LingoflyAt the coffee shop in Armenian
Ordering at a Yerevan coffee shop in Armenian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) եք (ek) ուզում (uzum)։» — Hello. What would you like?; «Մեկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ (mek surch, khndrem)։» — One coffee, please. 1 dialogue more lower on the page in the same situation. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: ordering at a Yerevan coffee shop. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- voch, shnorhakalut'yun. yev jur, khndremNo, thank you. And water, please.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) եք (ek) ուզում (uzum)։ | barev dzez. inch ek' uzum? | Hello. What would you like? |
| Մեկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ (mek surch, khndrem)։ | mek surch, khndrem | One coffee, please. |
| Քաղցր (k'aghtsr) սուրճ (surch), թե (t'e)՞ ոչ (voch)։ | k'aghtsr surch, t'e voch? | Sweet coffee or not? |
| Ոչ (voch), շնորհակալություն (shnorhakalut'yun)։ Եվ (yev) ջուր (jur), խնդրեմ (khndrem)։ | voch, shnorhakalut'yun. yev jur, khndrem | No, thank you. And water, please. |
| Հազար (hazar) դրամ (dram)։ | hazar dram | A thousand drams. |
| Խնդրեմ (khndrem)։ Շատ համեղ է (shat hamegh e)։ | khndrem. shat hamegh e | Here you are. It's very tasty. |
More conversations in this situation
The same situation unfolds differently: the other person asks something other than in the first dialogue and answers in their own words. Below are other versions of the same case.
Coffee and a croissant at the counter
Morning at the coffee shop: an order, milk and sugar, a fork and the bill.
- khndrem. aystegh, t'e tanelu ek'?Here you go. For here or to take away?
- Այստեղ։ Հաշիվը, խնդրեմ, քարտով։aystegh. hashivə, khndrem, k'artovFor here. The bill, please, by card.
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարի լույս (bari luys)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) եք (ek) պատվիրում։ | bari luys. inch ek' patvirum? | Good morning. What will you have? |
| Մեկ (mek) կապուչինո (kapuchino) և մեկ (mek) կրուասան (kruasan), խնդրեմ (khndrem)։ | mek kapuchino yev mek kruasan, khndrem | One cappuccino and one croissant, please. |
| Կաթ (kat') և շաքար (shak'ar) դնե՞մ։ | kat' yev shak'ar dnem? | Shall I put in milk and sugar? |
| Կաթ (kat')՝ այո (ayo), շաքար (shak'ar)՝ ոչ (voch)։ Եվ (yev) պատառաքաղ բերեք, խնդրեմ (patarrak'agh berek', khndrem)։ | kat' ayo, shak'ar voch. yev patarrak'agh berek', khndrem | Milk — yes, sugar — no. And please bring a fork. |
| Խնդրեմ (khndrem)։ Այստե՞ղ, թե՞ տանելու եք (aystegh, t'e tanelu ek')։ | khndrem. aystegh, t'e tanelu ek'? | Here you go. For here or to take away? |
| Այստեղ (aystegh)։ Հաշիվը, խնդրեմ (hashivə, khndrem), քարտով (k'artov)։ | aystegh. hashivə, khndrem, k'artov | For here. The bill, please, by card. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Armenian in this situation?
“Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) եք (ek) ուզում (uzum)։” (barev dzez. inch ek' uzum?) — Hello. What would you like? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.