~1100 hours to learn Georgian
At a glance
- FSI estimate
- ~1100 hrs
- Weeks (full-time)
- 44
- FSI category
- Category III
- Writing system
- Georgian (Mkhedruli)
The Foreign Service Institute estimates that native English speakers require approximately 1100 hours of classroom study over 44 weeks to reach Professional Working Proficiency in Georgian (ILR Speaking-3 and Reading-3 levels). These figures represent full-time, intensive study with professional instruction and assume some immersion experience.
Georgian presents moderate difficulty for English speakers due to significant linguistic distance. The language belongs to the Kartvelian family, which has no close relatives among major European languages, meaning learners cannot rely on cognates or familiar grammatical structures. Additionally, the unique Georgian script (Mkhedruli) requires separate learning, though it is relatively phonetically consistent. Self-study pursued at a casual pace typically extends the timeline considerably beyond the FSI estimate.
What makes Georgian easier or harder
FSI difficulty tracks how far a language sits from English. Georgian is in the Category III tier, written in the Georgian (Mkhedruli) script, from the Kartvelian family. A closer family and a familiar script generally mean fewer hours; a different script or grammar adds time.
Common questions
How many hours does it take to learn Georgian?
Why is Georgian rated this way?
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| FSI category | Category III |
| Canonical hours (tier) | ~1100 class hours |
| Canonical weeks (tier) | ~44 weeks full-time |
| Languages in this tier | 53 |
Who speaks Georgian
| Native speakers (L1) | 3.7M (approximate — from a per-language infobox) |
|---|---|
| Language family | Kartvelian |
| Primary regions | Georgia |
| Writing system | Georgian (Mkhedruli) |
Speaker counts, language-family and region data from Wikipedia (Ethnologue figures), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Why Georgian is rated this way → · How to approach learning Georgian → · See its difficulty tier →
Hours and weeks are the canonical FSI figures for Category III, from the US State Dept FSI list (public domain), verified June 2026. How we compile this — confirm against state.gov on an operator pass before relying on it.