LingoflyNumbers and counting in Western Armenian
27 words in Western Armenian on the topic “numbers and counting”: Մէկ (meg) — one, Երկու (yergu) — two, Երեք (yerek') — three, Չորս (chors) — four.
27 words on the topic
- Երկուyergutwoyer-GOO with a hard g — կ sounds like g in the West. After a number the noun stays singular: Armenian counts without the plural
- Երեքyerek'threeEnds in ք — a k with a puff of air: ye-REK'. Two syllables, one puff at the end
- ՉորսchorsfourStarts with չ — a ch with an extra puff of air, as in 'church': CHORSS
- ՀինգhinkfiveThe գ sounds like k here: hink — rhyme it with 'pink'
- ՎեցvetssixEnds on ց, a ts with a puff of air: VETS
- Եօթyeot'sevenClassical spelling writes օ:
եօթ(yeot'); the Eastern reformed spelling writesյոթ— same seven, different letters. Say ye-OT' - Ութut'eightOOT with a breathy final t — the թ is a t with a puff. The shortest number in the row
- ԻնըinənineEE-nə: the little ə at the end is a fleeting murmur, like the a in 'sofa'
- ՏասըdasətenThe տ sounds like d: DAH-sə. From the same root comes
տասներորդ(dasnerort), tenth — numbers grow suffixes as they climb - Հինգ հարիւրhink haryurfive hundredThe most used coin in Armenia is the five-hundred-dram piece, and in conversation it goes by the pet name
հինգ(hink) հարիւրանոց - Եօթը հարիւրyeot'ə haryurseven hundred
Եօթը(yeot'ə) is spelled with եօ, read 'yo', and the breathy թ. In the hundred the final ը stays: yot'ə har-YOOR - ՉորրորդchorrortfourthOrdinals take the ending -երորդ, but four drops out of the row: from
չորս(chors) onlyչոր-survives, and-րորդglues onto it - ՀինգերորդhinkerortfifthFrom here on the rule runs smooth: the whole numeral plus -երորդ.
հինգ(hink) +երորդ— the word assembles itself - Վեցերորդvetserortsixth
վեց(vets) +երորդ. The stress stays on the first syllable: VE-tse-rort - Եօթներորդyeot'nerortseventh
Եօթը(yeot'ə) drops its final ը and takes ն:եօթն+երորդ. The breath on the թ stays inside the word too - Հարիւրերորդharyurerorthundredth
հարիւր(haryur) +երորդ, by the general rule. A long word, but assembled from just two pieces - Թիւt'ivnumberA number as quantity. The number of a phone or a house is
համար(hamar) — a different word entirely
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
Մէկ (meg) — one. Classical spelling writes է: մէկ (meg). կ sounds like g: say 'meg', rhyming with 'egg'. Order away: մէկ (meg) սուրճ (surj) — one coffee.
Երկու (yergu) — two. Yer-GOO with a hard g — կ sounds like g in the West. After a number the noun stays singular: Armenian counts without the plural.
Երեք (yerek') — three. Ends in ք — a k with a puff of air: ye-REK'. Two syllables, one puff at the end.
Չորս (chors) — four. Starts with չ — a ch with an extra puff of air, as in 'church': CHORSS.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “one” in Western Armenian?
Classical spelling writes է:
մէկ(meg). կ sounds like g: say 'meg', rhyming with 'egg'. Order away:մէկ(meg)սուրճ(surj) — one coffee - How do you say “eight” in Western Armenian?
OOT with a breathy final t — the թ is a t with a puff. The shortest number in the row
- How do you say “six hundred” in Western Armenian?
վեց(vets) ends in a sharp ts andհարիւր(haryur) begins with an h — at the seam you hear a short puff of air; the words refuse to melt together - How do you say “seventh” in Western Armenian?
Եօթը(yeot'ə) drops its final ը and takes ն:եօթն+երորդ. The breath on the թ stays inside the word too - How do you say “two” in Western Armenian?
yer-GOO with a hard g — կ sounds like g in the West. After a number the noun stays singular: Armenian counts without the plural
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “one” in Western Armenian?
«Մէկ» (meg), read “meg”. Classical spelling writes է: մէկ (meg). կ sounds like g: say 'meg', rhyming with 'egg'. Order away: մէկ (meg) սուրճ (surj) — one coffee. It is one of 27 words in the set “numbers and counting” — the rest are in the table above.
How many numbers do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 27 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.