BarikArmenian dictionary › Guide: Armenian made simple
Armenian cases made simple
Armenian has more cases than English but they are far more regular than in Russian or German: most words take the same endings and there is no grammatical gender. Let's use տուն, "house".
| Basic form | տուն |
|---|---|
| Definite | տունը |
| Plural | տներ |
| Genitive and dative | տան |
| Genitive and dative plural | տների |
| Ablative (from) | տնից |
| Instrumental (with) | տնով |
| Locative (in) | տնում |
| My | տունս |
| Your | տունդ |
Nominative and accusative
The basic form: տուն — house. For things, the accusative looks the same: "I see the house" — տունը տեսնում եմ.
Definiteness: -ը / -ն
Armenian distinguishes "a house" from "the house": տուն — a house, տունը — the house. After a vowel the ending is -ն.
Genitive and dative: "of the house", "to the house"
One form for both. Most words take -ի: հաց → հացի. տուն is irregular: տան.
Ablative: "from"
Ending -ից: տնից — from the house, Երևանից — from Yerevan.
Instrumental: "with, by"
Ending -ով: տաքսիով — by taxi.
Locative: "in"
Ending -ում: տնում — in the house, Երևանում — in Yerevan. It is not used for people.
Plural
One-syllable words take -եր, longer words -ներ: տներ — houses, քաղաքներ — cities. Case endings come after it: տներից — from the houses.
"My" and "your" inside the word
տունս — my house, տունդ — your house. Very common in speech.
How to remember
Learn ready-made words instead of tables: Երևանում (in Yerevan), տնից (from home), տաքսիով (by taxi). Every noun in Barik with a Wiktionary table shows all its forms — for example տուն.