Armenian Corner

Sevag Tateosian
Staff Writer

Parev to all !!! Welcome back to learning how to speak Western Armenian with Sevag. Don’t forget that we are getting closer to the Armenian 1A class that will be offered next semester here on the beautiful Fresno State campus. You don’t need to know a word of Armenian to join the class and every student is welcome. What I will be teaching you in this lesson is how to say the basic colors, and how to say some breakfast items.

In Armenian the word for color is Kouin (go\n).
The first color we will learn is Brown, which is called Sourjakuin (sryago\n). An easy way to remember this is by remembering how to say coffee in Armenian, which is Sourj (soury). All you do is add akuin (ago\n) and you have the word for brown.
The next color we will learn is Orange. If you know how to say Orange the fruit in Armenian, then it will be easy for you. Nareenj (narin=) is Orange the fruit, and all you need to do is the same thing as you did with coffee in the previous one, add akuin (ago\n). So the color Orange is pronounced Nareenjakuin (narin=ago\n).
The next color we will learn is Yellow, which is Teghine (d;[in). Just as an added bonus I will tell you that the word tegh (d;[) in Armenian means medicine.
The word for red in Armenian is Garmeer (karmir). The word for blue in Armenian is Gabuid (kapo\t).

The Armenian flag has the colors Garmeer (Red), Gabuid (Blue), Nareenjakuin (Orange).

My favorite color in Armenian is the color Black. If you know how to say my name in Armenian, you can say the word black. Black in Armenian is sev (s;u).
Now from the colors we will be going to a new direction, which is to teach you how to say some breakfast items.

First you need to know the word for breakfast which is nakhadjash (na.aya,).
A common breakfast item is butter. The word for butter is garak (karag). With butter you have got to have your bread, which is hats (faz). You simply can take the word hot in English and add an S to the end of it and you have the word for bread. On top of the bread and butter, many Armenians put jelly, which is bedghanush (pt[anou,) or they put eggs which is havgeet (faukij).
To wash down this food Armenians either drink tea, which is tey (jh\), milk which is gat (kaj), water which is choor (=our) or juice which is hyoot (fiuj).
Thanks again for taking Sevag’s quick Armenian lesson. We shall see each other in the next Hye Sharzhoom issue. For more information on the Armenian class offered at Fresno State, contact the Armenian Studies office at 559-278-2669. Until next time Ge Des Na Veenk, that is, see you later.