Առաջին անգամ
“Առաջին անգամ” (arrachin ankam) — the first time in Western Armenian. Phrase, level A2, topic — time, days and hours. անգամ is a time, an occasion — and the same word means 'even': անգամ ես, even I. Only the place in the sentence tells them apart. The last time is վէրջին անգամ. In a live sentence: “Առաջին անգամ եմ այստեղ” — This is my first time here. Written with the characters Ա, ռ, ա, ջ, ի, ն, ա, ն, գ, ա, մ.
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Առաջին անգամ |
| Read in Latin letters | arrachin ankam |
| Translation | the first time |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
անգամ is a time, an occasion — and the same word means 'even': անգամ ես, even I. Only the place in the sentence tells them apart. The last time is վէրջին անգամ
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.
- Առաջին անգամ եմ այստեղarrachin ankam em aysdeghThis is my first time here
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- ԺամzhamhourBoth 'hour' and 'time' in general:
ժամը ինըին— at nine o'clock. Henceժամադրութիւն, a date — an appointed hour. The ժ is zh, as in 'vision' - ՕրordaySame root in
օրացոյց, a calendar — literally a 'shower of days'. One syllable, and it looks like English 'or' - Այսօրaysortoday
այս-(this) +օր(day): 'this day'. Its partnersերէկ(yesterday) andվաղը(tomorrow) complete your first timeline - ԱռաւօտarravodmorningClassical spelling writes աւ and օ:
առաւօտ; the Eastern reformed spelling givesառավոտ. 'In the morning' grows a tail:առաւօտեան - ԵրեկոյyeregoyeveningThe կ sounds like g and the classical final յ stays silent: eh-reh-GO. 'In the evening' adds -ան:
երեկոյան - ԳիշերkishernightYou will meet it in
բարի գիշեր, good night. Same root inգիշերօթիկ, a night shelter. Say KISH-er - ԵրէկyeregyesterdayClassical spelling writes է:
երէկ; the Eastern spelling:երեկ. Do not confuse withերեկոյ, evening — one syllable apart, a whole day apart in meaning - Ե՞րբ պիտի գաքyerp bidi kak'when will you come?The future is built with
պիտի:պիտի գաք— you will come. Note the question mark ՞ sitting overե՞րբ, not at the end of the line - Ժամը քանիսի՞նzhamə k'anisinat what time?Literally 'the hour at which one':
ժամis the hour you already know from the base course - Կ'ուշանամg'ushanamI'm running late
ուշis late. In messages this is the most-sent phrase of them all
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “the first time” in Western Armenian?
անգամ is a time, an occasion — and the same word means 'even': անգամ ես, even I. Only the place in the sentence tells them apart. The last time is վէրջին անգամ
- How do you say “yesterday” in Western Armenian?
Classical spelling writes է: երէկ; the Eastern spelling: երեկ. Do not confuse with երեկոյ, evening — one syllable apart, a whole day apart in meaning
- How do you say “today” in Western Armenian?
այս- (this) + օր (day): 'this day'. Its partners երէկ (yesterday) and վաղը (tomorrow) complete your first timeline
- How do you say “I'm running late” in Western Armenian?
ուշ is late. In messages this is the most-sent phrase of them all
- How do you say “night” in Western Armenian?
You will meet it in բարի գիշեր, good night. Same root in գիշերօթիկ, a night shelter. Say KISH-er
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 “the first time” in Western Armenian?
«Առաջին անգամ», read “arrachin ankam”. In a live sentence: “Առաջին անգամ եմ այստեղ” — This is my first time here. Phrase, level A2, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters Ա, ռ, ա, ջ, ի, ն, ա, ն, գ, ա, մ.
How is “Առաջին անգամ” written in Latin letters?
arrachin ankam. 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?
անգամ is a time, an occasion — and the same word means 'even': անգամ ես, even I. Only the place in the sentence tells them apart. The last time is վէրջին անգամ. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.