LingoflyMore expensive, cheaper: one word, աւելի
English bends the word itself — cheap, cheaper, the cheapest — and here nothing inside the word moves. The adjective stays as it is, and աւելի (aveli) steps in front of it: թանկ (t'ang) → աւելի (aveli) թանկ (t'ang). For example: “Այս (ays) պանիրը (banirə) աւելի (aveli) թանկ (t'ang) է” — This cheese is more expensive. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English bends the word itself — cheap, cheaper, the cheapest — and here nothing inside the word moves. The adjective stays as it is, and աւելի (aveli) steps in front of it: թանկ (t'ang) → աւելի (aveli) թանկ (t'ang) (aveli t'ang).
"Than" is քան (k'an), and it stands before the second participant of the comparison: Շուկան (shugan) աւելի աժան (aveli azhan) է (shugan aveli azhan e), քան (k'an) խանութը (khanut'ə) (k'an khanut'ə). In live speech քան (k'an) is often dropped, and the second noun takes the "from" ending -էն: Շուկան (shugan) խանութէն (khanut'en) աժան (azhan) է (shugan khanut'en azhan e) — the market is cheaper than the shop. Both are right; the second sounds more natural.
Table
By example
- shugan aveli azhan e, k'an khanut'əThe market is cheaper than the shop
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
More expensive, cheaper: how does it work in Western Armenian?
English bends the word itself — cheap, cheaper, the cheapest — and here nothing inside the word moves. The adjective stays as it is, and աւելի (aveli) steps in front of it: թանկ (t'ang) → աւելի (aveli) թանկ (t'ang).
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Այս (ays) պանիրը (banirə) աւելի (aveli) թանկ (t'ang) է” (ays banirə aveli t'ang e) — This cheese is more expensive. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.