I can read and write words with the letters ձ, ծ, ց and ջ, ճ, չ without mixing them up in familiar words.
Two triplets: ձ – ծ – ց and ջ – ճ – չ
Two triplets: ձ – ծ – ց and ջ – ճ – չ
Affricates are sounds that start like t or d and end like s or sh: ts, ch, dz, j. They come in the same three series as in lesson 4: voiced, voiceless with no puff of air, voiceless with a puff of air.
The first triplet: Ձ ձ [dz], voiced, the ds of “adds”; Ծ ծ [ts], no puff, the ts of “cats”; Ց ց [tsʰ], with a puff: a new sound.
The second triplet: Ջ ջ [dʒ], voiced, the j of “jam”; Ճ ճ [tʃ], no puff; Չ չ [tʃʰ], with a puff. An English ear hears the ch of “cheap” in both ճ and չ, so learn the letter by eye, with the word. The table is below.
Careful: ց is not the Latin g. Look-alike letters: ձ and ծ; ց and ջ.
Words for reading: ոչ [vɔtʃʰ], “no” (ո at the start of a word has a [v]); ինչ [intʃʰ], “what”; ինչպես [intʃʰpɛs], “how”; ջինս [dʒins], “jeans”; ներեցեք [nɛɾɛtsʰɛkʰ], “excuse me”; ցտեսություն [tsʰətɛsutʰjun], “goodbye”: after ց you hear a vowel you don't write.
One letter, a different word: ձեր “your”, ծեր “old” (of a person); չար “evil”, ճար “a way out, a remedy”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT ձ as z — it is [dz], the ds of “adds”.
• NOT ծ and ց as one letter — the puff of air tells them apart, and so does the checker.
• NOT the Latin g for ց.
Two triplets
The letter, how the word is read, and the translation.
| Voiced | Voiceless, no puff of air | Voiceless, with a puff of air |
|---|---|---|
| ձ — ձու [dzu], “egg” | ծ — ծով [tsɔv], “sea” | ց — հաց [hɑtsʰ], “bread” |
| ջ — ջուր [dʒuɾ], “water” | ճ — ճաշ [tʃɑʃ], “lunch” | չ — կանաչ [kɑnɑtʃʰ], “green” |
Lesson notes
Two triplets: ձ – ծ – ց and ջ – ճ – չ
Affricates are sounds that start like t or d and end like s or sh: ts, ch, dz, j. They come in the same three series as in lesson 4: voiced, voiceless with no puff of air, voiceless with a puff of air.
The first triplet: Ձ ձ [dz], voiced, the ds of “adds”; Ծ ծ [ts], no puff, the ts of “cats”; Ց ց [tsʰ], with a puff: a new sound.
The second triplet: Ջ ջ [dʒ], voiced, the j of “jam”; Ճ ճ [tʃ], no puff; Չ չ [tʃʰ], with a puff. An English ear hears the ch of “cheap” in both ճ and չ, so learn the letter by eye, with the word. The table is below.
Careful: ց is not the Latin g. Look-alike letters: ձ and ծ; ց and ջ.
Words for reading: ոչ [vɔtʃʰ], “no” (ո at the start of a word has a [v]); ինչ [intʃʰ], “what”; ինչպես [intʃʰpɛs], “how”; ջինս [dʒins], “jeans”; ներեցեք [nɛɾɛtsʰɛkʰ], “excuse me”; ցտեսություն [tsʰətɛsutʰjun], “goodbye”: after ց you hear a vowel you don't write.
One letter, a different word: ձեր “your”, ծեր “old” (of a person); չար “evil”, ճար “a way out, a remedy”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT ձ as z — it is [dz], the ds of “adds”.
• NOT ծ and ց as one letter — the puff of air tells them apart, and so does the checker.
• NOT the Latin g for ց.