A request, not an order: -եք, -իր, and the sneaky մի
'Fill in', 'wait', 'explain' — all built the same way. Cut -ել/-ալ off the verb and add -եք for polite 'you' or -իր for the familiar: սպասել → սպասեք / սպասիր. The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and never sounds like an order. For example: “Լրացրեք ձևը, խնդրեմ” — Fill in the form, please. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
'Fill in', 'wait', 'explain' — all built the same way. Cut -ել/-ալ off the verb and add -եք (-ek') for polite 'you' or -իր (-ir) for the familiar: սպասել (spasel) → սպասեք (spasek') / սպասիր (spasir). The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and never sounds like an order.
To soften it more, add խնդրեմ (khndrem) at the end or խնդրում եմ (khndrum em) at the start: Խնդրում եմ, վարպետ կանչեք (varpet kanchek'). That is the gap between 'call the mechanic' and 'please call the mechanic'.
A ban takes the particle մի (mi) before the same form: մի գրեք (mi grek'), don't write. The ear-trap: մի also means 'one', so մի րոպե (mi rope) is 'one minute', not a ban. Position decides — before a verb it is 'don't', before a noun 'one'.
Table
| Verb | You (informal) | You (polite) | Don't … |
|---|---|---|---|
| սպասել — to wait | սպասիր | սպասեք | մի սպասեք |
| կանչել — to call | կանչիր | կանչեք | մի կանչեք |
| բացել — to open | բացիր | բացեք | մի բացեք |
| գրել — to write | գրիր | գրեք | մի գրեք |
By example
- Լրացրեք ձևը, խնդրեմlratsrek' dzevə, khndremFill in the form, please
- Խնդրում եմ, նորից բացատրեքkhndrum em, norits batsatrek'Please explain it once more
- Այս դուռը մի բացեքays durrə mi batsek'Don't open this door
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
A request, not an order: how does it work in Armenian?
'Fill in', 'wait', 'explain' — all built the same way. Cut -ել/-ալ off the verb and add -եք for polite 'you' or -իր for the familiar: սպասել → սպասեք / սպասիր. The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and never sounds like an order.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Լրացրեք ձևը, խնդրեմ” (lratsrek' dzevə, khndrem) — Fill in the form, please. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.