LingoflyBuying an appliance in Armenian
At an electronics store: dimensions, hookup and what to do during a power outage in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez), ջեռուցիչ (jerrutsich) եմ (em) փնտրում (p'ntrum) մեծ (mets) սենյակի (senyaki) համար (hamar)։» — Hello, I'm looking for a heater for a large room; «Սենյակի (senyaki) երկարությունն ու (u) լայնությունը (laynut'yunə) գիտե՞ք։» — Do you know the length and width of the room? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at an electronics store: dimensions, hookup and what to do during a power outage. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Սենյակի երկարությունն ու լայնությունը գիտե՞ք։senyaki yerkarut'yunn u laynut'yunə gitek'?Do you know the length and width of the room?
- hing metr yerkarut'yun, chors laynut'yun, bardzrut'yunə — yerek'Five meters long, four wide, and the height is three.
- ayd depk'um ays sark'ə kbavarari, yerku angam aveli hzor eIn that case this unit will be enough, it's twice as powerful.
- Հոսանքի անջատման ժամանակ գեներատորին կապակցե՞մ։hosank'i anjatman zhamanak generatorin kapaktsem?During a power outage, should I connect it to a generator?
- Ամեն դեպքի համար մի կապակցեք, ավտոմատ կերպով կանջատվի։amen depk'i hamar mi kapaktsek', avtomat kerpov kanjatviJust in case, don't connect it — it will shut off automatically.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez), ջեռուցիչ (jerrutsich) եմ (em) փնտրում (p'ntrum) մեծ (mets) սենյակի (senyaki) համար (hamar)։ | barev dzez, jerrutsich em p'ntrum mets senyaki hamar | Hello, I'm looking for a heater for a large room. |
| Սենյակի (senyaki) երկարությունն ու (u) լայնությունը (laynut'yunə) գիտե՞ք։ | senyaki yerkarut'yunn u laynut'yunə gitek'? | Do you know the length and width of the room? |
| Հինգ (hing) մետր (metr) երկարություն (yerkarut'yun), չորս (chors) լայնություն (laynut'yun), բարձրությունը (bardzrut'yunə)՝ երեք (yerek')։ | hing metr yerkarut'yun, chors laynut'yun, bardzrut'yunə — yerek' | Five meters long, four wide, and the height is three. |
| Այդ դեպքում (ayd depk'um) այս (ays) սարքը (sark'ə) կբավարարի, երկու անգամ (yerku angam) ավելի (aveli) հզոր է։ | ayd depk'um ays sark'ə kbavarari, yerku angam aveli hzor e | In that case this unit will be enough, it's twice as powerful. |
| Իսկ (isk) ի՞նչ (inch) քաշ (k'ash) ունի (uni), մենակ եմ (em), տուն (tun) պիտի (piti) տանեմ։ | isk inch k'ash uni, menak em, tun piti tanem? | And how much does it weigh? I'm alone, I need to take it home. |
| Տասը (tasə) կիլոգրամ (kilogram)։ Առաքումը (arrak'umə) անվճար (anvchar) է, եթե (yet'e) ապառիկով (aparrikov) վճարեք (vcharek)։ | tasə kilogram. arrak'umə anvchar e, yet'e aparrikov vcharek' | Ten kilograms. Delivery is free if you pay in installments. |
| Հոսանքի (hosank'i) անջատման (anjatman) ժամանակ (zhamanak) գեներատորին կապակցե՞մ։ | hosank'i anjatman zhamanak generatorin kapaktsem? | During a power outage, should I connect it to a generator? |
| Ամեն դեպքի համար (amen depk'i hamar) մի (mi) կապակցեք, ավտոմատ կերպով (avtomat kerpov) կանջատվի։ | amen depk'i hamar mi kapaktsek', avtomat kerpov kanjatvi | Just in case, don't connect it — it will shut off automatically. |
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), ջեռուցիչ (jerrutsich) եմ (em) փնտրում (p'ntrum) մեծ (mets) սենյակի (senyaki) համար (hamar)։” (barev dzez, jerrutsich em p'ntrum mets senyaki hamar) — Hello, I'm looking for a heater for a large room. 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.