LingoflyWhat are we cooking in Armenian
Two people in the kitchen: sharing the work, chopping, boiling, salting in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Այսօր (aysor) ի՞նչ (inch) ենք (enk) պատրաստում (patrastum)։» — What are we cooking today?; «Լոբով ապուր (apur)։ Սոխը (sokhə) կտրիր (ktrir), խնդրեմ (khndrem)։» — Bean soup. Cut the onion, please. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people in the kitchen: sharing the work, chopping, boiling, salting. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Սառնարանի կողքին։ Գազարն էլ լվա։sarrnarani koghk'in. gazarn el lvaNext to the fridge. Wash the carrots too.
- Կաթսան մեծ վերցնե՞մ։kat'san mets vertsnem?Should I take the big pot?
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Այսօր (aysor) ի՞նչ (inch) ենք (enk) պատրաստում (patrastum)։ | aysor inch enk' patrastum? | What are we cooking today? |
| Լոբով ապուր (apur)։ Սոխը (sokhə) կտրիր (ktrir), խնդրեմ (khndrem)։ | lobov apur. sokhə ktrir, khndrem | Bean soup. Cut the onion, please. |
| Դանակը (danakə) որտե՞ղ է (vorteh e)։ | danakə vortegh e? | Where is the knife? |
| Սառնարանի կողքին (koghk'in)։ Գազարն էլ (el) լվա (lva)։ | sarrnarani koghk'in. gazarn el lva | Next to the fridge. Wash the carrots too. |
| Կաթսան (kat'san) մեծ (mets) վերցնե՞մ։ | kat'san mets vertsnem? | Should I take the big pot? |
| Այո (ayo)։ Կես ժամ (kes zham) կեփվի։ | ayo. kes zham kep'vi | Yes. It will boil for half an hour. |
| Համտեսիր։ Աղի (aghi)՞ է, թե (t'e)՞ համ (ham) չունի (chuni)։ | hamtesir. aghi e, t'e ham chuni? | Taste it. Is it salty or bland? |
| Համեղ (hamegh) է։ Մի քիչ (mi k'ich) էլ (el) պղպեղ (pghpegh) ավելացրու (avelatsru)։ | hamegh e. mi k'ich el pghpegh avelatsru | It's tasty. Add a bit more pepper. |
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?
“Այսօր (aysor) ի՞նչ (inch) ենք (enk) պատրաստում (patrastum)։” (aysor inch enk' patrastum?) — What are we cooking today? 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.