Մտածողություն, չափում, դիտարկում: a noun out of a verb
The fifty-fourth unit consists almost entirely of nouns made from verbs, and that is a lucky break: Armenian makes them with two suffixes, and both are predictable. For example: “Առաջին չափումը սխալ ստացվեց” — The first measurement came out wrong. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The fifty-fourth unit consists almost entirely of nouns made from verbs, and that is a lucky break: Armenian makes them with two suffixes, and both are predictable.
-ում (-um) — the action as a process or a single act. Take the verb stem: չափել (chap'el) → չափում (a measurement), դիտարկել → դիտարկում (an observation), ստուգել (stugel) → ստուգում (a check), վրիպել → վրիպում (a miss), ձախողվել → ձախողում (a failure). A word in -ում is always countable: you can say 'three measurements', 'two observations' — unlike English -ing nouns, which avoid numbers.
-ություն — a property, a state, an abstract concept. What it attaches to is not the verb but its participle or an adjective: մտածող (thinking) → մտածողություն (thinking, as a faculty), դատող → դատողություն (reasoning), ճշգրիտ (precise) → ճշգրտություն (precision), հակասել → հակասություն (a contradiction). Such a word is usually not counted: you do not say 'two precisions'.
The difference between the two suffixes is the difference between 'a measurement as an act' and 'precision as a property'. In doubt, ask yourself whether a number can be put in front of the word: if yes — -ում, if no — -ություն.
What happens to the root. Words lose an inner vowel more often than you would expect: միտք → մտքի (mtk'i), հաշիվ (hashiv) → հաշվել (hashvel), ճշգրիտ → ճշգրտություն. It is not an exception but a rule: an unstressed ի (i) or ու (u) in the middle of the word drops out when something is attached to it.
Table
| Verb | In -ում | In -ություն |
|---|---|---|
| չափել (to measure) | չափում — a measurement | չափավորություն — moderation |
| դատել (to judge) | դատում — a trial, an act of judging | դատողություն — reasoning |
| պարզել (to clarify) | պարզում — a clarification | պարզություն — clarity |
| հակասել (to contradict) | հակասում — an act of contradicting | հակասություն — a contradiction |
By example
- Առաջին չափումը սխալ ստացվեցarrajin chap'umə skhal statsvetsThe first measurement came out wrong
- Երեխայի մտածողությունը փոխվում է տարիների հետyerekhayi mtatsoghut'yunə p'okhvum e tarineri hetA child's thinking changes with the years
- Չհասկացա նրա մտքի ընթացքըchhaskatsa nra mtk'i ənt'atsk'əI didn't follow the course of his thought
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 noun out of a verb: how does it work in Armenian?
The fifty-fourth unit consists almost entirely of nouns made from verbs, and that is a lucky break: Armenian makes them with two suffixes, and both are predictable.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Առաջին չափումը սխալ ստացվեց” (arrajin chap'umə skhal statsvets) — The first measurement came out wrong. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.