Կա
“Կա” (ka) — there is in Armenian. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. about existence: jur ka? — 'is there water?' The negation is chka. Nothing to do with eating — that is utel. In a live sentence: “Սեղանին թարմ հաց կա” — There is fresh bread on the table. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Կ, ա. One of 23 words in the set “verbs” in the Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Կա |
| Read in Latin letters | ka |
| Translation | there is |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- Կաkathere is
Why it looks that way
about existence: jur ka? — 'is there water?' The negation is chka. Nothing to do with eating — that is utel
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.
- Սեղանին թարմ հաց կաseghanin t'arm hats kaThere is fresh bread on the table
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- Ուզում եմuzum emI wantfrom uzel. The present tense is uniform everywhere: stem + -um + the little linking verb. The politer kuzenayi means 'I would like'
- Գնալgnalto goone verb for all motion away from you — on foot, by car, by plane. Do not mix with gnel — to buy: the whole difference is one a
- Ուտելutelto eatdo not mix with ka — 'there is': a different job entirely
- Խմելkhmelto drinkkh is a deep, throaty sound, farther back than English h. One verb for water, tea and wine
- Կարդալkardalto readreading only: 'to study' is another verb, sovorel. The k is a clean k with no puff
- Խոսելkhoselto speakspeech in general; 'to say' is asel. With someone — khosel ... het. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker'
- Աշխատելashkhatelto workof people and things alike: verelakə chi ashkhatum — the elevator is out of order
- Ապրելaprelto liveboth 'to live somewhere' and 'to be alive'. Hence the praise apres — 'well done', literally 'live!'
- Սիրելsirelto loveof people and of pursuits: sirum em kardal. Hence ser — love — and sirun — good-looking
- ՈւնեմunemI haveArmenian needs no 'at mine': unem means 'I have', the person is already in the ending. The negation is chunem
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “there is” in Armenian?
about existence: jur ka? — 'is there water?' The negation is chka. Nothing to do with eating — that is utel
- How do you say “to work” in Armenian?
of people and things alike: verelakə chi ashkhatum — the elevator is out of order
- How do you say “to eat” in Armenian?
do not mix with ka — 'there is': a different job entirely
- How do you say “I have” in Armenian?
Armenian needs no 'at mine': unem means 'I have', the person is already in the ending. The negation is chunem
- How do you say “to speak” in Armenian?
speech in general; 'to say' is asel. With someone — khosel ... het. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker'
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 “there is” in Armenian?
«Կա», read “ka”. In a live sentence: “Սեղանին թարմ հաց կա” — There is fresh bread on the table. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters Կ, ա.
How is “Կա” written in Latin letters?
ka. 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 existence: jur ka? — 'is there water?' The negation is chka. Nothing to do with eating — that is utel. 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.