Ը ը — yt
«yt» is a vowel of Western Armenian, the “The aybuben” script, read as “ə”. A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English "about". The Western Armenian alphabet has 40 letters in total. It is also the Armenian article: -ը grows onto the end of a word. It appears, for example, in the word “Իմ անունը ... է” — my name is.
In short
| Character | Ը ը |
| Name | yt |
| Sound | ə |
| What it is | a vowel |
In our course the character comes 16th of 40: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are է and օ, appears in 269 words of this site.
How it sounds
A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English "about"
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
- Իմ անունը ... էim anunə ... emy name is
- Ի՞նչ է քո անունըinch e k'o anunəwhat's your name?
- Ինըinənine
- Տասըdasəten
- Ընկերəngerfriend
- Ընտանիքəndanik'family
- Ինչքա՞ն կը լինիinchk'an gə linihow much do I owe?
- Աւելի էժան չ'ըլլա՞յaveli ezhan ch'əllaycan it be cheaper?
- Ընդամենըəntamenəonly
- Ընտրելəndrelto choose
- Կը կաթէgə gat'eit leaks
- Կը ցաւիgə tsaviit hurts
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 ը read?
As “ə” — it is a vowel of the “The aybuben” script. A short muffled sound between uh and eh — like the a in English "about".
What is the letter ը called?
Yt. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Western Armenian script: it is called “yt” and reads as “ə”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ը be confused with?
It is also the Armenian article: -ը grows onto the end of a word. 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.