LingoflyAt the museum entrance in Armenian
At the museum entrance: tickets, opening hours, photography in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Երկու տոմս, խնդրեմ (yerku toms, khndrem)։» — Hello. Two tickets, please; «Մեծահասա՞կ, թե (t'e)՞ ուսանող (usanogh)։» — Adult or student? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the museum entrance: tickets, opening hours, photography. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- yerkuss el metsahasak enk'. t'angaranə minchev zhamə k'anisin e bats?We're both adults. Until what time is the museum open?
- minchev vetsə. yerkushabt'i orə p'ak enk'Until six. We're closed on Mondays.
- haskatsa. ek'skursia hayeren ka?Got it. Is there a tour in Armenian?
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Երկու տոմս, խնդրեմ (yerku toms, khndrem)։ | barev dzez. yerku toms, khndrem | Hello. Two tickets, please. |
| Մեծահասա՞կ, թե (t'e)՞ ուսանող (usanogh)։ | metsahasak, t'e usanogh? | Adult or student? |
| Երկուսս էլ (el) մեծահասակ (metsahasak) ենք (enk)։ Թանգարանը (t'angaranə) մինչև (minchev) ժամը քանիսի՞ն (zhamə k'anisin) է բաց (bats)։ | yerkuss el metsahasak enk'. t'angaranə minchev zhamə k'anisin e bats? | We're both adults. Until what time is the museum open? |
| Մինչև (minchev) վեցը։ Երկուշաբթի (yerkushabt'i) օրը (orə) փակ (p'ak) ենք (enk)։ | minchev vetsə. yerkushabt'i orə p'ak enk' | Until six. We're closed on Mondays. |
| Այստեղ (aystegh) լուսանկարել (lusankarel) կարելի (kareli)՞ է։ | aystegh lusankarel kareli e? | Can you take photos here? |
| Առանց (arrants) լույսի (luysi)՝ այո (ayo)։ Տեսանյութ (tesanyut') նկարել (nkarel) չի կարելի (chi kareli)։ | arrants luysi — ayo. tesanyut' nkarel chi kareli | Without flash — yes. Video recording isn't allowed. |
| Հասկացա (haskatsa)։ Էքսկուրսիա (ek'skursia) հայերեն (hayeren) կա (ka)՞։ | haskatsa. ek'skursia hayeren ka? | Got it. Is there a tour in Armenian? |
| Այո (ayo), ժամը (zhamə) երեքին (yerek'in)։ Զբոսավարը (zbosavarə) սպասում (spasum) է երկրորդ (yerkrord) հարկում (harkum)։ | ayo, zhamə yerek'in. zbosavarə spasum e yerkrord harkum | Yes, at three o'clock. The guide is waiting on the second floor. |
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)։ Երկու տոմս, խնդրեմ (yerku toms, khndrem)։” (barev dzez. yerku toms, khndrem) — Hello. Two tickets, please. 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.