LingoflyAt the doctor: a fever in Western Armenian
At the doctor: symptoms, a diagnosis, treatment and a sick note in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), դոկտոր (togdor)։ Երեք (yerek') օր (or) է վատ կը զգամ (vad gə zkam)։» — Hello, doctor. For three days I have been feeling unwell; «Ի՞նչ (inch) ախտանիշներ ունիք (unik)։» — What symptoms do you have?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the doctor: symptoms, a diagnosis, treatment and a sick note. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- parev tsez, togdor Yerek' or e vad gə zkamHello, doctor. For three days I have been feeling unwell.
- gogorts gə tsavi, partsr chermut'yun unim yev t'ulut'yunI have a sore throat, a high fever and weakness.
- amenayn havanaganut'eamp krib e Varagich e, dunə mnatsek'Most probably it is the flu. It is contagious — stay at home.
- Բուժումը որքա՞ն պիտի տեւէ։puzhumə vork'an bidi deveHow long will the treatment last?
- mod meg shapat' Hyuantut'ean t'ert'ig bidi krem tseziAbout a week. I will write you a sick note.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), դոկտոր (togdor)։ Երեք (yerek') օր (or) է վատ կը զգամ (vad gə zkam)։ | parev tsez, togdor Yerek' or e vad gə zkam | Hello, doctor. For three days I have been feeling unwell. |
| Ի՞նչ (inch) ախտանիշներ ունիք (unik)։ | inch akhdanishner unik' | What symptoms do you have? |
| Կոկորդս կը ցաւի (gogorts gə tsavi), բարձր ջերմութիւն (partsr chermut'yun) ունիմ (unim) եւ (yev) թուլութիւն (t'ulut'yun)։ | gogorts gə tsavi, partsr chermut'yun unim yev t'ulut'yun | I have a sore throat, a high fever and weakness. |
| Դող (togh) կա՞յ (gay)։ Կը (gə) փռշտա՞ք։ | togh gay Gə p'rrshdak' | Any chills? Do you sneeze? |
| Այո (ayo), երկուսն ալ (al)։ Ասիկա (asiga) գրի (kri)՞պ է։ | ayo, yergusn al Asiga krib e | Yes, both. Is it the flu? |
| Ամենայն հաւանականութեամբ (amenayn havanaganut'eamp) գրիպ (krib) է։ Վարակիչ (varagich) է, տունը (dunə) մնացէք։ | amenayn havanaganut'eamp krib e Varagich e, dunə mnatsek' | Most probably it is the flu. It is contagious — stay at home. |
| Բուժումը (puzhumə) որքա՞ն (vork'an) պիտի (bidi) տեւէ (deve)։ | puzhumə vork'an bidi deve | How long will the treatment last? |
| Մօտ (mod) մէկ շաբաթ (meg shapat')։ Հիւանդութեան թերթիկ (hyuantut'ean t'ert'ig) պիտի (bidi) գրեմ (krem) ձեզի (tsezi)։ | mod meg shapat' Hyuantut'ean t'ert'ig bidi krem tsezi | About a week. I will write you a sick note. |
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), դոկտոր (togdor)։ Երեք (yerek') օր (or) է վատ կը զգամ (vad gə zkam)։” (parev tsez, togdor Yerek' or e vad gə zkam) — Hello, doctor. For three days I have been feeling unwell. 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.