Երկու
“Երկու” (yerku) — two in Armenian. Numeral, level A0, topic — numbers and counting. hence Yerkushabti — Monday: the Armenian week literally counts its days. In a live sentence: “Ես երկու քույր ունեմ” — I have two sisters. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ. One of 27 words in the set “numbers and counting” in the Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Երկու |
| Read in Latin letters | yerku |
| Translation | two |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A0 |
- Երկուyerkutwo
Why it looks that way
hence Yerkushabti — Monday: the Armenian week literally counts its days
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.
- Ես երկու քույր ունեմyes yerku k'uyr unemI have two sisters
Nearby words: numbers and counting
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
- Մեկmekoneboth 'one' and 'once': mek angam — one time
- Երեքyerek'threeYerek'shabti — Tuesday, 'the third day'. The counting from the previous card goes on
- Չորսchorsfourin compounds it turns into chorek': Chorek'shabti — Wednesday
- ՀինգhingfiveHingshabti — Thursday. The count ends at five: Friday and Saturday are named differently
- Վեցvetssixthe ordinal leaves it unchanged: vets → vetserord. Do not confuse with verj — 'end'
- Յոթyot'seventhe initial Y sounds like English y. The aspirated t' holds on in derivatives: yot'erord, yot' haryur
- Ութut'eightjust two sounds, both held: ut'. Do not confuse with utel — to eat: there the t has no puff
- Ինըinəninethe dictionary form with the article -ə. Before another word it stays, inə haryur, and in the ordinal the n doubles — innerord
- Տասըtasətenalso with the article -ə. In compounds it vanishes and the stem stretches: tasnmek, tasnerord
- Երկու հարյուրyerku haryurtwo hundredthe hundred never fuses with the number: written and heard as two words, yerku + haryur. The stress lands on the last syllable of the second: yer-KU har-YUR
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “numbers and counting”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “two” in Armenian?
hence Yerkushabti — Monday: the Armenian week literally counts its days
- How do you say “eight” in Armenian?
just two sounds, both held: ut'. Do not confuse with utel — to eat: there the t has no puff
- How do you say “four” in Armenian?
in compounds it turns into chorek': Chorek'shabti — Wednesday
- How do you say “two hundred” in Armenian?
the hundred never fuses with the number: written and heard as two words, yerku + haryur. The stress lands on the last syllable of the second: yer-KU har-YUR
- How do you say “seven” in Armenian?
the initial Y sounds like English y. The aspirated t' holds on in derivatives: yot'erord, yot' haryur
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” in Armenian?
«Երկու», read “yerku”. In a live sentence: “Ես երկու քույր ունեմ” — I have two sisters. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Numeral, level A0, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ.
How is “Երկու” written in Latin letters?
yerku. 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?
hence Yerkushabti — Monday: the Armenian week literally counts its days. 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.