Armenian

Learn Armenian from English for Free at PBC Languages

New alphabet, three-way consonant sounds, and loanwords that just work. What's actually hard and easy learning Armenian from English, plus free exchanges with nativos.

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The first wall is the alphabet. Armenian uses its own 39-letter script created by Mesrop Mashtots around 405 AD, so before you can sound out a sentence you need to read one, and that takes real hours, not a weekend. Once you're past that, the sounds get tricky in a specific way: Armenian has three-way stop contrasts like պ/փ/բ where English only distinguishes two (voiced vs voiceless-aspirated), so you have to learn to hear and produce a plain unaspirated stop that doesn't exist as a separate sound in English. Add the uvular խ and ղ, and the trilled ռ versus tapped ր, and your mouth will need new habits. Word-initial clusters like մշակույթ (mshakuyt, culture) or սխալ (skhal, mistake) look harder on paper than they end up being once you've heard them a few times.

There's a trap worth knowing early: Armenian comes in two standard varieties, Eastern (spoken in Armenia) and Western (spoken across the diaspora), and they actually swap which stops are voiced and which aren't. If you mix material from both you'll confuse your own ear, so it's worth settling on one from day one and sticking with it. A few words will also trick you by sound alone: մայր (mayr) means mother, not mayor, շատ (shat) means a lot or very, not shot, and բան (ban) means thing, not bun.

Where you move fast: a surprising amount of modern vocabulary is a loanword you already half-know, ինտերնետ, ունիվերսիտետ, ռեստորան, դոկտոր, ֆուտբոլ all sound close enough to the English word that they stick on the first listen. Basic word order also helps, adjectives go before the noun like in English, so simple descriptive sentences come together earlier than the alphabet might suggest.

Words you will actually hear

Here	Elsewhere	What it means
ինտերնետ (internet)	internet	Same word, same meaning. One of the fastest wins in the whole language.
ունիվերսիտետ (universitet)	university	Direct loanword, pronounce it close to the English and you'll be understood.
ռեստորան (restoran)	restaurant	Borrowed and used exactly as you'd expect.
դոկտոր (doktor)	doctor	Used alongside the native word բժիշկ (bzhishk), but doktor works fine and is easy to recognize.
թատրոն (tatron)	theater	Both come from the same Greek root, so the resemblance isn't a coincidence.
ֆուտբոլ (futbol)	football	Same word for the sport, no surprises here.
մուզիկա (muzika)	music	Common in everyday speech even though there's a more formal native word too.
մայր (mayr)	mayor	Sounds like the English word but means mother. A classic first-week mix-up.
շատ (shat)	shot	Sounds close to 'shot' but means a lot or very, nothing to do with drinks or guns.
բան (ban)	bun	Sounds like 'bun' but means thing or matter, shows up constantly in everyday phrases.

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Questions about this

How long does it take to get conversational in Armenian starting from English?

It depends heavily on how fast you get through the alphabet, since you can't shortcut reading Armenian script. After that, progress is steady but we won't give you a number of weeks or months because it genuinely varies by how much time you put in and which variety you're studying, Eastern or Western.

Is the exchange really free?

Yes. The exchange is free, the paid part is the group classes with our teachers. In the exchange you spend half an hour practicing Armenian and half an hour helping a nativo practice English.

What level do I need to join an exchange?

Enough to hold a basic conversation for half an hour, greetings, simple questions, a handful of verbs. You don't need to be fluent, but showing up with zero vocabulary makes it hard for both sides.

How exactly is the hour split in an exchange?

Thirty minutes in Armenian, thirty minutes in English, with the nativo speaking Armenian as their first language. It's a straight swap so both people get equal practice time.