What does ը mean in Armenian?

Armenian, a language with a rich history and unique alphabet, presents some intriguing linguistic quirks. One such curiosity is the letter “Ը” (pronounced as a voiced uvular fricative, similar to the “gh” in Scottish “loch”). Read on to find the meaning of this mysterious “Ը”/”ը”, or alternatively, join us and try one month free of Online Armenian School.

What does “Ը” actually mean?

Et or Yt is the eighth letter of the Armenian alphabet created by Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th century. It has a numerical value of 8 and represents the mid-central unrounded vowel (ë), like the e in petition. “Ը” is the upper-case form, while “ը” is the lower case form.

Unlike many letters in the Armenian alphabet, “Ը” has a role both in the formation of words, and as the definite article “the” when added as a suffix to the end of nouns. Let’s take a look at that in practice:

Words with “Ը” in them:

Ընկեր (Ënker): Friend
Ընտանիք (Ëntanik/Ëndanik): Family

If you noticed that “Ը” commonly appears at the beginnings of words, you’re on to something! This letter is unique in its own right as it can only appear in the beginning or the end of a word. It is never present in written form in the middle of a word.

Words ending in “ը”:

Ընկերը (Ënkerë): The friend
Ընտանիքը (Ëntanikë/Ëndanikë): The family

When we see ը at the end of a word, it changes the noun so that there is a ‘the’ before it. I.e. “friend” becomes “the friend” or “family” becomes “the family” as in the examples above.

“Ը” represents a unique sound that doesn’t have a direct equivalent in many other languages. This makes it a crucial element in distinguishing Armenian words, and an integral part of the Armenian language.

Pronunciation

If you want to learn how “ը” is pronounced in Eastern and Western Armenian, check out our post on How to pronounce the Armenian alphabet (with audio).