Գաղտնի լսել
“Գաղտնի լսել” (gaghtni lsel) — to eavesdrop in Armenian. Verb, level B1, topic — people and family. From գաղտնի 'secretly' and լսել 'to listen'. There is no separate verb: լսել covers hear and listen, and the secrecy is added by the adverb. In a live sentence: “Նա գաղտնի լսեց խոսակցությունը” — He eavesdropped on the conversation. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Գ, ա, ղ, տ, ն, ի, լ, ս, ե, լ.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Գաղտնի լսել |
| Read in Latin letters | gaghtni lsel |
| Translation | to eavesdrop |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | B1 |
- Գաղտնի լսելgaghtni lselto eavesdrop
Why it looks that way
From գաղտնի 'secretly' and լսել 'to listen'. There is no separate verb: լսել covers hear and listen, and the secrecy is added by the adverb
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.
- Նա գաղտնի լսեց խոսակցությունըna gaghtni lsets khosaktsut'yunəHe eavesdropped on the conversation
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- Ընկերənkerfriendstarts with the fleeting schwa ə. It also means 'comrade' and a girl's boyfriend; a girlfriend is ənkeruhi
- Ընտանիքəntanik'familyalso with the initial ə. A relative of əntani — 'tame, domestic' — said of animals
- Մայրիկmayrikmommayr — mother — plus the endearing -ik. Hayrik, tatik and papik are built the same way
- Հայրիկhayrikdadhayr — father — plus the same endearing -ik. The pair of mayrik
- Երեխաyerekhachildthe initial e gives a ye glide: ye-re-KHA. The plural is yerekhaner, with no surprises
- Վաճառողvacharroghsellerthe same vacharr- root as in the counter. The -ogh ending turns a verb into its doer: 'the selling one'
- Գնորդgnordbuyerfrom gnel — to buy. Do not mix with gnal — to go: one letter, and the meaning is another
- Հարևանharevanneighborthe neighbor on your landing and the neighboring country alike: harevan erkir
- Տան տերtan terlandlordtun in the genitive gives tan — 'of the house', ter — master. When renting, this is exactly what people say
- Թոշակառուt'oshakarruretireet'oshak — pension, arrnel — to take: 'one who takes a pension'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to eavesdrop” in Armenian?
From գաղտնի 'secretly' and լսել 'to listen'. There is no separate verb: լսել covers hear and listen, and the secrecy is added by the adverb
- How do you say “buyer” in Armenian?
from gnel — to buy. Do not mix with gnal — to go: one letter, and the meaning is another
- How do you say “mom” in Armenian?
mayr — mother — plus the endearing -ik. Hayrik, tatik and papik are built the same way
- How do you say “retiree” in Armenian?
t'oshak — pension, arrnel — to take: 'one who takes a pension'
- How do you say “seller” in Armenian?
the same vacharr- root as in the counter. The -ogh ending turns a verb into its doer: 'the selling one'
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 “to eavesdrop” in Armenian?
«Գաղտնի լսել», read “gaghtni lsel”. In a live sentence: “Նա գաղտնի լսեց խոսակցությունը” — He eavesdropped on the conversation. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level B1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters Գ, ա, ղ, տ, ն, ի, լ, ս, ե, լ.
How is “Գաղտնի լսել” written in Latin letters?
gaghtni lsel. 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?
From գաղտնի 'secretly' and լսել 'to listen'. There is no separate verb: լսել covers hear and listen, and the secrecy is added by the adverb. 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.