LingoflyWhich one is your friend in Western Armenian
At the station: how to recognize a person you have never seen — looks and character in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Կայարանին (gayaranin) մէջ (mech) եմ (em) արդէն (arten)։ Ո՞ր (vor) մէկն է քու (k'u) ընկերը (əngerə)։» — I am already at the station. Which one is your friend?; «Բարձրահասակ (partsrahasag) է եւ (yev) սլացիկ (slatsig), գանգուր (kankur) մազերով։» — He is tall and slim, with curly hair.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the station: how to recognize a person you have never seen — looks and character. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- partsrahasag e yev slatsig, kankur mazerovHe is tall and slim, with curly hair.
- kda Agnots gə gre yev tserrk'i zhamatsuytsFound him. He wears glasses and a wristwatch.
- yerguk'n al Kordzin mech lurch e, payts shad gə gadageBoth. He is serious at work, but he jokes a lot.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Կայարանին (gayaranin) մէջ (mech) եմ (em) արդէն (arten)։ Ո՞ր (vor) մէկն է քու (k'u) ընկերը (əngerə)։ | gayaranin mech em arten Vor megn e k'u əngerə | I am already at the station. Which one is your friend? |
| Բարձրահասակ (partsrahasag) է եւ (yev) սլացիկ (slatsig), գանգուր (kankur) մազերով։ | partsrahasag e yev slatsig, kankur mazerov | He is tall and slim, with curly hair. |
| Հոս (hos) երկու (yergu) հոգի (hoki) կան (gan) գանգուր (kankur) մազերով։ | hos yergu hoki gan kankur mazerov | There are two people here with curly hair. |
| Ալեհեր (aleher) չէ (che), երիտասարդ (yeridasart) է։ Յօնքերը թաւ են (honk'erə t'av en), կզակին սպի ունի (gzagin sbi uni)։ | aleher che, yeridasart e Honk'erə t'av en, gzagin sbi uni | He is not gray-haired, he is young. His eyebrows are thick, and he has a scar on his chin. |
| Գտայ (kday)։ Ակնոց (agnots) կը (gə) կրէ (gre) եւ (yev) ձեռքի ժամացոյց (tserrk'i zhamatsuyts)։ | kda Agnots gə gre yev tserrk'i zhamatsuyts | Found him. He wears glasses and a wristwatch. |
| Ինքն է։ Շփուող (shp'vogh) մարդ (mart) է, ինք պիտի (bidi) սկսի (sgsi) խօսակցութիւնը (khosagtsut'yunə)։ | ink'n e Shp'vogh mart e, ink' bidi sgsi khosagtsut'yunə | That is him. He is a sociable person; he will start the conversation himself. |
| Լաւ (lav)։ Ըսէ (əse), ան (an) լո՞ւրջ (lurch) մարդ (mart) է, թէ (t'e)՞ հումորի զգացում ունի (humori zkatsum uni)։ | lav Əse, an lurch mart e, t'e humori zkatsum uni | All right. Tell me, is he a serious person, or does he have a sense of humor? |
| Երկուքն ալ (yerguk'n al)։ Գործին (kordzin) մէջ (mech) լուրջ (lurch) է, բայց (payts) շատ (shad) կը (gə) կատակէ։ | yerguk'n al Kordzin mech lurch e, payts shad gə gadage | Both. He is serious at work, but he jokes a lot. |
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?
“Կայարանին (gayaranin) մէջ (mech) եմ (em) արդէն (arten)։ Ո՞ր (vor) մէկն է քու (k'u) ընկերը (əngerə)։” (gayaranin mech em arten Vor megn e k'u əngerə) — I am already at the station. Which one is your friend? 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.