Շեմ
“Շեմ” (shem) — threshold in Armenian. Noun, level A1, topic — home and things. the sill of a door and 'on the threshold' of time alike: dzmrran shemin. In a live sentence: “Շեմին կանգնած է” — He is standing on the threshold. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Շ, ե, մ. One of 192 words in the set “home and things” in the Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Շեմ |
| Read in Latin letters | shem |
| Translation | threshold |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- Շեմshemthreshold
Why it looks that way
the sill of a door and 'on the threshold' of time alike: dzmrran shemin
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.
- Շեմին կանգնած էshemin kangnats eHe is standing on the threshold
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- Տունtunhousethe stem shifts in the local case: tanə — at home, tun — home. Hence deghatun — pharmacy — and tnayin — domestic
- Կոտրվածkotrvatsbrokenfrom kotrel — to break. The -vats ending makes the participle: 'broken'
- Բնակարանbnakaranapartmentthe first word of any rental ad. Strictly a flat, and in Yerevan housing is hunted under exactly this name
- Սենյակsenyakroomhence grasenyak — office, 'a room for papers'
- Խոհանոցkhohanotskitchenhence khoharar — cook: the one in the kitchen
- Լոգարանlogaranbathroomfrom logank' — bathing. The toilet is a separate word, zugaran; the two resemble each other and get mixed up
- Պատշգամբpatshgambbalconythe literary word; in conversation everyone says balkon
- Հարկharkfloora false friend inside Armenian itself: hark is both 'floor' and 'tax'. Context tells them apart
- Վերելակverelakelevatorver — up. Signs print verelak, in speech lift is heard more often
- Աստիճաններastichannerstairsthe plural of astichan — step. In Armenian a staircase is simply 'steps'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “threshold” in Armenian?
the sill of a door and 'on the threshold' of time alike: dzmrran shemin
- How do you say “balcony” in Armenian?
the literary word; in conversation everyone says balkon
- How do you say “apartment” in Armenian?
the first word of any rental ad. Strictly a flat, and in Yerevan housing is hunted under exactly this name
- How do you say “stairs” in Armenian?
the plural of astichan — step. In Armenian a staircase is simply 'steps'
- How do you say “bathroom” in Armenian?
from logank' — bathing. The toilet is a separate word, zugaran; the two resemble each other and get mixed up
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 “threshold” in Armenian?
«Շեմ», read “shem”. In a live sentence: “Շեմին կանգնած է” — He is standing on the threshold. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters Շ, ե, մ.
How is “Շեմ” written in Latin letters?
shem. 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?
the sill of a door and 'on the threshold' of time alike: dzmrran shemin. 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.