select the correct translation:
'არ მიყვარს' means 'I don't like'.
Match the Georgian word to its English meaning.
Match the following:
These are the core components of the phrase.
Complete the dialogue in the restaurant.
Customer: ეს წვნიანი ძალიან __________. Waiter: ბოდიში, ახლავე შევცვლით.
The context of the waiter offering to change the dish implies a complaint about the taste.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Georgian Tastes
Tastes
- • მარილიანი (Salty)
- • ტკბილი (Sweet)
- • მჟავე (Sour)
- • მწარე (Spicy/Bitter)
Practice Bank
4 exercisesსაჭმელი ___________.
We need the adjective with the 'is' suffix (-ა) to complete the sentence.
Select the correct translation:
'არ მიყვარს' means 'I don't like'.
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
These are the core components of the phrase.
Customer: ეს წვნიანი ძალიან __________. Waiter: ბოდიში, ახლავე შევცვლით.
The context of the waiter offering to change the dish implies a complaint about the taste.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questionsNot necessarily. Some foods, like certain cheeses, are expected to be 'მარილიანი'. Context is key.
Use 'ზედმეტად მარილიანი' (zedmetad mariliani).
The opposite is 'უმარილო' (u-maril-o), meaning without salt.
No, you cannot call a person 'salty' in Georgian. It only applies to food.
'მლაშე' is more intense, like seawater. 'მარილიანი' is the general term for food.
Related Phrases
მლაშე
synonymBriny or very salty
უმარილო
contrastUnsalted/Bland
გადამლაშებული
specialized formOver-salted
მარილიანი ყველი
builds onSalty cheese
ნაკლებმარილიანი
specialized formLow-salt
