Armenian Alphabet

A complete reference table of the Armenian alphabet. Every letter is listed with its uppercase and lowercase form, its traditional name, a Latin transliteration and a plain pronunciation hint, plus the Eastern and Western Armenian differences where they matter. Copy a letter with one click, open it directly in the Armenian keyboard, or press the speaker icon to hear its pronunciation.

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Uppercase	Lowercase	Letter name	Transliteration	Pronunciation	Eastern	Western
Ա	ա	այբ	a	a as in father
Բ	բ	բեն	b / p	b as in book	b	p
Գ	գ	գիմ	g / k	g as in go	g	k
Դ	դ	դա	d / t	d as in day	d	t
Ե	ե	եչ	e / ye	e as in bed; ye at the start of a word
Զ	զ	զա	z	z as in zoo
Է	է	է	e	open e as in bed, never ye
Ը	ը	ըթ	y / e	schwa, the a in about
Թ	թ	թո	t	t with a puff of air, as in top
Ժ	ժ	ժե	zh	s in measure
Ի	ի	ինի	i	ee as in see
Լ	լ	լյուն	l	l as in look
Խ	խ	խե	kh	ch in Scottish loch
Ծ	ծ	ծա	ts / dz	sharp ts	ts	dz
Կ	կ	կեն	k / g	k as in sky	k	g
Հ	հ	հո	h	h as in hat
Ձ	ձ	ձա	dz / ts	dz as in adze	dz	ts
Ղ	ղ	ղատ	gh	French r, soft throaty gh
Ճ	ճ	ճե	ch / j	sharp ch	ch	j
Մ	մ	մեն	m	m as in man
Յ	յ	հի	y	y as in yes
Ն	ն	նու	n	n as in now
Շ	շ	շա	sh	sh as in ship
Ո	ո	ո	o / vo	o as in more; vo at the start of a word
Չ	չ	չա	ch	ch as in church, with a puff of air
Պ	պ	պե	p / b	p as in spin	p	b
Ջ	ջ	ջե	j / ch	j as in jam	j	ch
Ռ	ռ	ռա	rr	rolled r, as in Spanish perro
Ս	ս	սե	s	s as in sun
Վ	վ	վեվ	v	v as in van
Տ	տ	տյուն	t / d	t as in stop	t	d
Ր	ր	րե	r	soft tapped r
Ց	ց	ցո	ts	ts as in cats, with a puff of air
Ւ	ւ	հյուն	w	used today inside ու and և
Փ	փ	փյուր	p	p as in pen, with a puff of air
Ք	ք	քե	k	k as in kite, with a puff of air
Օ	օ	օ	o	o as in more, never vo
Ֆ	ֆ	ֆե	f	f as in fine

Written with two letters

These two forms are written with more than one letter but are read as a single sound in modern Armenian.

Uppercase	Lowercase	Letter name	Transliteration	Pronunciation	Eastern	Western	Copy
ՈՒ	ու	ու	u	oo as in food (written with two letters)
ԵՎ	և	և	yev / ew	the word and, written as one ligature

How many letters are in the Armenian alphabet

The modern Armenian alphabet has 38 letters. Mesrop Mashtots created the original 36 letters in 405 AD; օ and ֆ were added later, around the 12th century. The script is written left to right and has separate uppercase and lowercase forms for every letter.

Armenian alphabet pronunciation

Most letters have one stable sound, which makes Armenian spelling far more predictable than English. Two letters change at the start of a word: ե is read ye and ո is read vo. The letters թ, փ, ք, չ and ց are pronounced with a puff of air, and ղ is a soft throaty sound close to the French r. Click the speaker icon next to any letter to hear the sound spoken.

Eastern vs Western pronunciation

Eastern Armenian (Armenia, Iran, Russia) and Western Armenian (the diaspora) share the same alphabet but differ on a group of consonants. Where Eastern says b, g, d, dz, j, Western says p, k, t, ts, ch, and the reverse for պ, կ, տ, ծ, ճ. The Eastern and Western columns in the table show these pairs.

Armenian alphabet in English letters

The transliteration column gives the common Latin spelling of each letter, which is what you type in Latin to Armenian mode on the keyboard. Type barev and you get բարև. Transliteration changes the script, not the meaning.

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