Popular Armenian expressions

Armenian has been spoken since ancient times and over the centuries has changed, developed and been enriched with new words and expressions. Officially Armenian has 2 forms, Eastern and Western Armenian, and there are about 60 dialects.

Popular expressions of love and sympathy include “Tsavd tanem” (“let me take your pain”), “Merrnem janid”, “Boyid merrnem”, “Merrnem srtid” and “Jigyard utem”. With “Hors arev” and “Mors arev” people swear by the life of their father or mother. “Achkits ynknel” (“to fall from the eye”) means to be disappointed in someone, “Kurranam es” expresses sympathy and regret, “Achkd luys” is used to congratulate, and “Kti maz” (“a hair in the nose”) is said of a person who finds fault with everything.

The photograph shows large stone sculptures of Armenian letters in a green field.