Է է — e
«e» is a vowel of Western Armenian, the “The aybuben” script, read as “e”. Always a plain e, with no y-glide. The Western Armenian alphabet has 40 letters in total. In the classical script է stands where the eastern reform wrote ե: մէկ, ինչպէս. It appears, for example, in the word “Ինչպէ՞ս ես” — how are you?
In short
| Character | Է է |
| Name | e |
| Sound | e |
| What it is | a vowel |
In our course the character comes 15th of 40: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ւ and ը, appears in 210 words of this site.
How it sounds
Always a plain e, with no y-glide
The character in the “vowels” group
Eight signs, and they sound the same in both norms. Two of them — ե and ո — gain a y-glide and a v at the start of a word. Ես is "yes"; Ոչ is "voch". And ը is a fleeting murmur and the article in one. The difference between the norms is not in the vowels but in the consonants below.
Words with this character
- Ինչպէ՞ս եսinchbes yeshow are you?
- Ինչպէ՞ս եքinchbes ek'how are you? (formal)
- Իմ անունը ... էim anunə ... emy name is
- Ի՞նչ է քո անունըinch e k'o anunəwhat's your name?
- Հաճելի էhajeli enice to meet you
- Մէկmegone
- Ո՞ւր էur ewhere is it?
- Երէկyeregyesterday
- ՀայերէնhayerenArmenian (language)
- Էժանezhancheap
- Սա թանկ էsa t'ang ethis is expensive
- Աւելի էժան չ'ըլլա՞յaveli ezhan ch'əllaycan it be cheaper?
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound, see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 40 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Western Armenian character է read?
As “e” — it is a vowel of the “The aybuben” script. Always a plain e, with no y-glide.
What is the letter է called?
E. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Western Armenian script: it is called “e” and reads as “e”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can է be confused with?
In the classical script է stands where the eastern reform wrote ե: մէկ, ինչպէս. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.