LingoflyԱշխատասեր, շատախոս, անտարբեր: what character is made of
Almost every word for a character trait is a simple root plus one tail. See the seam once and you can guess a new word at first sight. For example: “Աշխատասեր (ashkhataser) և համբերատար (hamberatar) մարդ (mard) է” — He is a hard-working and patient person. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Almost every word for a character trait is a simple root plus one tail. See the seam once and you can guess a new word at first sight.
-սեր (-ser) means 'fond of': աշխատասեր (ashkhataser) hard-working, գրքասեր a book lover, հյուրասեր hospitable.
-խոս means 'speaking': շատախոս (shatakhos) talkative, դասախոս (dasakhos) a lecturer, բարձրախոս (bardzrakhos) a loudspeaker.
The prefix ան- is 'un-': անտարբեր (antarber) indifferent, անվճար (anvchar) free of charge. The trap: ան- only negates names of things. A verb is negated by չ- — չի (chi) հասկանում (haskanum) (chi haskanum), never 'անհասկանում'.
Table
| Tail | Meaning | From | What came out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -սեր | loving | աշխատանք (ashkhatank') — work | աշխատասեր (ashkhataser) — hard-working |
| -խոս | speaking | շատ (shat) — much | շատախոս (shatakhos) — talkative |
| -տար | carrying | հոգ — care | հոգատար (hogatar) — caring |
| -ելի | such that it can be done | վստահել (vstahel) — to trust | վստահելի (vstaheli) — reliable |
| -ալի | such that it can be done | ձանձրանալ — to be bored | ձանձրալի (dzandzrali) — boring |
| -ված | the one made so | ցրել — to scatter | ցրված (tsrvats) — absent-minded |
| ան- (in front) | un-, non- | տարբեր (tarber) — different | անտարբեր (antarber) — indifferent |
| չ- (on the verb) | not | հասկանում (haskanum) է | չի (chi) հասկանում (haskanum) — does not understand |
By example
- ashkhataser yev hamberatar mard eHe is a hard-working and patient person
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
what character is made of: how does it work in Armenian?
Almost every word for a character trait is a simple root plus one tail. See the seam once and you can guess a new word at first sight.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Աշխատասեր (ashkhataser) և համբերատար (hamberatar) մարդ (mard) է” (ashkhataser yev hamberatar mard e) — He is a hard-working and patient person. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.