Armenian Phrases for Travelers

You can get by without it — Russian is widely understood and English is common among younger people and in Yerevan's tourist areas. But even a handful of Armenian phrases changes how people respond to you, especially outside the capital, and it's genuinely appreciated rather than treated as a novelty.

Eastern Armenian. That's what's spoken in Armenia itself, and it's what every phrase on this page uses. Western Armenian is the diaspora variety — invaluable if you're connecting with family in Lebanon, Los Angeles, or Europe, but not what you'll hear in Yerevan.

Almost always, yes. The sounds most likely to trip you up are the aspirated consonants — the difference between a plain and a "puffed" p, t, or k can change a word, but context usually carries you through. Listening to real audio while you learn matters far more than drilling the script silently.

Yes — 39 letters, created around 405 AD, unrelated to Latin or Cyrillic. Street signs and menus in Armenia are largely in Armenian script, often alongside English in tourist areas. Learning to read it takes a few days and makes navigating dramatically easier.