Commands and polite requests
Ask someone to come, wait, repeat, give, or speak more slowly.
Informal singular and polite plural forms
Commands normally distinguish one familiar person from a polite or plural audience. For travel, learn the polite forms first and add “please” to soften the request.
Common command pairs
| Action | Informal singular | Polite / plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| come | արի — ari | եկեք — yekek’ | come |
| wait | սպասիր — spasir | սպասեք — spasek’ | wait |
| give | տուր — tur | տվեք — tvek’ | give |
| say / tell | ասա — asa | ասեք — asek’ | say / tell |
| repeat | կրկնիր — krknir | կրկնեք — krknek’ | repeat |
| speak | խոսիր — khosir | խոսեք — khosek’ | speak |
Negative commands
| Audience | Armenian | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| informal singular | Մի՛ խոսիր։ | Mi khosir. | Do not speak. |
| polite / plural | Մի՛ խոսեք։ | Mi khosek’. | Do not speak. |
| informal singular | Մի՛ սպասիր։ | Mi spasir. | Do not wait. |
| polite / plural | Մի՛ սպասեք։ | Mi spasek’. | Do not wait. |
Useful requests
Կրկնեք, խնդրում եմ։Krknek’, khndrum em.Please repeat.Pronunciation: k’ is aspirated; kh is the throaty sound in German “Bach”.
Ավելի դանդաղ խոսեք։Aveli dandagh khosek’.Speak more slowly.Pronunciation: gh is voiced and throaty; kh is throaty; k’ is aspirated.
Ինձ ջուր տվեք, խնդրում եմ։Indz jur tvek’, khndrum em.Please give me water.Pronunciation: dz is blended; j is as in “jam”; k’ is aspirated; kh is throaty.
Use it now
Not practised yet
Practice this lesson
Eight questions are drawn from this lesson and reshuffled every time.
Questions switch between recognition and recall, so you practise both meaning and the Armenian form.