LingoflyՇինարար, երգիչ, այգեպան: how Armenian makes a person out of a deed
Half the names of trades you need not learn at all — you can build them. Armenian makes a person out of a deed with a tail. For example: “Վաճառողը (vacharroghə), գնորդը (gnordə) և ստացողը երեք (yerek') տարբեր (tarber) մարդ (mard) են” (en) — The seller, the buyer and the receiver are three different people. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Half the names of trades you need not learn at all — you can build them. Armenian makes a person out of a deed with a tail.
-ող is 'the one doing': վաճառել (vacharrel) → վաճառող (vacharrogh) a seller, ստանալ (stanal) → ստացող (statsogh) a receiver. The tail is alive: remake almost any verb this way and you will be understood.
-իչ covers trades and devices alike: երգել (yergel) → երգիչ (yergich) a singer, նկարել (nkarel) → նկարիչ (nkarich) a painter, սուլել → սուլիչ (sulich) a whistle.
The trap: գրող (grogh) is the one who writes, գրիչ (grich) is what you write with, a pen. One tail leans to people, the other to things.
Table
| Suffix | What it does | From | What came out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ող | the one doing now | վաճառել (vacharrel) — to sell | վաճառող (vacharrogh) — seller |
| -ող | the one doing now | ստանալ (stanal) — to receive | ստացող (statsogh) — receiver |
| -իչ | a profession | երգել (yergel) — to sing | երգիչ (yergich) — singer |
| -իչ | a thing that does | սուլել — to whistle | սուլիչ (sulich) — whistle |
| -պան | the one who keeps | այգի (aygi) — garden | այգեպան (aygepan) — gardener |
| -պահ | the one who keeps | հաշիվ (hashiv) — account | հաշվապահ (hashvapah) — accountant |
| -արար | the one who makes | շին- — to build | շինարար (shinarar) — builder |
| -արան | a place of the deed | գործ (gorts) — work | գործարան (gortsaran) — factory |
| -անոց | a place of a multitude | արհեստ (arhest) — craft | արհեստանոց (arhestanots) — workshop |
By example
- Հացթուխը աշխատում է փռում, հյուսնը՝ արհեստանոցումhatst'ukhə ashkhatum e p'rrum, hyusnə — arhestanotsumThe baker works in the bakery, the carpenter in the workshop
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
how Armenian makes a person out of a deed: how does it work in Armenian?
Half the names of trades you need not learn at all — you can build them. Armenian makes a person out of a deed with a tail.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Վաճառողը (vacharroghə), գնորդը (gnordə) և ստացողը երեք (yerek') տարբեր (tarber) մարդ (mard) են” (en) (vacharroghə, gnordə yev statsoghə yerek' tarber mard en) — The seller, the buyer and the receiver are three different people. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.