Ը ը — yt
«yt» is a vowel of Armenian, the “Armenian alphabet” script, read as “uh (the schwa)”. A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English 'sofa'. The Armenian alphabet has 40 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It is also the Armenian article: -ը grows onto the end of a word. It appears, for example, in the word “Իմ անունը ... է” — my name is.
In short
| Character | Ը ը |
| Name | yt |
| Sound | uh (the schwa) |
| What it is | a vowel |
In our course the character comes 16th of 40: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are է and օ, appears in 229 words of this site.
How it sounds
A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English 'sofa'
The character in the “vowels” group
Eight signs. Two of them — ե and ո — are read with a y-glide and a v at the start of a word: Ես reads 'yes', Ոչ reads 'voch'. And ը is a fleeting murmur that in writing is often not written at all.
Words with this character
- Իմ անունը ... էim anunə ... emy name is
- Ի՞նչ է քո անունըinch e k'o anunəwhat is your name?
- Հաշիվը, խնդրեմhashivə, khndremthe check, please
- Ինըinənine
- Տասըtasəten
- Վաղըvaghətomorrow
- Ընկերənkerfriend
- Ընտանիքəntanik'family
- Ընդամենըəndamenəjust
- Ընտրելəntrelto choose
- Օրը երկու անգամorə yerku angamtwice a day
- Ժամը քանիսի՞նzhamə k'anisinat what time?
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound, see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 40 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Armenian character ը read?
As “uh (the schwa)” — it is a vowel of the “Armenian alphabet” script. A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English 'sofa'.
What is the letter ը called?
Yt. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Armenian script: it is called “yt” and reads as “uh (the schwa)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ը be confused with?
It is also the Armenian article: -ը grows onto the end of a word. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.