How to read Armenian: the reading rules in 10 minutes

Good news: Armenian spelling is almost phonetic. Once you know the letters, you can read words. There are only a few exceptions, all listed here.

1. Ե and Ո at the start of a word

ե at the start of a word sounds "ye", inside a word "e". ո at the start sounds "vo", inside "o".

• երեկyerekyesterday
• երեխաyerekhachild
• ովovwho

ով ("who") is an exception: it is read "ov".

2. ՈՒ is "u"

The two letters ու together make one sound, "u". Armenian has no single letter for "u".

• տունtunhouse, home
• ջուրjurwater
• լուսինlusinmoon

3. և is "ev" or "yev"

և is ե + վ: "yev" at the start of a word, "ev" inside. On its own, և means "and".

• ԵրևանyerevanYerevan
• արևarevsun

4. The invisible ը

Between consonants Armenian often adds a short neutral vowel that is not written: գրել sounds "gəɾel", մկրատ sounds "məkrat".

• գրելgrelto write
• սպասելspaselto wait

5. Aspiration

The pairs տ/թ, պ/փ, կ/ք, ճ/չ, ծ/ց differ by a puff of air: the second letter is followed by a light "h". Barik marks it with ʰ: թեյ — [tʰey].

6. Two r's

Ր is a soft r, Ռ is rolled. Ղ is a guttural sound, like a French r.

7. Stress

Stress almost always falls on the last syllable: Yereván, shnorhakalutyún. If the last syllable has the invisible ը, the stress moves one syllable back.

Test yourself

Read these out loud, then press the button to compare:

• շնորհակալությունshnorhakalutʰyunthank you
• հայերենhayerenArmenian (language)
• խաղողkhaghoghgrapes
• ծիրանtsiranapricot

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