LingoflyՇատ գիրք, մի քանի օր, մոտ հազար դրամ: exactly how many
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ (shat) գիրք (girk') is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը (tasə) տարի (tari) — ten years. Մի քանի (mi k'ani) օր (or) — a few days. For example: “Այս (ays) ամիս (amis) շատ (shat) ծախս ունեցանք” (unetsank) — This month we had a lot of expenses. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ (shat) գիրք (girk') (shat girk') is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը (tasə) տարի (tari) (tasə tari) — ten years. Մի քանի (mi k'ani) օր (or) (mi k'ani or) — a few days.
The set of such words is small: շատ (shat) many, քիչ (k'ich) few, մի քանի (mi k'ani) a few, բավական (bavakan) enough.
Ոչ մի (voch mi) means 'not a single one', and it demands չ- on the verb as well: ոչ մի (voch mi) դրամ (dram) չունեմ (chunem) (voch mi dram chunem). That is 'I haven't a single dram'.
For 'about' put մոտ (mot) in front of the number: մոտ (mot) հազար (hazar) դրամ (dram) (mot hazar dram), about a thousand drams. It is the same մոտ (mot) that means 'near'.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Careful |
|---|---|---|---|
| շատ (shat) | many, much | շատ (shat) գիրք (girk') — many books | the noun stays singular |
| քիչ (k'ich) | little, few | քիչ (k'ich) գումար (gumar) — little money | — |
| մի քանի (mi k'ani) | a few | մի քանի (mi k'ani) օր (or) — a few days | also singular |
| ոչ մի (voch mi) | not a single one | ոչ մի (voch mi) դրամ (dram) չունեմ (chunem) | the verb must carry չ- |
| բոլոր (bolor)(ը) | all — countable | բոլոր (bolor) ուսանողները (usanoghnerə) | about people and things |
| ամբողջ (amboghj) | the whole | ամբողջ օրը (amboghj orə) | about the indivisible |
| մոտ (mot) | about | մոտ (mot) հազար (hazar) դրամ (dram) | the same word as near |
| մոտավորապես (motavorapes) | approximately | մոտավորապես (motavorapes) երկու (yerku) ժամ (zham) | bookish, more precise |
| շուրջ (shurj) | in the region of | շուրջ (shurj) հիսուն (hisun) մարդ (mard) | newspaper word, rare in speech |
By example
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
exactly how many: how does it work in Armenian?
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ (shat) գիրք (girk') is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը (tasə) տարի (tari) — ten years. Մի քանի (mi k'ani) օր (or) — a few days.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Այս (ays) ամիս (amis) շատ (shat) ծախս ունեցանք” (unetsank) (ays amis shat tsakhs unetsank') — This month we had a lot of expenses. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.