Դժվար է ասել
- Դժվար է ասելdzhvar e aselit is hard to say
“Դժվար է ասել” (dzhvar e asel) — it is hard to say in Armenian. Phrase, level B1. An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է (tsurt e), 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե (t'e): դժվար է ասել (dzhvar e asel), թե (t'e) երբ (erb). In a live sentence: “Դժվար է ասել, թե երբ կավարտվի” (dzhvar e asel, t'e yerb kavartvi) — It is hard to say when this will end. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Armenian | Դժվար է ասել (dzhvar e asel) |
| Read in Latin letters | dzhvar e asel |
| Translation | it is hard to say |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է (tsurt e), 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե (t'e): դժվար է ասել (dzhvar e asel), թե (t'e) երբ (erb)
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.
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 “it is hard to say” in Armenian?
«Դժվար է ասել» (dzhvar e asel), read “dzhvar e asel”. In a live sentence: “Դժվար է ասել, թե երբ կավարտվի” (dzhvar e asel, t'e yerb kavartvi) — It is hard to say when this will end. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters Դ, ժ, վ, ա, ր, է, ա, ս, ե, լ.
How is “Դժվար է ասել” (dzhvar e asel) written in Latin letters?
dzhvar e asel. 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?
An impersonal phrase: no actor, like ցուրտ է (tsurt e), 'it is cold'. Often followed by թե (t'e): դժվար է ասել (dzhvar e asel), թե (t'e) երբ (erb). 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 this 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.