Դա տգեղ է
“Դա տգեղ է” (ta dkegh e) — that is not nice in Western Armenian. Phrase, level A2, topic — people and family. The prefix տ- here is negative, and գեղ is beauty: 'unbeautiful'. Looks and deeds alike — just like 'nice' in English. In a live sentence: “Դա տգեղ է, ներողութիւն խնդրիր” — That is not nice, ask for forgiveness. Written with the characters Դ, ա, տ, գ, ե, ղ, է.
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Դա տգեղ է |
| Read in Latin letters | ta dkegh e |
| Translation | that is not nice |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
The prefix տ- here is negative, and գեղ is beauty: 'unbeautiful'. Looks and deeds alike — just like 'nice' in English
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.
- Դա տգեղ է, ներողութիւն խնդրիրta dkegh e, neroghut'yun khntrirThat is not nice, ask for forgiveness
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- ԸնկերəngerfriendFriend, comrade — and in writing, a punctuation mark: one word, three jobs. Plural:
ընկերներ - Ընտանիքəndanik'familyFrom the root 'inside the house': the people under one roof. Both standards say
ընտանիք - Մայրիկmayrigmom
մայր(mother) +-իկ, an affectionate ending that softens the word, the way '-y' does in English 'mommy'.հայրիկ, daddy, is built the same way - Հայրիկhayrigdad
հայր(father) — the same root as inՀայաստան, Armenia. The ending -իկ adds the affection, just as inմայրիկ - ԵրեխայyerekhaychildPlural:
երեխաներ. The middle խ is a throaty kh, like the ch of Scottish 'loch': eh-reh-KHA - ՎաճառողvajarroghsellerSame root
վաճառ-as in the market counter. The ending -ող turns a verb into its doer: literally 'the selling one' - ԳնորդknortbuyerFrom
գնել, to buy. The same -ող doer-ending as inվաճառող, the seller — one buys, the other sells - ՀարեւանharevanneighborCovers the person next door and the neighboring country alike:
հարեւան երկիր— a neighboring country - Տան տէրdan derlandlord
տունin its possessive form givesտան, 'of the house', plusտէր, master: 'the master of the house'. This is what renting talk calls them - Թոշակառուt'oshagarrupensioner
թոշակis a pension,առնելto take: literally 'the pension-taker'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “that is not nice” in Western Armenian?
The prefix տ- here is negative, and գեղ is beauty: 'unbeautiful'. Looks and deeds alike — just like 'nice' in English
- How do you say “buyer” in Western Armenian?
From գնել, to buy. The same -ող doer-ending as in վաճառող, the seller — one buys, the other sells
- How do you say “mom” in Western Armenian?
մայր (mother) + -իկ, an affectionate ending that softens the word, the way '-y' does in English 'mommy'. հայրիկ, daddy, is built the same way
- How do you say “pensioner” in Western Armenian?
թոշակ is a pension, առնել to take: literally 'the pension-taker'
- How do you say “seller” in Western Armenian?
Same root վաճառ- as in the market counter. The ending -ող turns a verb into its doer: literally 'the selling one'
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 “that is not nice” in Western Armenian?
«Դա տգեղ է», read “ta dkegh e”. In a live sentence: “Դա տգեղ է, ներողութիւն խնդրիր” — That is not nice, ask for forgiveness. Phrase, level A2, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters Դ, ա, տ, գ, ե, ղ, է.
How is “Դա տգեղ է” written in Latin letters?
ta dkegh e. 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 prefix տ- here is negative, and գեղ is beauty: 'unbeautiful'. Looks and deeds alike — just like 'nice' in English. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.