LingoflyTwo options in Armenian
Talking about work: two options, necessity and a missed opportunity in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Երկու (yerku) տարբերակ (tarberak) ունեմ (unem), և չգիտեմ (chgitem)՝ որը (vorə) ընտրեմ։» — I have two options, and I don't know which to choose; «Պատմիր (patmir)։ Իսկ դու ի՞նչ ես մտածում (isk du inch es mtatsum)։» — Tell me. And what do you yourself think? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: talking about work: two options, necessity and a missed opportunity. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Պատմիր։ Իսկ դու ի՞նչ ես մտածում։patmir. isk du inch es mtatsum?Tell me. And what do you yourself think?
- mi koghmits — lav e, myus koghmits — amen or chanaparhOn the one hand it's good, on the other — the road every day.
- im kartsik'ov, əntrir ayn, inchə imast uni k'ez hamarIn my opinion, choose what makes sense to you.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Երկու (yerku) տարբերակ (tarberak) ունեմ (unem), և չգիտեմ (chgitem)՝ որը (vorə) ընտրեմ։ | yerku tarberak unem, yev chgitem — vorə əntrem | I have two options, and I don't know which to choose. |
| Պատմիր (patmir)։ Իսկ դու ի՞նչ ես մտածում (isk du inch es mtatsum)։ | patmir. isk du inch es mtatsum? | Tell me. And what do you yourself think? |
| Առաջինը (arrajinə) հեռու (herru) է, բայց (bayts) աշխատավարձը (ashkhatavardzə) բարձր (bardzr) է։ | arrajinə herru e, bayts ashkhatavardzə bardzr e | The first one is far away, but the salary is high. |
| Մի կողմից (mi koghmits)՝ լավ (lav) է, մյուս կողմից (myus koghmits)՝ ամեն օր (amen or) ճանապարհ (chanaparh)։ | mi koghmits — lav e, myus koghmits — amen or chanaparh | On the one hand it's good, on the other — the road every day. |
| Հենց (hents) դա (da) է։ Անցյալ (antsyal) տարի (tari) նման (nman) հնարավորությունը (hnaravorut'yunə) բաց (bats) թողեցի (t'oghetsi)։ | hents da e. antsyal tari nman hnaravorut'yunə bats t'oghetsi | Exactly. Last year I missed such an opportunity. |
| Ուրեմն (uremn) դժվար թե (dzhvar t'e) երկրորդ (yerkrord) անգամ (angam) էլ (el) հրաժարվես։ | uremn dzhvar t'e yerkrord angam el hrazharves | Then you're unlikely to refuse a second time. |
| Ստիպված կլինեմ (stipvats klinem) շուտով (shutov) որոշել (voroshel)։ | stipvats klinem shutov voroshel | I'll have to decide soon. |
| Իմ կարծիքով (im kartsik'ov), ընտրիր այն (ayn), ինչը իմաստ (imast) ունի (uni) քեզ (k'ez) համար (hamar)։ | im kartsik'ov, əntrir ayn, inchə imast uni k'ez hamar | In my opinion, choose what makes sense to you. |
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?
“Երկու (yerku) տարբերակ (tarberak) ունեմ (unem), և չգիտեմ (chgitem)՝ որը (vorə) ընտրեմ։” (yerku tarberak unem, yev chgitem — vorə əntrem) — I have two options, and I don't know which to choose. 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.