Asking the way in Armenian
23 words Armenian words on the topic “asking the way”: Որտե՞ղ է — where?, Աջ — right, Ձախ — left, Ուղիղ — straight. 23 words can be played from recordings.
23 words on the topic
- Որտե՞ղ էvorteh ewhere?literally 'where is'. The linking verb e is obligatory: without it the question sounds cut off
- Աջajrightboth the side and the right hand. The direction is set by the case, not by a new word: aj — to the right, ajits — from the right
- Ձախdzakhleftthe partner of aj, built the same way: dzakh — to the left, dzakhits — from the left. Dz is one fused dz sound
- Ուղիղughighstraightstraight ahead on the road, a straight line, and even a live broadcast — ughigh yet'er
- Մոտmotcloseit also works as 'near' — but it follows the word: metroyi mot — by the metro
- Հեռուherrufardouble rr — rolled. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker', and herrustats'uyts' — television
- Այստեղaysteghhereays — this, tegh — place: 'this place'. Ayntegh, 'there', is built on the same scheme
- Այնտեղaynteghthereayn — that, tegh — place. One syllable apart from aystegh: ays versus ayn
- Ինչպես հասնելinchpes hasnelhow do I getthe question uses hasnel — 'to reach' — not 'to go'; in lively speech the question hook sits on the vowel: inchpes
- Ժամանելzhamanelto arriveyou know hasnel as the everyday 'make it'; zhamanel is the arrival of trains and timetables
- Մյուս կողմումmyus koghmumon the other sidekoghm — side — in the local -um; no preposition stands in front of it
- Երկու քայլի վրաyerku k'ayli vratwo steps awaythe postposition vra demands the genitive, so k'ayl becomes k'ayli
- Շրջադարձից հետոshrjadardzits hetoafter the turnyou know shrjadardz as 'turn'; Armenian says not 'behind' but 'after the turn' — the ablative plus heto
- Ձախ կողմումdzakh koghmumto the left ofa postposition: what you count from stands before it in the genitive — khanut'i dzakh koghmum
- Աջ կողմումaj koghmumto the right ofthe partner of dzakh koghmum and behaves the same: the noun before it goes in the genitive
- Կենտրոնումkentronumin the very middleyou know mejteghum as 'in the midst'; kentronum is exactly in the middle, of a square or a room
- Հաջորդ շրջադարձhajord shrjadardzthe next turnhajord does not change; the case is carried by shrjadardz
- Ճանապարհինchanaparhinon the waychanaparh — road — in the local case; no preposition is needed, the ending carries it
- Այստեղaysteghover hereyou already know this word as 'here': place and direction are not split — aystegh em, I am here; ari aystegh, come here. Just as ayntegh is both there and thither
- Այնտեղիցaynteghitsfrom thereayntegh — there and thither — plus the ablative -its, which adds 'from where'; verevits and nersits are built the same way. 'From here' is aysteghits
- Տունtunhomeyou know tun as house; 'home' is the same word with no tail at all, the verb carries the direction: tun em gnum. At home, in place, is tanə
- Դեպի աջdepi ajto the rightdepi is the preposition of motion, you know depi lavə; aj is right. Ajits would be 'from the right' — a turn is depi
- Դեպի ձախdepi dzakhto the leftthe partner of depi aj; you know dzakhits — 'on the left' — and dzakh koghmum. A left-handed person is dzakhlik
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Որտե՞ղ է մետրոնvorteh e metronWhere is the metro?
- Աջ կողմում դեղատուն կաaj koghmum deghatun kaThere is a pharmacy on the right
- Ձախ ձեռքս ցավում էdzakh dzerrk's tsavum eMy left hand hurts
- Գնացեք ուղիղgnatsek' ughighGo straight
- Հյուրանոցը մետրոյին մոտ էhyuranotsə metroyin mot eThe hotel is close to the metro
- Շուկան այստեղից հեռու չէshukan aysteghits herru cheThe market isn't far from here
What is worth knowing about these words
Որտե՞ղ է (vorteh e) — where?. literally 'where is'. The linking verb e is obligatory: without it the question sounds cut off
Աջ (aj) — right. both the side and the right hand. The direction is set by the case, not by a new word: aj — to the right, ajits — from the right
Ձախ (dzakh) — left. the partner of aj, built the same way: dzakh — to the left, dzakhits — from the left. Dz is one fused dz sound
Ուղիղ (ughigh) — straight. straight ahead on the road, a straight line, and even a live broadcast — ughigh yet'er
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is Որտե՞ղ է (vorteh e) — where?.
- What is this word?
It is Այնտեղ (ayntegh) — there.
- What is this word?
It is Աջ կողմում (aj koghmum) — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is Դեպի աջ (depi aj) — to the right.
- What is this word?
It is Հեռու (herru) — far.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where?” in Armenian?
literally 'where is'. The linking verb e is obligatory: without it the question sounds cut off
- How do you say “there” in Armenian?
ayn — that, tegh — place. One syllable apart from aystegh: ays versus ayn
- How do you say “to the right of” in Armenian?
the partner of dzakh koghmum and behaves the same: the noun before it goes in the genitive
- How do you say “to the right” in Armenian?
depi is the preposition of motion, you know depi lavə; aj is right. Ajits would be 'from the right' — a turn is depi
- How do you say “far” in Armenian?
double rr — rolled. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker', and herrustats'uyts' — television
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where?” in Armenian?
«Որտե՞ղ է», read “vorteh e”. literally 'where is'. The linking verb e is obligatory: without it the question sounds cut off. It is one of 23 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 23 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 23 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.