Դժվար է ասել
“Դժվար է ասել” (dzhvar e asel) — it is hard to say in Armenian. Phrase, level B1. An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է, 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե: դժվար է ասել, թե երբ. In a live sentence: “Դժվար է ասել, թե երբ կավարտվի” — It is hard to say when this will end. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Դ, ժ, վ, ա, ր, է, ա, ս, ե, լ.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Դժվար է ասել |
| Read in Latin letters | dzhvar e asel |
| Translation | it is hard to say |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- Դժվար է ասելdzhvar e aselit is hard to say
Why it looks that way
An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է, 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե: դժվար է ասել, թե երբ
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Դժվար է ասել, թե երբ կավարտվիdzhvar e asel, t'e yerb kavartviIt is hard to say when this will end
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “it is hard to say” in Armenian?
«Դժվար է ասել», read “dzhvar e asel”. In a live sentence: “Դժվար է ասել, թե երբ կավարտվի” — It is hard to say when this will end. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters Դ, ժ, վ, ա, ր, է, ա, ս, ե, լ.
How is “Դժվար է ասել” written in Latin letters?
dzhvar e asel. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է, 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե: դժվար է ասել, թե երբ. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.