Խնդրեմ
“Խնդրեմ” (khntrem) — please in Western Armenian. Adverb, level A0, topic — polite words. Bolted onto a request: մէկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ — one coffee, please. The դ sounds like t: khun-TREM. The same word answers 'thank you' — then it means 'don't mention it'. In a live sentence: “Ջուր տուեք, խնդրեմ” — Give me water, please. Written with the characters Խ, ն, դ, ր, ե, մ. One of 10 words in the set “polite words” in the Western Armenian course.
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Խնդրեմ |
| Read in Latin letters | khntrem |
| Translation | please |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Bolted onto a request: մէկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ — one coffee, please. The դ sounds like t: khun-TREM. The same word answers 'thank you' — then it means 'don't mention it'
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.
- Ջուր տուեք, խնդրեմchur duek', khntremGive me water, please
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- Բարեւ ձեզparev tsezhelloEnds with
ձեզ— 'to you'. The version for strangers, elders and anyone you would not call by their first name - Շնորհակալութիւնshnorhagalut'yunthank youa long word with a single stress, right at the end: shnor-ha-ga-loot-YOON
- ՄերսիmersithanksThe everyday thanks: borrowed from French, and in the diaspora you hear it more often than the long
շնորհակալութիւն. Say it just like the French do - Ներողութիւնneroghut'yunexcuse meFrom
ներել, to forgive: literally 'forgiveness'. The way you open a question to a stranger and squeeze through a crowd - Ինչպէ՞ս եքinchbes ek'how are you? (formal)The verb ends in -ք, the polite turn: elders and strangers get this one. The
-եսform is for your own circle - Դուքtuk'you (plural, formal)One word for the polite 'you' to a stranger and the plural 'you' to a group — English needs two words here, Armenian makes do with one
- Մի րոպէ սպասեքmi robe sbasek'wait a minute
րոպէis a minute. On its own,մի րոպէworks as the universal 'one sec' - Օրիորդoriortyoung ladyThe polite word for an unmarried young woman, and the address that goes with it:
Օրիորդ Անի— Miss Ani. In everyday speech, justաղջիկ, girl - Չարժեcharzhedon't mention itLiterally 'it is not worth it'. The other answer to thanks is
խնդրեմ, the very word for 'please' — Armenians return thanks with it too
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “please” in Western Armenian?
Bolted onto a request: մէկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ — one coffee, please. The դ sounds like t: khun-TREM. The same word answers 'thank you' — then it means 'don't mention it'
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Western Armenian?
րոպէ is a minute. On its own, մի րոպէ works as the universal 'one sec'
- How do you say “excuse me” in Western Armenian?
From ներել, to forgive: literally 'forgiveness'. The way you open a question to a stranger and squeeze through a crowd
- How do you say “hello” in Western Armenian?
Ends with ձեզ — 'to you'. The version for strangers, elders and anyone you would not call by their first name
- How do you say “young lady” in Western Armenian?
The polite word for an unmarried young woman, and the address that goes with it: Օրիորդ Անի — Miss Ani. In everyday speech, just աղջիկ, girl
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 “please” in Western Armenian?
«Խնդրեմ», read “khntrem”. In a live sentence: “Ջուր տուեք, խնդրեմ” — Give me water, please. Adverb, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters Խ, ն, դ, ր, ե, մ.
How is “Խնդրեմ” written in Latin letters?
khntrem. 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?
Bolted onto a request: մէկ սուրճ, խնդրեմ — one coffee, please. The դ sounds like t: khun-TREM. The same word answers 'thank you' — then it means 'don't mention it'. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.