LingoflyAt the pharmacy in Armenian
At the pharmacy: a cold and a question about prescriptions in Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Ինչո՞վ կարող (karogh) եմ (em) օգնել (ognel)։» — Hello. How can I help you?; «Գլուխս ցավում է (glukhs tsavum e), և ջերմություն ունեմ (jermut'yun unem)։» — I have a headache and a fever. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the pharmacy: a cold and a question about prescriptions. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- glukhs tsavum e, yev jermut'yun unemI have a headache and a fever.
- voch. arrants deghatomsi ban ka?No. Is there anything without a prescription?
- ayo. ays haberə — orə yerku angam, uteluts hetoYes. These pills — twice a day, after meals.
- Շնորհակալություն։ Ալերգիա չի՞ լինի։shnorhakalut'yun. alergia chi lini?Thank you. Won't it cause an allergy?
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Ինչո՞վ կարող (karogh) եմ (em) օգնել (ognel)։ | barev dzez. inchov karogh em ognel? | Hello. How can I help you? |
| Գլուխս ցավում է (glukhs tsavum e), և ջերմություն ունեմ (jermut'yun unem)։ | glukhs tsavum e, yev jermut'yun unem | I have a headache and a fever. |
| Դեղատոմս (deghatoms) ունե՞ք (unek')։ | deghatoms unek'? | Do you have a prescription? |
| Ոչ (voch)։ Առանց դեղատոմսի բան կա՞ (arrants deghatomsi ban ka)։ | voch. arrants deghatomsi ban ka? | No. Is there anything without a prescription? |
| Այո (ayo)։ Այս (ays) հաբերը՝ օրը երկու անգամ (orə yerku angam), ուտելուց հետո (uteluts heto)։ | ayo. ays haberə — orə yerku angam, uteluts heto | Yes. These pills — twice a day, after meals. |
| Շնորհակալություն (shnorhakalut'yun)։ Ալերգիա (alergia) չի (chi)՞ լինի (lini)։ | shnorhakalut'yun. alergia chi lini? | Thank you. Won't it cause an allergy? |
| Ոչ (voch)։ Շուտ (shut) լավացեք։ | voch. shut lavatsek' | No. Get well soon. |
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)։ Ինչո՞վ կարող (karogh) եմ (em) օգնել (ognel)։” (barev dzez. inchov karogh em ognel?) — Hello. How can I help you? 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.