LingoflyBad connection in Armenian
A phone call with poor reception: asking to repeat, clarifying, politely declining and saying goodbye in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ալո, լսում եմ ձեզ (lsum em dzez)։» — Hello, I'm listening; «Բարև (barev), մեկ րոպե ժամանակ ունե՞ք (mek rope zhamanak unek')։ Ես (yes) այս (ays) հարցով (hartsov) եմ (em) զանգում (zangum)։» — Hello, do you have a minute? I'm calling about this matter. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call with poor reception: asking to repeat, clarifying, politely declining and saying goodbye. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Կներեք, չլսեցի։ Կրկնեք, խնդրում եմ։knerek', chlsetsi. krknek', khndrum emSorry, I didn't catch that. Please repeat.
- bann ayn e, vor handipumə petk' e teghap'okhelThe thing is, the meeting needs to be rescheduled.
- Նկատի ունեք վաղվա հանդիպումը։ Ի՞նչ ժամի։nkati unek' vaghva handipumə. inch zhami?You mean tomorrow's meeting. For what time?
- Երեկոյան մոտ։ Չէի՞ք կարող մնալ մինչև յոթը։yerekoyan mot. cheik' karogh mnal minchev yot'ə?Toward the evening. Could you stay until seven?
- vakhenum em, vor voch. voch shut, k'an hingə yev voch ush, k'an vetsəI'm afraid not. Not earlier than five and not later than six.
- Հասկացա, ժամը հինգին։ Հիշեցրեք ինձ առավոտյան, կապի մեջ ենք։haskatsa, zhamə hingin. hishetsrek' indz arravotyan, kapi mej enk'Got it, at five o'clock. Remind me in the morning, until we're in touch.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ալո, լսում եմ ձեզ (lsum em dzez)։ | alo, lsum em dzez | Hello, I'm listening. |
| Բարև (barev), մեկ րոպե ժամանակ ունե՞ք (mek rope zhamanak unek')։ Ես (yes) այս (ays) հարցով (hartsov) եմ (em) զանգում (zangum)։ | barev, mek rope zhamanak unek'? yes ays hartsov em zangum | Hello, do you have a minute? I'm calling about this matter. |
| Կներեք (knerek), չլսեցի (chlsetsi)։ Կրկնեք, խնդրում եմ (krknek' khndrum em)։ | knerek', chlsetsi. krknek', khndrum em | Sorry, I didn't catch that. Please repeat. |
| Բանն այն է, որ (bann ayn e, vor) հանդիպումը (handipumə) պետք է (petk' e) տեղափոխել (teghap'okhel)։ | bann ayn e, vor handipumə petk' e teghap'okhel | The thing is, the meeting needs to be rescheduled. |
| Նկատի ունեք (nkati unek') վաղվա (vaghva) հանդիպումը (handipumə)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) ժամի (zhami)։ | nkati unek' vaghva handipumə. inch zhami? | You mean tomorrow's meeting. For what time? |
| Երեկոյան մոտ (yerekoyan mot)։ Չէի՞ք կարող (cheik' karogh) մնալ մինչև (minchev) յոթը։ | yerekoyan mot. cheik' karogh mnal minchev yot'ə? | Toward the evening. Could you stay until seven? |
| Վախենում եմ, որ ոչ (vakhenum em, vor voch)։ Ոչ շուտ, քան հինգը (voch shut, k'an hingə) և ոչ (voch) ուշ (ush), քան (k'an) վեցը։ | vakhenum em, vor voch. voch shut, k'an hingə yev voch ush, k'an vetsə | I'm afraid not. Not earlier than five and not later than six. |
| Հասկացա (haskatsa), ժամը (zhamə) հինգին (hingin)։ Հիշեցրեք ինձ (indz) առավոտյան (arravotyan), կապի մեջ ենք (kapi mej enk')։ | haskatsa, zhamə hingin. hishetsrek' indz arravotyan, kapi mej enk' | Got it, at five o'clock. Remind me in the morning, until we're in touch. |
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?
“Ալո, լսում եմ ձեզ (lsum em dzez)։” (alo, lsum em dzez) — Hello, I'm listening. 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.