Ապրիլ
“Ապրիլ” (abril) — to live in Western Armenian. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. 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!' In a live sentence: “Ես Երեւանի մէջ կ'ապրիմ” — I live in Yerevan. Written with the characters Ա, պ, ր, ի, լ. One of 22 words in the set “verbs” in the Western Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Ապրիլ |
| Read in Latin letters | abril |
| Translation | to live |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
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!'
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Ես Երեւանի մէջ կ'ապրիմyes Yerevani mech g'abrimI live in Yerevan
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- 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 - 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
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- 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 do you say “to love” in Western Armenian?
About people and activities alike: կը սիրեմ կարդալ — I love to read. From it comes սեր, love
- How do you say “to drink” in Western Armenian?
The խ is a throaty kh — like the ch of Scottish 'loch', not the ch of 'church'. One verb covers water, tea and wine
- How do you say “to study” in Western Armenian?
The Western 'to study' is ուսանիլ; in diaspora speech you will also hear the Eastern սովորել. One verb covers both studying and learning
- How do you say “to work” in Western Armenian?
About people and machines alike: վերելակը չ'աշխատիր — the elevator is not working. One verb for the office and the broken lift
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to live” in Western Armenian?
«Ապրիլ», read “abril”. In a live sentence: “Ես Երեւանի մէջ կ'ապրիմ” — I live in Yerevan. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters Ա, պ, ր, ի, լ.
How is “Ապրիլ” written in Latin letters?
abril. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
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!' A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.