Շինարար, երգիչ, այգեպան: how Armenian makes a person out of a deed
The fortieth unit hands you twenty professions, and half of them could have been assembled rather than memorized. Armenian builds the doer-noun with a suffix, and there are exactly four common ones. Whoever knows them hears an unfamiliar word in -ող and already understands that a person is meant. For example: “Վաճառողը, գնորդը և ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ են” — The seller, the buyer and the receiver are three…
How it works
The fortieth unit hands you twenty professions, and half of them could have been assembled rather than memorized. Armenian builds the doer-noun with a suffix, and there are exactly four common ones. Whoever knows them hears an unfamiliar word in -ող and already understands that a person is meant.
-ող — the most frequent and the most alive. It clings to the present-tense stem and means 'the one who does it right now or in general': գրել (grel) → գրող (writer), վաճառել (vacharrel) → վաճառող (seller), ստանալ (stanal) → ստացող (receiver), ուղարկել (ugharkel) → ուղարկող (sender). The suffix works on the fly: any verb can be turned into its doer this way, and you will be understood even if the word is not in the dictionary. It is also the present participle — that is a separate note of the forty-third unit.
-իչ — the suffix of professions and devices. Երգել (yergel) → երգիչ (singer), թարգմանել (t'argmanel) → թարգմանիչ (translator), նկարել (nkarel) → նկարիչ (artist). The same -իչ makes a thing that does something: սուլել → սուլիչ (whistle); հեռախոս (herrakhos) nearby is assembled differently. The difference from -ող is subtle but real: գրող is one who writes in general, գրիչ (grich) is what you write with — a pen.
-պան and -պահ (-pah) — 'the one who keeps'. Այգի (aygi) → այգեպան (gardener), դուռ (durr) → դռնապան (doorman), պարտք (partk') → պարտապան (debtor), հաշիվ (hashiv) → հաշվապահ (accountant). The linking vowel is almost always ա, and the root in front of it often loses its own: դուռ → դռն-, հաշիվ → հաշվ-.
-արար and -գործ (-gorts) — 'the one who makes'. Շին- → շինարար (builder), փրկել → փրկարար (rescuer), մատակարար (supplier). And -գործ — from գործ (gorts), work: քանդակագործ (sculptor), ջրմուղագործ (plumber); ոսկերիչ nearby is assembled by yet another suffix. Separately stands -ավոր — 'having': արհեստավոր (craftsman), արժեքավոր (valuable).
And the workplace by the same trick. The suffix -արան gives a premises: գործ → գործարան (factory), հանդերձ → հանդերձարան (changing room), սուրճ (surch) → սրճարան (coffeehouse), դեղ (degh) → դեղատուն (deghatun) already with a 'house'. And -անոց / -ոց builds a place out of a multitude: արհեստանոց (arhestanots) — workshop, գերեզմանոց (gerezmanots) — cemetery. English plays the same game — bake/bakery, library — only with more suffixes.
Table
| Suffix | What it does | From | What came out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ող | the one doing now | վաճառել — to sell | վաճառող — seller |
| -ող | the one doing now | ստանալ — to receive | ստացող — receiver |
| -իչ | a profession | երգել — to sing | երգիչ — singer |
| -իչ | a thing that does | սուլել — to whistle | սուլիչ — whistle |
| -պան | the one who keeps | այգի — garden | այգեպան — gardener |
| -պահ | the one who keeps | հաշիվ — account | հաշվապահ — accountant |
| -արար | the one who makes | շին- — to build | շինարար — builder |
| -արան | a place of the deed | գործ — work | գործարան — factory |
| -անոց | a place of a multitude | արհեստ — craft | արհեստանոց — workshop |
By example
- Վաճառողը, գնորդը և ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ ենvacharroghə, gnordə yev statsoghə yerek' tarber mard enThe seller, the buyer and the receiver are three different people
- Երգիչը երգում է, գրողը գրում է, նկարիչը նկարում էyergichə yergum e, groghə grum e, nkarichə nkarum eThe singer sings, the writer writes, the artist paints
- 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?
The fortieth unit hands you twenty professions, and half of them could have been assembled rather than memorized. Armenian builds the doer-noun with a suffix, and there are exactly four common ones. Whoever knows them hears an unfamiliar word in -ող and already understands that a person is meant.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Վաճառողը, գնորդը և ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ են” (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.