LingoflyԵրկու քայլի վրայ
- Երկու քայլի վրայyergu k'ayli vratwo steps away
“Երկու քայլի վրայ” (yergu k'ayli vra) — two steps away in Western Armenian. Phrase, level A1, topic — asking the way. Վրայ (vra) trails behind its word and demands the possessive — that is why քայլ (k'ayl), step, turns into քայլի (k'ayli). In a live sentence: “Խանութը երկու քայլի վրայ է” (khanut'ə yergu k'ayli vra e) — The store is two steps away. Written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ, ք, ա, յ, լ, ի, վ, ր…
In short
| Written in Western Armenian | Երկու քայլի վրայ (yergu k'ayli vra) |
| Read in Latin letters | yergu k'ayli vra |
| Translation | two steps away |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Վրայ (vra) trails behind its word and demands the possessive — that is why քայլ (k'ayl), step, turns into քայլի (k'ayli)
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.
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- ՁախtsakhleftThe partner of
աջ(ach), right. The ձ sounds like ts as in 'cats', the խ like the ch of 'loch': TSAKH - Ուղիղughighstraight aheadBoth 'straight ahead' about a road and 'exactly, precisely' in general — the key word of every street direction you will be given
- Միւս կողմըmyus goghməon the other side
Կողմ(goghm) is a side. Here the word with its article,կողմը(goghmə), carries the 'where' by itself — no preposition before it - Աջ կողմըach goghməto the right ofThe mirror of
ձախ կողմը(tsakh goghmə), and it behaves the same way: the noun in front of it stands in the 'to whom' form
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “two steps away” in Western Armenian?
Վրայ (vra) trails behind its word and demands the possessive — that is why քայլ (k'ayl), step, turns into քայլի (k'ayli)
- How do you say “around the corner” in Western Armenian?
Շրջադարձ (shrchatarts) is a turn. Armenian says not 'around' but 'after the turn': the 'from' ending plus ետք (yedk')
- How do you say “straight ahead” in Western Armenian?
Both 'straight ahead' about a road and 'exactly, precisely' in general — the key word of every street direction you will be given
- How do you say “in the middle” in Western Armenian?
Մէջտեղը (mechdeghə) is 'amid'; կեդրոնը (gedronə) is dead center — of a square or of a room alike
- How do you say “on the other side” in Western Armenian?
Կողմ (goghm) is a side. Here the word with its article, կողմը (goghmə), carries the 'where' by itself — no preposition before it
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 “two steps away” in Western Armenian?
«Երկու քայլի վրայ» (yergu k'ayli vra), read “yergu k'ayli vra”. In a live sentence: “Խանութը երկու քայլի վրայ է” (khanut'ə yergu k'ayli vra e) — The store is two steps away. Phrase, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters Ե, ր, կ, ո, ւ, ք, ա, յ, լ, ի, վ, ր…
How is “Երկու քայլի վրայ” (yergu k'ayli vra) written in Latin letters?
yergu k'ayli vra. 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?
Վրայ (vra) trails behind its word and demands the possessive — that is why քայլ (k'ayl), step, turns into քայլի (k'ayli). A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.