Համեստ
“Համեստ” (hamest) — modest in Armenian. Adjective, level B1, topic — people and family. About a person and about things: hamest untrik, a modest dinner, hamest gumar, a modest sum; here it is praise, not reproach. In a live sentence: “Համեստ մարդ է, չի սիրում գովեստ” — He is a modest person, he does not like praise. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Հ, ա, մ, ե, ս, տ.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Համեստ |
| Read in Latin letters | hamest |
| Translation | modest |
| Part of speech | adjective |
| Level | B1 |
- Համեստhamestmodest
Why it looks that way
About a person and about things: hamest untrik, a modest dinner, hamest gumar, a modest sum; here it is praise, not reproach
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.
- Համեստ մարդ է, չի սիրում գովեստhamest mard e, chi sirum govestHe is a modest person, he does not like praise
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 “modest” in Armenian?
About a person and about things: hamest untrik, a modest dinner, hamest gumar, a modest sum; here it is praise, not reproach
- 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 “modest” in Armenian?
«Համեստ», read “hamest”. In a live sentence: “Համեստ մարդ է, չի սիրում գովեստ” — He is a modest person, he does not like praise. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adjective, level B1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters Հ, ա, մ, ե, ս, տ.
How is “Համեստ” written in Latin letters?
hamest. 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?
About a person and about things: hamest untrik, a modest dinner, hamest gumar, a modest sum; here it is praise, not reproach. 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.