Pricer and cheaper: one word, ավելի
English forces a change to the word itself — 'expensive, more expensive, the most expensive' — and at the market that slows you down: you start fiddling with the end of the Armenian adjective and get stuck. Nothing needs doing. The adjective stays as it is, and ավելի ('more') simply steps in front: թանկ → ավելի թանկ. No '-er' to hunt for, no doubling like 'big, bigger'. For example: “Այս պանիրը ավելի թանկ է” — This…
How it works
English forces a change to the word itself — 'expensive, more expensive, the most expensive' — and at the market that slows you down: you start fiddling with the end of the Armenian adjective and get stuck. Nothing needs doing. The adjective stays as it is, and ավելի ('more') simply steps in front: թանկ (t'ank) → ավելի թանկ (aveli t'ank). No '-er' to hunt for, no doubling like 'big, bigger'.
'Than' is քան (k'an), placed before the second term of the comparison: Շուկան ավելի էժան է (shukan aveli ezhan e), քան խանութը (k'an khanut'ə). In lively Yerevan speech քան is often dropped and the second noun takes the -ից ending instead: Շուկան խանութից էժան է (shukan khanut'its ezhan e) — the market is cheaper than the shop. Both are correct; the second sounds more natural.
The superlative is a prefix, ամենա-, glued on in front: ամենաթարմ հացը (amenat'arm hatsə) — the freshest bread. One piece, no space, no other changes.
Table
| Plain | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| թանկ — expensive | ավելի թանկ | ամենաթանկ |
| էժան — cheap | ավելի էժան | ամենաէժան |
| մեծ — big | ավելի մեծ | ամենամեծ |
| լավ — good | ավելի լավ | ամենալավ |
By example
- Այս պանիրը ավելի թանկ էays panirə aveli t'ank eThis cheese is more expensive
- Շուկան ավելի էժան է, քան խանութըshukan aveli ezhan e, k'an khanut'əIt's cheaper at the market than at the shop
- Սա ամենաթարմ հացն էsa amenat'arm hatsn eThis is the freshest bread
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
Pricer and cheaper: how does it work in Armenian?
English forces a change to the word itself — 'expensive, more expensive, the most expensive' — and at the market that slows you down: you start fiddling with the end of the Armenian adjective and get stuck. Nothing needs doing. The adjective stays as it is, and ավելի ('more') simply steps in front…
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Այս պանիրը ավելի թանկ է” (ays panirə aveli t'ank e) — This cheese is more expensive. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.