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The Armenian alphabet

39 letters, each with its name and roughly the sound it makes. The sounds are English approximations — enough to sound a word out, not enough to pass for a local.

🇦🇲 Armenian · An alphabet: vowels and consonants are letters of equal standing.

Thirty-eight letters: thirty-six devised in the fifth century for this language alone, and Օ and Ֆ added in the Middle Ages. Reformed Eastern spelling also counts the ligature և, which makes thirty-nine. It writes vowels and consonants as equals, and the order below is the traditional one.

New to it? Our beginner's guide to the Armenian alphabet explains how the script works and gives you a plan to learn it.

• Ա ա ayb a in father
• Բ բ ben b
• Գ գ gim g
• Դ դ da d
• Ե ե ech ye at the start, e elsewhere
• Զ զ za z
• Է է eh e in bet
• Ը ը et u in but
• Թ թ to t with a puff of air
• Ժ ժ zhe s in measure
• Ի ի ini ee in see
• Լ լ liwn l
• Խ խ xeh ch in loch
• Ծ ծ ca ts
• Կ կ ken k
• Հ հ ho h
• Ձ ձ ja dz
• Ղ ղ ghat French r
• Ճ ճ cheh ch
• Մ մ men m
• Յ յ yi y
• Ն ն now n
• Շ շ sha sh
• Ո ո vo vo at the start, o elsewhere
• Չ չ cha ch with a puff of air
• Պ պ peh p
• Ջ ջ jheh j in jam
• Ռ ռ ra rolled r
• Ս ս seh s
• Վ վ vew v
• Տ տ tiwn t
• Ր ր reh r
• Ց ց co ts with a puff of air
• Ւ ւ yiwn only in ու (u) and և
• Փ փ piwr p with a puff of air
• Ք ք keh k with a puff of air
• Օ օ oh o in more
• Ֆ ֆ feh f
• և yev yev, a ligature meaning "and"

Now read something in it

The letters are the smaller half. The 1,825 commonest Armenian words are where they start meaning something.

Reading it is one thing.

Being understood when you say it is another. That takes a person.

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