Verbs in Western Armenian
22 words Western Armenian words on the topic “verbs”: Երթալ — to go, Ուտել — to eat, Խմել — to drink, Կարդալ — to read.
22 words on the topic
- Երթալyert'alto goThe main verb of motion. Present:
կ'երթամ, I go; the future takesպիտի:պիտի երթամ, I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb,գնալ, for the same job - Ուտելudelto eatDo not mix with
կայ, 'there is' — eating and existing are different verbs here, just as in English. The տ sounds like d: oo-DEL' - Խմելkhmelto drinkThe խ is a throaty kh — like the ch of Scottish 'loch', not the ch of 'church'. One verb covers water, tea and wine
- Կարդալgartalto readOnly about reading: studying is a different verb,
ուսանիլ. The first կ sounds like g: gar-TAL - Խօսիլkhosilto speakAbout speech in general; 'to say' is another verb,
ասել. Classical spelling writes օ:խօսիլ. Henceհեռախօս, telephone — literally 'far-speech' - Աշխատիլashkhadilto workAbout people and machines alike:
վերելակը չ'աշխատիր— the elevator is not working. One verb for the office and the broken lift - Ապրիլabrilto liveBoth 'to live somewhere' and 'to be alive'. Hence the cheer
ապրես— literally 'may you live', said the way you'd say 'good for you!' - Սիրելsirelto loveAbout people and activities alike:
կը սիրեմ կարդալ— I love to read. From it comesսեր, love - ՈւնիմunimI haveWestern form:
ունիմ; the Eastern standard saysունեմ. No separate pronoun needed — the person sits in the ending. Negation glues on the same չ-:չունիմ, I don't have - Կայgaythere isPure existence:
ջուր կա՞յ— is there water? Negation:չկայ, there isn't. Nothing to do with eating — that isուտել's job - Ուսանիլusanilto studyThe Western 'to study' is
ուսանիլ; in diaspora speech you will also hear the Easternսովորել. One verb covers both studying and learning - Ընտրելəndrelto chooseThe same verb means 'to vote':
ընտրութիւններ— elections, literally 'choices' - Ուսանիլusanilto study (bookish)The bookish 'to study', related to
ուսանող, student. In living speech the everydayսովորիլsays the same thing - Մտապահելmdabahelto memorize
միտքis a thought,պահելis to hold: literally 'to hold in thought'. The word is its own mnemonic - Տեսնելdesnelto seeThe same root as in
ցտեսութիւն, goodbye — literally 'until we see'. The past is irregular: notտեսեցիbutտեսայ— I saw - Լսելlselto hearno vowel between the լ and the ս — the word takes off in a single beat: L-sel
- Քնելk'nelto sleepthe ք is a k on an exhale and a consonant follows at once: k'-NEL, the first cluster in one go
- Տանելdanelto carryThe direction is built in:
տանելcarries from here to there,բերելcarries from there to here. English 'carry' splits in two, and the choice depends on where the speaker stands. Already met inտանելու համար— for taking out - Դնելtnelto putCovers 'put' standing and 'put' lying — Armenian does not care whether the thing stands or lies. Already inside
հաշիւին գումար դնել— to put money on the account - Կոտրելgodrelto breakThe familiar
կոտրուած է— it's broken — is this same verb with -ուած: it broke by itself, no culprit named.Կոտրելmeans someone broke it - Կառուցելgarrutselto buildthe ռ is a full trill, longer than the plain ր: ga-roo-TSEL with a rattled rr
- Ջեռուցելcherrutselto heatthe ճ sounds like j as in 'jam' in one motion, and the ռ is a full trill: je-roo-TSEL
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Ես կ'երթամ շուկայyes g'ert'am shugayI'm going to the market
- Մենք հաց կ'ուտենքmenk' hats g'udenk'We eat bread
- Ան սուրճ կը խմէan surj gə khmeHe drinks coffee
- Երեկոյան գիրք մը կը կարդամyeregoyan kirk' mə gə gartamIn the evening I read a book
- Դուք հայերէն կը խօսի՞քtuk' hayeren gə khosik'Do you speak Armenian?
- Շաբաթ օրը չեմ աշխատիրshapat' orə chem ashkhadirOn Saturdays I don't work
What is worth knowing about these words
Երթալ (yert'al) — to go. The main verb of motion. Present: կ'երթամ, I go; the future takes պիտի: պիտի երթամ, I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb, գնալ, for the same job
Ուտել (udel) — to eat. Do not mix with կայ, 'there is' — eating and existing are different verbs here, just as in English. The տ sounds like d: oo-DEL'
Խմել (khmel) — to drink. The խ is a throaty kh — like the ch of Scottish 'loch', not the ch of 'church'. One verb covers water, tea and wine
Կարդալ (gartal) — to read. Only about reading: studying is a different verb, ուսանիլ. The first կ sounds like g: gar-TAL
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to go” in Western Armenian?
The main verb of motion. Present:
կ'երթամ, I go; the future takesպիտի:պիտի երթամ, I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb,գնալ, for the same job - How do you say “to love” in Western Armenian?
About people and activities alike:
կը սիրեմ կարդալ— I love to read. From it comesսեր, love - How do you say “to see” in Western Armenian?
The same root as in
ցտեսութիւն, goodbye — literally 'until we see'. The past is irregular: notտեսեցիbutտեսայ— I saw - How do you say “to heat” in Western Armenian?
About rooms and houses:
ջեռուցում— heating,ջեռուցիչ— a heater,ջեռոց— the oven. Food and drink get warmed by another verb, the familiarտաքացնել - How do you say “to live” in Western Armenian?
Both 'to live somewhere' and 'to be alive'. Hence the cheer
ապրես— literally 'may you live', said the way you'd say 'good for you!'
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to go” in Western Armenian?
«Երթալ», read “yert'al”. The main verb of motion. Present: կ'երթամ, I go; the future takes պիտի: պիտի երթամ, I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb, գնալ, for the same job. It is one of 22 words in the set “verbs” — the rest are in the table above.
How many verbs do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 22 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.