LingoflySigning up at the gym in Armenian
Joining a gym: the membership, the machines and an old injury in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez), ուզում եմ (uzum em) աբոնեմենտ (abonement) վերցնել (verts'nel)։» — Hello, I want to get a membership; «Երեք (yerek') ամսվա (amsva)՞, թե (t'e)՞ մեկ (mek) տարվա (tarva)։ Տարեկանը ավելի էժան (aveli ezhan) է։» — For three months or for a year? The yearly one is cheaper. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: joining a gym: the membership, the machines and an old injury. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- yerek' amsva, t'e mek tarva? tarekanə aveli ezhan eFor three months or for a year? The yearly one is cheaper.
- Ասեք մարզիչին։ Կսկսեք թեթև գանթելներից և տաքացումից։asek' marzichin. ksksek' t'et'ev gant'elnerits yev tak'atsumitsTell the trainer. You'll start with light dumbbells and a warm-up.
- Իսկ լողավազանը աբոնեմենտի մեջ մտնո՞ւմ է։isk loghavazanə abonementi mej mtnum e?Is the pool included in the membership?
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez), ուզում եմ (uzum em) աբոնեմենտ (abonement) վերցնել (verts'nel)։ | barev dzez, uzum em abonement vertsnel | Hello, I want to get a membership. |
| Երեք (yerek') ամսվա (amsva)՞, թե (t'e)՞ մեկ (mek) տարվա (tarva)։ Տարեկանը ավելի էժան (aveli ezhan) է։ | yerek' amsva, t'e mek tarva? tarekanə aveli ezhan e | For three months or for a year? The yearly one is cheaper. |
| Երեք (yerek') ամսվա (amsva), նախ (nakh) փորձեմ։ Մարզիչ (marzich) կա (ka)՞ սրահում։ | yerek' amsva, nakh p'ordzem. marzich ka srahum? | For three months, I'll try it first. Is there a trainer at the gym? |
| Կա (ka)։ Առաջին (arrajin) օրը (orə) նա (na) ցույց (tsuyts) կտա բոլոր (bolor) մարզասարքերը։ | ka. arrajin orə na tsuyts kta bolor marzasark'erə | There is. On the first day he'll show you all the machines. |
| Անցյալ (antsyal) տարի (tari) ձգվածք (dzgvatsk') եմ (em) ունեցել։ Ծանր (tsanr) բան (ban) չեմ (chem) բարձրացնի։ | antsyal tari dzgvatsk' em unetsel. tsanr ban chem bardzratsni | Last year I had a sprain. I won't lift anything heavy. |
| Ասեք մարզիչին։ Կսկսեք թեթև (t'et'ev) գանթելներից և տաքացումից։ | asek' marzichin. ksksek' t'et'ev gant'elnerits yev tak'atsumits | Tell the trainer. You'll start with light dumbbells and a warm-up. |
| Իսկ (isk) լողավազանը աբոնեմենտի մեջ (mej) մտնո՞ւմ է։ | isk loghavazanə abonementi mej mtnum e? | Is the pool included in the membership? |
| Չի (chi) մտնում (mtnum), առանձին (arrandzin) սակագին (sakagin) է։ Զգեստապահարանի բանալին (banalin) վերցրեք (vertsrek)։ | chi mtnum, arrandzin sakagin e. zgestapaharani banalin vertsrek' | It's not included, it's a separate rate. Take the key to the locker. |
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), ուզում եմ (uzum em) աբոնեմենտ (abonement) վերցնել (verts'nel)։” (barev dzez, uzum em abonement vertsnel) — Hello, I want to get a membership. 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.