LingoflyAt the car rental in Western Armenian
At a car rental: the term, insurance, the tank and the return in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ինքնաշարժ (ink'nasharzh) կ'ուզեմ (g'uzem) վարձել (vartsel)։» — Hello. I would like to rent a car; «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Քանի՞ (k'ani) օրով (orov)։» — Hello. For how many days?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at a car rental: the term, insurance, the tank and the return. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Չորս օրով։ Ապահովագրութիւնը ներառուա՞ծ է գնի մէջ։chors orov Abahovakrut'yunə nerarruadz e kni mechFor four days. Is the insurance included in the price?
- Այո, հիմնական ապահովագրութիւնը ներառուած է։ayo, himnagan abahovakrut'yunə nerarruadz eYes, the basic insurance is included.
- Լաւ։ Բեռնախցիկին մէջ պահեստային անիւ կա՞յ։lav Perrnakhtsigin mech bahesdayin anyu gayAll right. Is there a spare wheel in the trunk?
- Ինքնաշարժը ե՞րբ պէտք է վերադարձնեմ։ink'nasharzhə yerp bedk' e veratartsnemWhen do I have to return the car?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ինքնաշարժ (ink'nasharzh) կ'ուզեմ (g'uzem) վարձել (vartsel)։ | parev tsez Ink'nasharzh g'uzem vartsel | Hello. I would like to rent a car. |
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Քանի՞ (k'ani) օրով (orov)։ | parev tsez K'ani orov | Hello. For how many days? |
| Չորս (chors) օրով (orov)։ Ապահովագրութիւնը (abahovakrut'yunə) ներառուա՞ծ է գնի (kni) մէջ (mech)։ | chors orov Abahovakrut'yunə nerarruadz e kni mech | For four days. Is the insurance included in the price? |
| Այո (ayo), հիմնական ապահովագրութիւնը (abahovakrut'yunə) ներառուած (nerarruadz) է։ | ayo, himnagan abahovakrut'yunə nerarruadz e | Yes, the basic insurance is included. |
| Լաւ (lav)։ Բեռնախցիկին մէջ պահեստային անիւ կա՞յ (perrnakhtsigin mech bahesdayin anyu gay)։ | lav Perrnakhtsigin mech bahesdayin anyu gay | All right. Is there a spare wheel in the trunk? |
| Կայ (gay), եւ (yev) գործիքները ալ (al) հոն (hon) են (en)։ | gay, yev kordzik'nerə al hon en | There is, and the tools are there too. |
| Ինքնաշարժը (ink'nasharzhə) ե՞րբ (yerp) պէտք է (bedk' e) վերադարձնեմ (veratartsnem)։ | ink'nasharzhə yerp bedk' e veratartsnem | When do I have to return the car? |
| Կիրակի (giragi) մինչեւ (minchev) կէսօր (gesor), լեցուն (letsun) բաքով (pak'ov)։ | giragi minchev gesor, letsun pak'ov | On Sunday by noon, with a full tank. |
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)։ Ինքնաշարժ (ink'nasharzh) կ'ուզեմ (g'uzem) վարձել (vartsel)։” (parev tsez Ink'nasharzh g'uzem vartsel) — Hello. I would like to rent a car. 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.