Շատ գիրք, մի քանի օր, մոտ հազար դրամ: exactly how many
With money you constantly say 'a lot', 'a few', 'about a thousand' — and here Armenian does one thing that looks like a mistake at first. After a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք — many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի — ten years. Մի քանի օր — a few days. The plural is not forbidden there, but it sounds like a list of individual items, and in an ordinary sentence it is left out. For example: “Այս…
How it works
With money you constantly say 'a lot', 'a few', 'about a thousand' — and here Armenian does one thing that looks like a mistake at first. After a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք (shat girk') — many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի (tasə tari) — ten years. Մի քանի օր (mi k'ani or) — a few days. The plural is not forbidden there, but it sounds like a list of individual items, and in an ordinary sentence it is left out.
The set of quantity words is small. Շատ (shat) — much, many (and 'very' when it stands with an adjective). Քիչ (k'ich) — little, few. Մի քանի (mi k'ani) — a few, literally 'one some'. Բավական (bavakan) — quite, enough. Ոչ մի (voch mi) — not a single one, and it demands a negation in the verb: ոչ մի դրամ չունեմ (voch mi dram chunem).
'All' is split into two words, and confusing them is expensive. Բոլորը (bolorə) — all, about people and things you can count: բոլոր ուսանողները (bolor usanoghnerə), բոլորը եկան (bolorə yekan). Ամբողջ (amboghj) — the whole, one indivisible thing: ամբողջ օրը (amboghj orə) — the whole day, ամբողջ գումարը (amboghj gumarə) — the whole sum. English makes the same split (all students / the whole day); Armenian just makes it obligatory.
And approximation — the reason this note lives in the banking unit. The workhorse is մոտ (mot) before the number: մոտ հազար դրամ (mot hazar dram) — about a thousand drams. It is the same մոտ as 'near'. More bookish and precise — մոտավորապես (motavorapes) — approximately. Շուրջ (shurj) — 'in the region of', in reports and news: շուրջ հիսուն մարդ (shurj hisun mard). And in speech people often manage with the pattern -ի չափ (-i chap') or simply put two numbers side by side: երկու-երեք օր (yerku yerek' or) — two or three days, հինգ-վեց հազար (hing vets hazar) — five or six thousand.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Careful |
|---|---|---|---|
| շատ | many, much | շատ գիրք — many books | the noun stays singular |
| քիչ | little, few | քիչ գումար — little money | — |
| մի քանի | a few | մի քանի օր — a few days | also singular |
| ոչ մի | not a single one | ոչ մի դրամ չունեմ | the verb must carry չ- |
| բոլոր(ը) | all — countable | բոլոր ուսանողները | about people and things |
| ամբողջ | the whole | ամբողջ օրը | about the indivisible |
| մոտ | about | մոտ հազար դրամ | the same word as near |
| մոտավորապես | approximately | մոտավորապես երկու ժամ | bookish, more precise |
| շուրջ | in the region of | շուրջ հիսուն մարդ | newspaper word, rare in speech |
By example
- Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանքays amis shat tsakhs unetsank'This month we had a lot of expenses
- Հաշվին մոտ հարյուր հազար դրամ կաhashvin mot haryur hazar dram kaThe account holds about a hundred thousand drams
- Ամբողջ աշխատավարձը վարկին գնացamboghj ashkhatavardzə varkin gnatsThe whole salary went to the loan
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?
With money you constantly say 'a lot', 'a few', 'about a thousand' — and here Armenian does one thing that looks like a mistake at first. After a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք — many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի — ten years. Մի քանի օր — a few days. The plural is not forbidden…
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանք” (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.