LingoflyI've brought the shoes back in Western Armenian
At the shop: the size didn't fit, the cheque, an exchange and a return in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Երէկ (yereg) այս (ays) կօշիկը (goshigə) գնեցի (knetsi), չափսը չեկաւ (chap'sə chegav)։» — Hello. Yesterday I bought these shoes, and the size didn't fit; «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Կտրօնը (gdronə) պահա՞ծ էք (ek)։» — Hello. Have you kept the cheque?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the shop: the size didn't fit, the cheque, an exchange and a return. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- parev tsez Yereg ays goshigə knetsi, chap'sə chegavHello. Yesterday I bought these shoes, and the size didn't fit.
- Այո, կտրօնը մօտս է։ Կրնա՞մ ապրանքը փոխանակել։ayo, gdronə mods e Grnam abrank'ə p'okhanagelYes, I have the cheque. May I exchange the item?
- Քառասունըմէկ։ Կարելի՞ է նաեւ այլ գոյնով փոխել։k'arrasunəmeg Gareli e naev ayl kuynov p'okhelForty-one. And can I also change it for another color?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Երէկ (yereg) այս (ays) կօշիկը (goshigə) գնեցի (knetsi), չափսը չեկաւ (chap'sə chegav)։ | parev tsez Yereg ays goshigə knetsi, chap'sə chegav | Hello. Yesterday I bought these shoes, and the size didn't fit. |
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Կտրօնը (gdronə) պահա՞ծ էք (ek)։ | parev tsez Gdronə bahadz ek' | Hello. Have you kept the cheque? |
| Այո (ayo), կտրօնը (gdronə) մօտս է։ Կրնա՞մ (grnam) ապրանքը փոխանակել (abrank'ə p'okhanagel)։ | ayo, gdronə mods e Grnam abrank'ə p'okhanagel | Yes, I have the cheque. May I exchange the item? |
| Իհարկէ (iharge)։ Ո՞ր (vor) չափսն է ձեզի (tsezi) պէտք (bedk)։ | iharge Vor chap'sn e tsezi bedk' | Of course. Which size do you need? |
| Քառասունըմէկ։ Կարելի (gareli)՞ է նաեւ այլ գոյնով փոխել (ayl kuynov p'okhel)։ | k'arrasunəmeg Gareli e naev ayl kuynov p'okhel | Forty-one. And can I also change it for another color? |
| Սեւ (sev) գոյնը (kuynə) առկայ (arrga) է, սրճագոյնը՝ ոչ (voch)։ | sev kuynə arrga e, srjakuynə voch | The black color is in stock; the brown one is not. |
| Իսկ (isg) եթէ (yet'e) ոչինչ (vochinch) չհամապատասխանէ, վերադարձ (veratarts) կը (gə) ձեւակերպէ՞ք։ | isg yet'e vochinch chhamabadaskhane, veratarts gə tsevagerbek' | And if nothing fits, will you process a return? |
| Այո (ayo), տասնըչորս (dasnəchors) օրուան (oruan) ընթացքին (ənt'atsk'in), կտրօնով եւ (yev) առանց (arrants) վնասի։ | ayo, dasnəchors oruan ənt'atsk'in, gdronov yev arrants vnasi | Yes, within fourteen days, with the cheque and without damage. |
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)։ Երէկ (yereg) այս (ays) կօշիկը (goshigə) գնեցի (knetsi), չափսը չեկաւ (chap'sə chegav)։” (parev tsez Yereg ays goshigə knetsi, chap'sə chegav) — Hello. Yesterday I bought these shoes, and the size didn't fit. 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.