LingoflyI'm calling the repairman in Western Armenian
A call to the landlord: the kitchen tap is leaking in Western Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Խոհանոցին (khohanotsin) մէջ (mech) ջուրը (churə) կը կաթի (gə gat'i)։» — Hello. The water is dripping in the kitchen; «Ե՞րբ (yerp) սկսաւ (sgsav)։» — When did it start?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to the landlord: the kitchen tap is leaking. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ե՞րբ սկսաւ։yerp sgsavWhen did it start?
- Հասկցայ։ Վարպետ պիտի ղրկեմ։hasgtsay. Varbed bidi ghrgemUnderstood. I will send a repairman.
- yerp bidi kak'. Yes minchev vetsə dan mech emWhen will you come? I am home until six.
- Լաւ, շնորհակալութիւն։ Կը սպասեմ։lav, shnorhagalut'yun. Gə sbasemAll right, thank you. I'll be waiting.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Խոհանոցին (khohanotsin) մէջ (mech) ջուրը (churə) կը կաթի (gə gat'i)։ | parev tsez. Khohanotsin mech churə gə gat'i | Hello. The water is dripping in the kitchen. |
| Ե՞րբ (yerp) սկսաւ (sgsav)։ | yerp sgsav | When did it start? |
| Երէկ (yereg) երեկոյեան (yeregoyean)։ Տաք ջուր (dak' chur) ալ (al) չկայ (chgay)։ | yereg yeregoyean. Dak' chur al chgay | Yesterday evening. And there is no hot water either. |
| Հասկցայ (hasgtsa)։ Վարպետ (varbed) պիտի (bidi) ղրկեմ։ | hasgtsay. Varbed bidi ghrgem | Understood. I will send a repairman. |
| Ե՞րբ պիտի գաք (yerp bidi kak')։ Ես (yes) մինչեւ (minchev) վեցը (vetsə) տան (dan) մէջ (mech) եմ (em)։ | yerp bidi kak'. Yes minchev vetsə dan mech em | When will you come? I am home until six. |
| Ժամը (zhamə) չորսին։ Խնդրեմ (khntrem) սպասեցէք (sbasetsek)։ | zhamə chorsin. Khntrem sbasetsek' | At four o'clock. Please wait for me. |
| Լաւ (lav), շնորհակալութիւն (shnorhagalut'yun)։ Կը (gə) սպասեմ (sbasem)։ | lav, shnorhagalut'yun. Gə sbasem | All right, thank you. I'll be waiting. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Western Armenian in this situation?
“Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Խոհանոցին (khohanotsin) մէջ (mech) ջուրը (churə) կը կաթի (gə gat'i)։” (parev tsez. Khohanotsin mech churə gə gat'i) — Hello. The water is dripping in the kitchen. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.