Ոստիկանություն կանչեք
“Ոստիկանություն կանչեք” (vostikanut'yun kanchek') — call the police in Armenian. Phrase, level A2, topic — phrases that save you. vostikan — police officer. The emergency number in Armenia is 102. In a live sentence: “Վթար է եղել, ոստիկանություն կանչեք” — There has been an accident, call the police. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Ո, ս, տ, ի, կ, ա, ն, ո, ւ, թ, յ, ո.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Ոստիկանություն կանչեք |
| Read in Latin letters | vostikanut'yun kanchek' |
| Translation | call the police |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- Ոստիկանություն կանչեքvostikanut'yun kanchek'call the police
Why it looks that way
vostikan — police officer. The emergency number in Armenia is 102
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.
- Վթար է եղել, ոստիկանություն կանչեքvt'ar e yeghel, vostikanut'yun kanchek'There has been an accident, call the police
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- Չեմ հասկանումchem haskanumI don't understandnegation is a ch- prefix stuck onto the verb: haskanum em — I understand, chem haskanum — I do not
- Կրկնեք, խնդրեմkrknek', khndremrepeat, pleasefrom krknel — to repeat. Krknek has no written vowel at all, yet it sounds kərk-NEK: an invisible schwa is implied
- Դանդաղdandaghslowlyboth 'slowly' and 'slow': dandagh kaylel — walk slowly, dandagh mard — a slow person. Kamats softens a request — gently
- Օգնեք, խնդրեմognek', khndremhelp!ogne'k' is the imperative 'help' for 'you all'. Khndrem here just softens; in real trouble it is dropped and people shout ognek' on its own
- Կորել եմkorel emI'm lostfrom korchel — to get lost, about a person. A thing is said differently: korel e — it got lost, kortsrel em — I lost it
- Չի աշխատումchi ashkhatumit doesn't workthe same verb as 'to work' about a person. The negation ch- pushes the linking verb forward
- Կոտրվել էkotrvel eit brokethe past with a result: it broke and is still broken
- Կաթում էkat'um eit leaksliterally 'dripping'. This is how a tap, a pipe and a ceiling are all spoken of
- Վարպետ կանչեքvarpet kanchek'call a repairmanvarpet is a master of the trade, a respectful word. Kanchek' — 'call' — you have seen it with the taxi
- Մի րոպե սպասեքmi rope spasek'wait a minuterope — minute. Mi rope is also said simply as 'just a second'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “call the police” in Armenian?
vostikan — police officer. The emergency number in Armenia is 102
- How do you say “it broke” in Armenian?
the past with a result: it broke and is still broken
- How do you say “slowly” in Armenian?
both 'slowly' and 'slow': dandagh kaylel — walk slowly, dandagh mard — a slow person. Kamats softens a request — gently
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Armenian?
rope — minute. Mi rope is also said simply as 'just a second'
- How do you say “it doesn't work” in Armenian?
the same verb as 'to work' about a person. The negation ch- pushes the linking verb forward
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 “call the police” in Armenian?
«Ոստիկանություն կանչեք», read “vostikanut'yun kanchek'”. In a live sentence: “Վթար է եղել, ոստիկանություն կանչեք” — There has been an accident, call the police. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters Ո, ս, տ, ի, կ, ա, ն, ո, ւ, թ, յ, ո.
How is “Ոստիկանություն կանչեք” written in Latin letters?
vostikanut'yun kanchek'. 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?
vostikan — police officer. The emergency number in Armenia is 102. 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.