Շինարար, երգիչ, այգեպան: how an occupation comes out of a deed
The name of a doer is built with a suffix, and there are four common ones. Whoever knows them reads an unfamiliar -ող word on sight: this is about a person. For example: “Վաճառողը, գնորդը եւ ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ են” — The seller, the buyer and the recipient are three different people. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The name of a doer is built with a suffix, and there are four common ones. Whoever knows them reads an unfamiliar -ող word on sight: this is about a person.
-ող — the one who does. The suffix clings to the verb stem: greł → grogh (a writer); sdanal → sdatsogh (a recipient). It works on the fly: any verb can be turned into a doer this way. You will be understood even if the word is not in the dictionary.
-իչ — a profession and an appliance. Yerkeł → yerkich (a singer); nkgareł → nkarich (a painter). The whistle sulich uses the same suffix. The difference from -ող is subtle: grogh is one who writes; grich is what one writes with.
-պան, -պահ (-bah), -արար — the keeper and the maker. Aygi → aygepan (a gardener); shin- → shinarar (a builder). The workplace is made by the same trick: the suffix -արան gives a premises — kordzaran (a factory), arhesdanots (a workshop).
Table
| Suffix | What it makes | Built from | What comes out |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ող | the one doing it now | վաճառել — to sell | վաճառող — a seller |
| -ող | the one doing it now | ստանալ — to receive | ստացող — a recipient |
| -իչ | a profession | երգել — to sing | երգիչ — a singer |
| -իչ | a thing that does it | սուլել — to whistle | սուլիչ — a whistle |
| -պան | the one who keeps it | այգի — a garden | այգեպան — a gardener |
| -պահ | the one who keeps it | հաշիւ — the account | հաշւապահ — an accountant |
| -արար | the one who makes it | շին- — to build | շինարար — a builder |
| -արան | the place of the work | գործ — work | գործարան — a factory |
| -անոց | a place by the trade | արհեստ — a craft | արհեստանոց — a workshop |
By example
- Վաճառողը, գնորդը եւ ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ ենvajarroghə, knortə yev sdatsoghə yerek' darper mart enThe seller, the buyer and the recipient are three different people
- Երգիչը կը երգէ, գրողը կը գրէ, նկարիչը կը նկարէyerkichə gə yerke, kroghə gə kre, ngarichə gə ngareThe singer sings, the writer writes, the painter paints
- Հացթուխը կ'աշխատի փռում, հիւսնը՝ արհեստանոցումhatst'ukhə g'ashkhadi p'rrum, hyusnə arhesdanotsumThe baker works in the bakery, the carpenter in the workshop
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
how an occupation comes out of a deed: how does it work in Western Armenian?
The name of a doer is built with a suffix, and there are four common ones. Whoever knows them reads an unfamiliar -ող word on sight: this is about a person.
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Վաճառողը, գնորդը եւ ստացողը երեք տարբեր մարդ են” (vajarroghə, knortə yev sdatsoghə yerek' darper mart en) — The seller, the buyer and the recipient are three different people. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.