Language/Armenian/Grammar/Noun-Gender-and-Plurals
As a native Armenian language speaker and a teacher of the language for over 20 years, I am excited to bring you this lesson on noun gender and plurals. In this lesson, you will learn about the two genders of Armenian nouns, how to form plurals, and some common irregular plurals.
Noun Gender
Armenian nouns can be categorized into two genders: masculine and feminine. In general, masculine nouns refer to male living beings or objects, while feminine nouns refer to female living beings or objects. It is important to learn the gender of a noun because it affects the form of the article, adjective, and sometimes the verb that is used in relation to that noun.
Here are some examples of masculine and feminine nouns in Armenian:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Տղա (tgha) | tgha | male goat (masculine) |
| Կատու (katu) | katu | female cat (feminine) |
| Տիկնում (tiknum) | tiknum | leg (masculine) |
| Դերասան (derasan) | derasan | actress (feminine) |
As you can see in the examples above, masculine nouns end in a consonant sound, whereas feminine nouns end in a vowel sound. Exceptions to this rule do exist, so it is important to learn the gender of each noun individually.
Plurals
In Armenian, most nouns are made plural by adding the suffix -ներ (-ner) to the end of the noun. This suffix can be added directly to masculine or feminine nouns, but there are certain spelling rules that apply when adding it to nouns that end in a vowel sound.
Here are some examples of pluralizing Armenian nouns:
| Armenian (singular) | Armenian (plural) | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Մայր (mayr) | մայրեր (mayrer) | mayrer | mothers (feminine) |
| Գայլ (gayl) | գայլեր (gayler) | gayler | dogs (masculine) |
| Բարկություն (barkutyun) | բարկություններ (barkutyunner) | barkutyunner | complexities (masculine) |
As you can see in the examples above, when a masculine noun ends in a vowel sound, the final vowel is replaced by -ն (n) before adding the suffix -եր (-er). When a feminine noun ends in -ա or -ո (a or o), the final vowel is dropped before adding the suffix -եր (-er). When a feminine noun ends in -ե (e), the final letter is replaced with -ներ (-ner).
However, there are some irregular plurals in Armenian that do not follow these spelling rules. Here are some examples:
| Armenian (singular) | Armenian (plural) | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| գործ (gorts) | գործեր (gortser) | gortser | works (masculine) |
| ոգևորաց (ogevorats) | ոգևորացներ (ogevoratsner) | ogevoratsner | servants (masculine) |
| մոտ (mot) | մոտեր (moter) | moter | nearness (masculine) |
Make sure to memorize these irregular plurals as they are commonly used in Armenian language.
I hope this lesson on noun gender and plurals has been useful to you. Keep practicing, and you will soon become an expert in Armenian language. In the next lesson, we will cover personal pronouns in Armenian.