my fav words in Հայերեն (aka Hayeren aka Armenian)

i started learning one of my ancestral languages when i was 27! it's the most different language i've learned from my first language (English). it's also the only one i've learned well enough to be (kinda) conversational as an adult, when i already have some pretty established ideas of how the world & language works

i'm planning to compile here an ongoing list of words and expressions in Հայերեն that delight me!

• կար ու չկար: gar oo chgar. literally, "there was and there was not". but it's used to begin stories, like "once upon a time". i will probably never get over what a beautiful way this is to introduce a tale! also the title of a very well-written and honest book by Meline Toumani, where i learned that there is an equivalent phrase in Turkish, which makes me wonder what other languages are blessed by this lil nugget!
• բարի լոյս: paree looees. translates to "good morning", but literally means "good light"! ☀️
• եղաւ: yeghav (that's like the french R in the middle). maybe my favorite single word!! literally, "it was". but it is used a very general kind of concluding remark, sort of like "it worked" or "there it is". it can also be negated: չեղաւ (cheghav). if you're struggling to put your shoe on, and it finally slips over the heel: եղաւ. if you finish working out some complicated logistics on a call: եղաւ. when you take a full minute to struggle through a sentence in a language you're learning, and your grandma just gives you a confused look and says: չեղաւ.
• շշնջել: shshnchel. first of all, a great example of the predilection for putting a whole lot of consonants in a row. second of all, it means to whisper and starts with two consecutive "sh" sounds. i hope some linguist somewhere is working on measuring the onomatopoeity of different languages, i suspect Armenian fares well!
• փորձառութիւն: portsarootyoon. translates to "experience", but literally is an expansion of փորձել (portsel), "to try". so experience = tryingness. i feel like that knowledge has been very hard won in my life and it was very gratifying to see it spelled out so plainly in this translation!