LingoflyI'm calling a repairman in Armenian
Calling the landlord: the kitchen faucet is leaking in Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Խոհանոցում (khohanotsum) ջուրը (jurə) կաթում է (kat'um e)։» — Hello. The water is leaking in the kitchen; «Ե՞րբ (yerb) է սկսվել (sksvel)։» — When did it start? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: calling the landlord: the kitchen faucet is leaking. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ե՞րբ է սկսվել։yerb e sksvel?When did it start?
- Հասկացա։ Վարպետ կուղարկեմ։haskatsa. varpet kugharkemI see. I'll send a repairman.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Խոհանոցում (khohanotsum) ջուրը (jurə) կաթում է (kat'um e)։ | barev dzez. khohanotsum jurə kat'um e | Hello. The water is leaking in the kitchen. |
| Ե՞րբ (yerb) է սկսվել (sksvel)։ | yerb e sksvel? | When did it start? |
| Երեկ (yerek) երեկոյան (yerekoyan)։ Տաք ջուր (tak' jur) էլ (el) չկա (chka)։ | yerek yerekoyan. tak' jur el chka | Yesterday evening. And there's no hot water either. |
| Հասկացա (haskatsa)։ Վարպետ (varpet) կուղարկեմ։ | haskatsa. varpet kugharkem | I see. I'll send a repairman. |
| Ե՞րբ կգաք (yerb kgak')։ Ես (yes) մինչև (minchev) վեցը տանն (tann) եմ (em)։ | yerb kgak'? yes minchev vetsə tann em | When will you come? I'm home until six. |
| Ժամը (zhamə) չորսին։ Խնդրում եմ (khndrum em) սպասեք (spasek)։ | zhamə chorsin. khndrum em spasek' | At four o'clock. Please wait. |
| Լավ (lav), շնորհակալություն (shnorhakalut'yun)։ Սպասում (spasum) եմ (em)։ | lav, shnorhakalut'yun. spasum em | Okay, thank you. I'll be waiting. |
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)։ Խոհանոցում (khohanotsum) ջուրը (jurə) կաթում է (kat'um e)։” (barev dzez. khohanotsum jurə kat'um e) — Hello. The water is leaking in the kitchen. 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.