Երկու քայլի վրա
“Երկու քայլի վրա” (yerku k'ayli vra) — two steps away in Armenian. Phrase, level A1, topic — asking the way. the postposition vra demands the genitive, so k'ayl becomes k'ayli. In a live sentence: “Խանութը երկու քայլի վրա է” — The shop is two steps away. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ, ք, ա, յ, լ, ի, վ, ր. One of 23 words in the set “asking the way” in the Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Երկու քայլի վրա |
| Read in Latin letters | yerku k'ayli vra |
| Translation | two steps away |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- Երկու քայլի վրաyerku k'ayli vratwo steps away
Why it looks that way
the postposition vra demands the genitive, so k'ayl becomes k'ayli
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.
- Խանութը երկու քայլի վրա էkhanut'ə yerku k'ayli vra eThe shop is two steps away
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- Որտե՞ղ էvorteh ewhere?literally 'where is'. The linking verb e is obligatory: without it the question sounds cut off
- Աջajrightboth the side and the right hand. The direction is set by the case, not by a new word: aj — to the right, ajits — from the right
- Ձախdzakhleftthe partner of aj, built the same way: dzakh — to the left, dzakhits — from the left. Dz is one fused dz sound
- Ուղիղughighstraightstraight ahead on the road, a straight line, and even a live broadcast — ughigh yet'er
- Մոտmotcloseit also works as 'near' — but it follows the word: metroyi mot — by the metro
- Հեռուherrufardouble rr — rolled. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker', and herrustats'uyts' — television
- Այստեղaysteghhereays — this, tegh — place: 'this place'. Ayntegh, 'there', is built on the same scheme
- Այնտեղaynteghthereayn — that, tegh — place. One syllable apart from aystegh: ays versus ayn
- Ինչպես հասնելinchpes hasnelhow do I getthe question uses hasnel — 'to reach' — not 'to go'; in lively speech the question hook sits on the vowel: inchpes
- Ժամանելzhamanelto arriveyou know hasnel as the everyday 'make it'; zhamanel is the arrival of trains and timetables
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “two steps away” in Armenian?
the postposition vra demands the genitive, so k'ayl becomes k'ayli
- How do you say “here” in Armenian?
ays — this, tegh — place: 'this place'. Ayntegh, 'there', is built on the same scheme
- How do you say “left” in Armenian?
the partner of aj, built the same way: dzakh — to the left, dzakhits — from the left. Dz is one fused dz sound
- How do you say “to arrive” in Armenian?
you know hasnel as the everyday 'make it'; zhamanel is the arrival of trains and timetables
- How do you say “far” in Armenian?
double rr — rolled. Hence herrakhos — telephone, 'far-speaker', and herrustats'uyts' — television
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 “two steps away” in Armenian?
«Երկու քայլի վրա», read “yerku k'ayli vra”. In a live sentence: “Խանութը երկու քայլի վրա է” — The shop is two steps away. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ, ք, ա, յ, լ, ի, վ, ր.
How is “Երկու քայլի վրա” written in Latin letters?
yerku k'ayli vra. 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 postposition vra demands the genitive, so k'ayl becomes k'ayli. 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.