LingoflySorry, I'm late in Western Armenian
Late for a meeting with a friend: apologies, tiredness, making up in Western Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ներեցէք ուշացման համար (neretsek' ushatsman hamar)։ Խցանում (khtsanum) կար (gar)։» — Forgive me for being late. There was a traffic jam; «Ոչինչ, կը պատահի (vochinch, gə badahi)։» — No harm done, it happens.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: late for a meeting with a friend: apologies, tiredness, making up. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- neretsek' ushatsman hamar Khtsanum garForgive me for being late. There was a traffic jam.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ներեցէք ուշացման համար (neretsek' ushatsman hamar)։ Խցանում (khtsanum) կար (gar)։ | neretsek' ushatsman hamar Khtsanum gar | Forgive me for being late. There was a traffic jam. |
| Ոչինչ, կը պատահի (vochinch, gə badahi)։ | vochinch, gə badahi | No harm done, it happens. |
| Շատ (shad) եմ (em) յոգնած (hoknadz)։ Առաւօտէն (arravoden) ոտքի (vodk'i) վրայ (vra) եմ (em)։ | shad em hoknadz Arravoden vodk'i vray em | I am very tired. I have been on my feet since morning. |
| Հանգստացիր (hanksdatsir)։ Սուրճ (surj) պատուի՞րեմ։ | hanksdatsir Surj baduirem | Take it easy. Shall I order a coffee? |
| Այո (ayo), խնդրեմ (khntrem)։ Կ'անհանգստանայի, որ (vor) պիտի (bidi) բարկանաս։ | ayo, khntrem G'anhanksdanayi, vor bidi parganas | Yes, please. I was worried you would be angry. |
| Ես (yes) բարկացած (pargatsadz) չեմ (chem)։ Դուն (tun) զիս (zis) միշտ (mishd) կը (gə) զգուշացնես։ | yes pargatsadz chem Tun zis mishd gə zkushatsnes | I am not angry. You always warn me. |
| Ապրիս (abris)։ Յաջորդ (hachort) անգամ (ankam) շուտ (shud) պիտի (bidi) գամ (kam)։ | abris Hachort ankam shud bidi kam | Thanks. Next time I'll come early. |
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?
“Ներեցէք ուշացման համար (neretsek' ushatsman hamar)։ Խցանում (khtsanum) կար (gar)։” (neretsek' ushatsman hamar Khtsanum gar) — Forgive me for being late. There was a traffic jam. 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.