Լիճ → լճակ, արև → արևոտ: how nature words are built
The nature unit hands you fifty names, and half of them are not new roots but familiar words with a tail. Once you have taken apart four tails and one way of compounding, you will stop learning them one by one and start recognizing them at first glance — and you will also see why 'puddle' and 'flood' begin the same way. For example: “Այգում փոքր լճակ կա, կողքին՝ առվակ” — In the park there is a small pond, with a…
How it works
The nature unit hands you fifty names, and half of them are not new roots but familiar words with a tail. Once you have taken apart four tails and one way of compounding, you will stop learning them one by one and start recognizing them at first glance — and you will also see why 'puddle' and 'flood' begin the same way.
-ակ — the diminutive. լիճ (lich) — lake, լճակ (lchak) — pond; առու (arru) — stream, առվակ (arrvak) — brook; կամուրջ (kamurj) — bridge, կամրջակ — small bridge; տուն (tun) — house, տնակ — hut. Watch the root: before the tail a vowel often drops out — լիճ loses ի (i), առու swaps ու (u) for վ. This is not an exception but a rule of Armenian word-building, and it works in every case below too.
-ոտ — 'full of something'. արև (arev) — sun, արևոտ (arevot) — sunny; կեղտ (keght) — dirt, կեղտոտ (keghtot) — dirty; ցեխ — slush, ցեխոտ (tsekhot) — slushy; ճահիճ (chahich) — swamp, ճահճոտ — swampy; քար (k'ar) — stone, քարոտ (k'arot) — stony. Where English stockpiles -y, -en and -ous, Armenian keeps one tail.
-արան — a place. նստել (nstel) — to sit, նստարան (nstaran) — bench; բառ (barr) — word, բառարան (bararan) — dictionary; զուգարան (zugaran) — toilet, լվացարան (lvatsaran) — sink, ննջարան — bedroom. If a word ends in -արան, look inside it for a place or a device, not an action.
-ություն — an abstract noun. մանուկ — child, մանկություն (mankut'yun) — childhood; պատանի (patani) — youth, պատանեկություն (patanekut'yun) — adolescence; տես — sight, տեսություն (tesut'yun) — theory. This is the most frequent tail in the language: almost everything English ends in -hood, -ness and -tion, Armenian ends in -ություն.
And compounding two roots — the method behind the unit's longest words. ջուր (jur) + փոս (p'os) = ջրափոս (jrap'os) — puddle, ջուր + հեղեղ = ջրհեղեղ (jrheghegh) — flood, երկիր (erkir) + շարժ = երկրաշարժ (yerkrasharzh) — earthquake, արև + ծագ = արևածագ (arevatsag) — sunrise. A linking ա often slips between the roots, and the first root gets trimmed: ջուր → ջր-, երկիր → երկր-. Meeting an unfamiliar long word, cut it in half first — half the meaning usually falls out at once.
Table
| Tail | Meaning | From | What came out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ակ | diminutive | լիճ — lake | լճակ — pond |
| -ակ | diminutive | առու — stream | առվակ — brook |
| -ոտ | full of something | արև — sun | արևոտ — sunny |
| -ոտ | full of something | կեղտ — dirt | կեղտոտ — dirty |
| -արան | a place, a device | բառ — word | բառարան — dictionary |
| -ություն | an abstract noun | մանուկ — child | մանկություն — childhood |
| root + root | compounding | ջուր + փոս | ջրափոս — puddle |
| root + ա + root | compounding | արև + ծագ | արևածագ — sunrise |
By example
- Այգում փոքր լճակ կա, կողքին՝ առվակaygum p'ok'r lchak ka, koghk'in — arrvakIn the park there is a small pond, with a brook beside it
- Արևոտ օր է, բայց ճանապարհը ցեխոտ էarevot or e, bayts chanaparhə tsekhot eIt's a sunny day, but the road is slushy
- Երկրաշարժից հետո ջրհեղեղ եղավyerkrasharzhits heto jrheghegh yeghavAfter the earthquake there was a flood
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 nature words are built: how does it work in Armenian?
The nature unit hands you fifty names, and half of them are not new roots but familiar words with a tail. Once you have taken apart four tails and one way of compounding, you will stop learning them one by one and start recognizing them at first glance — and you will also see why 'puddle' and…
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Այգում փոքր լճակ կա, կողքին՝ առվակ” (aygum p'ok'r lchak ka, koghk'in — arrvak) — In the park there is a small pond, with a brook beside it. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.