LingoflyԱշխատասէր, շատախօս, անտարբեր: what character is built from
You need not memorize character adjectives one by one. Almost each is a simple root plus a tail, and there are half a dozen tails. -սեր — "loving": աշխատասեր — hard-working, հիւրասեր — hospitable. -խօս — "speaking": շատախօս (shadakhos) — chatty, բարձրախօս (partsrakhos) — a loudspeaker. For example: “Աշխատասէր (ashkhadaser) եւ (yev) համբերատար (hamperadar) մարդ (mart) է” — He is a hard-working and patient person. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
You need not memorize character adjectives one by one. Almost each is a simple root plus a tail, and there are half a dozen tails. -սեր — "loving": աշխատասեր — hard-working, հիւրասեր — hospitable. -խօս — "speaking": շատախօս (shadakhos) — chatty, բարձրախօս (partsrakhos) — a loudspeaker.
-տար (-dar) — "carrying": համբերատար (hamperadar) — patient, հոգատար (hokadar) — caring. -ելի / -ալի — "such that one can": վստահելի (vsdaheli) — reliable, ձանձրալի (tsantsrali) — boring, հաճելի (hajeli) — pleasant.
-ուած — a participle, "made that way": ցրուել — to scatter, ցրուած (tsrvadz) — absent-minded; օգտագործուած (okdakordzvadz) — second-hand. The prefix ան- (an) means "un-, non-": անտարբեր (andarper) — indifferent, անվճար (anvjar) — free of charge.
One caution: ան- negates a noun or an adjective, while a verb takes չ-. Անտարբեր (andarper) է (andarper e) — he is indifferent, but չի (chi) հասկնար (hasgnar) (chi hasgnar) — he does not understand; you can't say "անհասկնալ".
Table
| Tail | Meaning | Built from | What comes out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -սեր | loving | աշխատանք (ashkhadank') — work | աշխատասեր — hard-working |
| -խօս | speaking | շատ (shad) — much | շատախօս (shadakhos) — chatty |
| -տար | carrying | հոգ — care | հոգատար (hokadar) — caring |
| -ելի | such that one can | վստահել — to trust | վստահելի (vsdaheli) — reliable |
| -ալի | such that one can | ձանձրանալ — to be bored | ձանձրալի (tsantsrali) — boring |
| -ուած | the one it was done to | ցրուել — to scatter | ցրուած (tsrvadz) — absent-minded |
| ան- (in front) | un-, non- | տարբեր (darper) — different | անտարբեր (andarper) — indifferent |
| չ- (on a verb) | not | կը (gə) հասկնայ | չի (chi) հասկնար (hasgnar) — does not understand |
By example
- ashkhadaser yev hamperadar mart eHe is a hard-working and patient person
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
what character is built from: how does it work in Western Armenian?
You need not memorize character adjectives one by one. Almost each is a simple root plus a tail, and there are half a dozen tails. -սեր — "loving": աշխատասեր — hard-working, հիւրասեր — hospitable. -խօս — "speaking": շատախօս (shadakhos) — chatty, բարձրախօս (partsrakhos) — a loudspeaker.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Աշխատասէր (ashkhadaser) եւ (yev) համբերատար (hamperadar) մարդ (mart) է” (ashkhadaser yev hamperadar mart e) — He is a hard-working and patient person. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.