LingoflyVerbs in Western Armenian
22 words in Western Armenian on the topic “verbs”: Երթալ (yert'al) — to go, Ուտել (udel) — to eat, Խմել (khmel) — to drink, Կարդալ (gartal) — to read.
22 words on the topic
- Երթալyert'alto goThe main verb of motion. Present:
կ'երթամ(g'ert'am), I go; the future takesպիտի(bidi): պիտի (bidi) երթամ (yert'am), I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb,գնալ, for the same job - Ուտելudelto eatDo not mix with
կայ(gay), 'there is' — eating and existing are different verbs here, just as in English. The տ sounds like d: oo-DEL' - Խմելkhmelto drinkThe խ is a throaty kh — like the ch of Scottish 'loch', not the ch of 'church'. One verb covers water, tea and wine
- Կարդալgartalto readOnly about reading: learning is a different verb,
սորվիլ(sorvil). The first կ sounds like g: gar-TAL - Աշխատիլashkhadilto workAbout people and machines alike: վերելակը
չի աշխատիր(verelagə chi ashkhadir) — the elevator is not working. One verb for the office and the broken lift - Ապրիլabrilto liveBoth 'to live somewhere' and 'to be alive'. Hence the cheer
ապրիս(abris) — literally 'may you live', said the way you'd say 'good for you!' - ՈւնիմunimI haveWestern form:
ունիմ(unim); the Eastern standard saysունեմ. No separate pronoun needed — the person sits in the ending. Negation glues on the same չ-:չունիմ(chunim), I don't have - Սորվիլsorvilto studyThe Western 'to learn': կը (gə) սորվիմ (sorvim), I am learning. Studying at school or university is another verb,
ուսանիլ(usanil) - Ընտրելəndrelto chooseThe same verb means 'to vote':
ընտրութիւններ(əndrut'yunner) — elections, literally 'choices' - Մտապահելmdabahelto memorize
միտքis a thought,պահել(bahel) is to hold: literally 'to hold in thought'. The word is its own mnemonic - Տեսնելdesnelto seeThe same root as in
ցտեսութիւն(tsdesut'yun), goodbye — literally 'until we see'. The past is irregular: notտեսեցիbutտեսայ(desay) — I saw - Լսելlselto hearno written vowel between the լ and the ս, but a short ə slips in — the word runs in two beats: lə-SEL
- Քնանալk'nanalto sleepthe ք is a k on an exhale and a consonant follows at once: k'na-NAL, the first cluster in one go
- Տանիլdanilto carryThe direction is built in:
տանիլ(danil) carries from here to there,բերելcarries from there to here. English 'carry' splits in two, and the choice depends on where the speaker stands. Henceտանելու համար(danelu hamar) — for taking out - Կոտրելgodrelto break
Կոտրուած է(godruadz e) — it's broken — is this same verb with -ուած: it broke by itself, no culprit named.Կոտրել(godrel) means someone broke it - Կառուցելgarrutselto buildthe ռ is a full trill, longer than the plain ր: ga-roo-TSEL with a rattled rr
- Ջեռուցելcherrutselto heatthe ջ sounds like ch as in 'church', and the ռ is a full trill: che-roo-TSEL
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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
Երթալ (yert'al) — to go. The main verb of motion. Present: կ'երթամ (g'ert'am), I go; the future takes պիտի (bidi): պիտի (bidi) երթամ (yert'am), I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb, գնալ, for the same job.
Ուտել (udel) — to eat. Do not mix with կայ (gay), 'there is' — eating and existing are different verbs here, just as in English. The տ sounds like d: oo-DEL'.
Խմել (khmel) — to drink. The խ is a throaty kh — like the ch of Scottish 'loch', not the ch of 'church'. One verb covers water, tea and wine.
Կարդալ (gartal) — to read. Only about reading: learning is a different verb, սորվիլ (sorvil). The first կ sounds like g: gar-TAL.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to go” in Western Armenian?
The main verb of motion. Present:
կ'երթամ(g'ert'am), I go; the future takesպիտի(bidi): պիտի (bidi) երթամ (yert'am), I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb,գնալ, for the same job - How do you say “to love” in Western Armenian?
About people and activities alike: կը (gə) սիրեմ (sirem)
կարդալ(gartal) — I love to read. From it comesսէր(ser), love - How do you say “to see” in Western Armenian?
The same root as in
ցտեսութիւն(tsdesut'yun), goodbye — literally 'until we see'. The past is irregular: notտեսեցիbutտեսայ(desay) — I saw - How do you say “to heat” in Western Armenian?
About rooms and houses:
ջեռուցում(cherrutsum) — heating,ջեռուցիչ(cherrutsich) — a heater,ջեռոց(cherrots) — the oven. Food and drink get warmed by another verb,տաքցնել(dak'tsnel) - How do you say “to live” in Western Armenian?
Both 'to live somewhere' and 'to be alive'. Hence the cheer
ապրիս(abris) — literally 'may you live', said the way you'd say 'good for you!'
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
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 “to go” in Western Armenian?
«Երթալ» (yert'al), read “yert'al”. The main verb of motion. Present: կ'երթամ (g'ert'am), I go; the future takes պիտի (bidi): պիտի (bidi) երթամ (yert'am), I will go. The Eastern standard uses another verb, գնալ, for the same job. It is one of 22 words in the set “verbs” — the rest are in the table above.
How many verbs do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 22 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.