Asking the way in Western Armenian
18 words Western Armenian words on the topic “asking the way”: Աջ — left, Ձախ — right, Ուղիղ — straight ahead, Ինչպես հասնիլ — how do I get to.
18 words on the topic
- ԱջachleftThe course's main trap: in Western Armenian
աջmeans LEFT, while the Eastern standard uses the same word for right. The Western 'right' isձախ. The ջ sounds like ch as in 'church': 'ach' - ՁախtsakhrightThe other half of the trap: Western
ձախmeans RIGHT where the Eastern standard means left. The ձ sounds like ts as in 'cats': TSAKH - Ուղիղughighstraight aheadBoth 'straight ahead' about a road and 'exactly, precisely' in general — the key word of every street direction you will be given
- Ինչպես հասնիլinchbes hasnilhow do I get toLiterally 'how does one reach' — Armenians ask it with
հասնիլ, to reach, not with the plain verb 'to go'. The question mark ՞ sits over the vowel:ինչպե՞ս - Ժամանելzhamanelto arriveThe bookish 'to arrive' — the word of station announcements and timetables. Everyday speech gets there with
հասնիլ, to reach, from the lesson before - Միւս կողմումmyus goghmumon the other side
Կողմis a side, and the location ending -ում does the work of 'on': no preposition is needed at all - Երկու քայլի վրաyergu k'ayli vratwo steps away
Վրաtrails behind its word and demands the possessive — that is whyքայլ, step, turns intoքայլի. Literally 'on two steps' - Շրջադարձից հետոshrchatartsits hedoaround the cornerArmenian says it as 'after the turn': the -ից 'from' ending on
շրջադարձplusհետո, after — the same 'after' that follows meals and lessons - Ձախ կողմումtsakh goghmumto the left ofThe phrase stands after the noun, and what you count from goes in the possessive in front of it:
խանութի ձախ կողմում— at the store's left side - Աջ կողմումach goghmumto the right ofThe mirror phrase to
ձախ կողմում, and it behaves the same way: the noun you count from stands in the possessive in front - Կենտրոնումgendronumin the middle
Կենտրոնis the center — the same word as downtown. The -ում location ending puts the thing smack in the middle of the room or the square - Հաջորդ շրջադարձhachort shrchatartsnext turn
Հաջորդ, next — the adjective from the calendar — never bends: the turn itself takes every ending, here the -ից 'from' ending - Ճանապարհինjanabarhinon the way
Ճանապարհis a road — literally a 'foot-path' — and the -ին ending alone says 'on': no preposition in sight - Այստեղaysdeghover hereThe same word as 'here': place and direction are one —
այստեղ եմI am here,արի այստեղcome here. Its far twinայնտեղbehaves the same - Այնտեղիցayndeghitsfrom there
Այնտեղis there and to there; the -ից 'from' ending adds 'from where'. The same tail builtւերեւիցandներսից. The opposite direction isայստեղից - Տունdunback home
Տուն, the house — direction included, no tail added: the verb carries it. At home, as a place, it isտանը - Դեպի աջtebi achto the right
Դեպիis the preposition of motion toward — the same one as inդեպի լաւը.Աջis the right side;աջիցis 'from the right', a different tail for a different job - Դեպի ձախtebi tsakhto the leftThe twin of
դեպի աջ.Ձախիցis 'from the left' andձախ կողմում'on the left side of'. A left-hander isձախլիկ
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.
- Աջ կողմը խանութն էach goghmə khanut'n eThe shop is on the left
- Ձախ կողմէն երթաքtsakh goghmen yert'ak'Go on the right side
- Ուղիղ երթայիք, հետո ձախughigh yert'ayik', hedo tsakhGo straight, then right
- Ինչպես հասնիլ կայարանinchbes hasnil gayaranHow do I get to the station
- Երեկոյան ժամանեցինք Երեւանyeregoyan zhamanetsink' YerevanIn the evening we arrived in Yerevan
- Դեղատունը փողոցի միւս կողմում էteghadunə p'oghotsi myus goghmum eThe pharmacy is on the other side of the street
What is worth knowing about these words
Աջ (ach) — left. The course's main trap: in Western Armenian աջ means LEFT, while the Eastern standard uses the same word for right. The Western 'right' is ձախ. The ջ sounds like ch as in 'church': 'ach'
Ձախ (tsakh) — right. The other half of the trap: Western ձախ means RIGHT where the Eastern standard means left. The ձ sounds like ts as in 'cats': TSAKH
Ուղիղ (ughigh) — straight ahead. Both 'straight ahead' about a road and 'exactly, precisely' in general — the key word of every street direction you will be given
Ինչպես հասնիլ (inchbes hasnil) — how do I get to. Literally 'how does one reach' — Armenians ask it with հասնիլ, to reach, not with the plain verb 'to go'. The question mark ՞ sits over the vowel: ինչպե՞ս
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “left” in Western Armenian?
The course's main trap: in Western Armenian
աջmeans LEFT, while the Eastern standard uses the same word for right. The Western 'right' isձախ. The ջ sounds like ch as in 'church': 'ach' - How do you say “around the corner” in Western Armenian?
Armenian says it as 'after the turn': the -ից 'from' ending on
շրջադարձplusհետո, after — the same 'after' that follows meals and lessons - How do you say “from there” in Western Armenian?
Այնտեղis there and to there; the -ից 'from' ending adds 'from where'. The same tail builtւերեւիցandներսից. The opposite direction isայստեղից - How do you say “how do I get to” in Western Armenian?
Literally 'how does one reach' — Armenians ask it with
հասնիլ, to reach, not with the plain verb 'to go'. The question mark ՞ sits over the vowel:ինչպե՞ս - How do you say “in the middle” in Western Armenian?
Կենտրոնis the center — the same word as downtown. The -ում location ending puts the thing smack in the middle of the room or the square
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “left” in Western Armenian?
«Աջ», read “ach”. The course's main trap: in Western Armenian աջ means LEFT, while the Eastern standard uses the same word for right. The Western 'right' is ձախ. The ջ sounds like ch as in 'church': 'ach'. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 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.