Չգիտեմ
“Չգիտեմ” (chkidem) — I don't know in Western Armenian. Phrase, level A1, topic — basic words. The negation has grown onto the verb and spells as one word: գիտեմ — I know, չգիտեմ — I don't know. The same չ- as in չեմ հասկանար. It already flashed by in որքան գիտեմ — as far as I know. In a live sentence: “Ներողութիւն, չգիտեմ” — Sorry, I don't know. Written with the characters Չ, գ, ի, տ, ե, մ.
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Չգիտեմ |
| Read in Latin letters | chkidem |
| Translation | I don't know |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The negation has grown onto the verb and spells as one word: գիտեմ — I know, չգիտեմ — I don't know. The same չ- as in չեմ հասկանար. It already flashed by in որքան գիտեմ — as far as I know
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.
- Ներողութիւն, չգիտեմneroghut'yun, chkidemSorry, I don't know
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- ԱյոayoyesThe neutral yes that fits anywhere, polite company included. Among your own people the shorter
հաcarries most of the load - ՈչvochnoOne word for 'no' and for 'nor':
ոչ ես, ոչ դուն— neither me nor you. The final ch is crisp, as in 'match' - ՀաhayeahThe casual yes — think 'yeah' or 'uh-huh'. In texting and among friends it shows up more often than the full
այո, but never offer it to an elder - ԼաւlavgoodOne word covers 'good' and 'well':
լաւ եմ— I'm well,լաւ մարդ— a good person. It also seals an agreement, the way 'fine, done' does in English - ՎատvadbadThe partner of
լաւand it behaves the same way:վատ եմ— I feel bad,վատ եղանակ— bad weather - Շատ լաւshad lavvery good
շատis 'very' and stands right before the word it boosts, exactly as in English: very good, very tasty, very big - ԿեսgeshalfAlso works like 'half-' in compounds:
կէս ժամ— half an hour,կէս կիլօ— half a kilo - Պետք չէbedk' cheI don't need itIn writing
պէտք չէ, in living speech almost alwaysպէտք չի. Softened further with a thank-you:պէտք չէ, շնորհակալութիւն - Մի հատ էլmi had elone more
հատmeans 'piece, unit' — the little counting word Armenian inserts almost everywhere:մի հատ սուրճ, one coffee. Here it carries 'another one' - Բաւական էpavagan ethat's enoughWhat you say when the seller keeps piling it on and the pile is big enough. Among friends the blunter
հերիք էdoes the same job
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I don't know” in Western Armenian?
The negation has grown onto the verb and spells as one word: գիտեմ — I know, չգիտեմ — I don't know. The same չ- as in չեմ հասկանար. It already flashed by in որքան գիտեմ — as far as I know
- How do you say “half” in Western Armenian?
Also works like 'half-' in compounds: կէս ժամ — half an hour, կէս կիլօ — half a kilo
- How do you say “yeah” in Western Armenian?
The casual yes — think 'yeah' or 'uh-huh'. In texting and among friends it shows up more often than the full այո, but never offer it to an elder
- How do you say “that's enough” in Western Armenian?
What you say when the seller keeps piling it on and the pile is big enough. Among friends the blunter հերիք է does the same job
- How do you say “very good” in Western Armenian?
շատ is 'very' and stands right before the word it boosts, exactly as in English: very good, very tasty, very big
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 “I don't know” in Western Armenian?
«Չգիտեմ», read “chkidem”. In a live sentence: “Ներողութիւն, չգիտեմ” — Sorry, I don't know. Phrase, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters Չ, գ, ի, տ, ե, մ.
How is “Չգիտեմ” written in Latin letters?
chkidem. 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?
The negation has grown onto the verb and spells as one word: գիտեմ — I know, չգիտեմ — I don't know. The same չ- as in չեմ հասկանար. It already flashed by in որքան գիտեմ — as far as I know. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.