Armenian alphabet chart

Three little legs joined together. Picture an apron with three folds: a is an open ah sound.

Like a in father, kept short and steady.

A long stem with a small arch and a shelf. Imagine a bow tied above the shelf: b.

Like q with a crossbar: a round goose body and a neck reaching down. A hard g, as in go.

An arch with a right leg that drops below the line and a little doorstep. Door starts with d.

A tall chair: a back, a seat and a leg. Sit down and say yes: ye.

Usually ye at the start of a word, as in ես (yes, I); e inside a word, roughly like e in bed.

Like գ, but the long tail turns right at the bottom. A little zigzag: z.

Like ե with a simpler body and a little foot. A plain e, without the initial y glide.

An e sound, roughly like e in bed. Unlike ե, it does not start with y.

An arch whose left leg drops down and turns right. Relax your mouth for a short uh.

Schwa, like the first a in about. This vowel is sometimes pronounced even when no ը is written: խնձոր, khəndzór.

Like ր with a loop inside the arch. Picture the loop as a tiny cloud of breath.

T with a puff of air, as in top. This is not English th in thin or this.

A rounded body on a tall stem, with a little tail to the right. Think of the middle sound in vision.

The sound of s in vision or measure, not z in zoo.

It resembles h, but the tall stroke reaches through the writing line. Imagine a long needle: i.

Like ee in see, kept short.

An L that has slipped below the line. Low L: l.

A tall stem, an arch and a bowl. Imagine clearing a misty window with a breath: kh.

Like ch in Scottish loch or German Bach. This rough sound is different from հ, English h.

A small round flower on a stem. Put t and s together into one sound.

Like ts in cats, with little puff of air. Contrast aspirated ց.

A tall upright on the left, a bowl, and a leg reaching below. Picture a kettle handle: k.

A k with little puff of air, like k after s in skin. Compare aspirated ք in step 5.

A tall curved neck above a bowl. Breathe gently: h, as in house.

A light h, as in hot. Do not replace it with the rougher խ.

A hook above a bowl with a foot. Imagine a bell buzzing: dz.

Like ds in kids, joined into one sound. The voiced partner of ծ.

Like ո with a right leg that drops down and turns right. Make the sound farther back in your throat.

A voiced sound at the back of the mouth, similar to French r. It is not English g followed by h.

A wave above a little bowl. Think of ch without the cloud of extra breath.

An unaspirated ch sound. Keep the release short and compare it with aspirated չ.

A small cup with a curl at the top right. Imagine a mouse peeking out of a mug: m.

Like a j without its dot. Imagine a spoon dipping into yoghurt: y.

The y in yes, not the sound of English j.

A cup with a curl at the top left, like a teapot spout. Notice which side the curl is on: this one is n.

Like a number 2 with a long lower stroke. Quiet, shhh!

Like sh in ship.

It looks like English n, but it is a vowel spelling. At the start of a word it is usually vo; inside a word, o.

Compare ոչ (vochʰ, no) and նոր (nor, new). There are exceptions to the initial vo rule.

A small շ with a curl above it. Think of a cheerful sneeze with an extra breath.

Ch with a puff of air, close to English ch in chair. The unaspirated ճ comes next.

Like ա, but its right leg drops below the line. Picture a post reaching into the ground: p.

A p with little puff of air, like p after s in spin. Contrast փ in pin.

A loop, a downward tail and a shelf. Imagine a jar of jam on the shelf: j.

Like j in jam, not y in yes.

Like ո with a small shelf at the right. Imagine a little motor running: rrr.

A rolled r, like Spanish rr in perro. Contrast the single tongue tap ր.

It looks like English u, but sounds like s. Imagine an open bowl of sand: sss as you pour.

A cup with a tall right-hand stroke reaching below. Picture a tall vase: v.

Like v in very.

Two little arches joined together, like twins holding hands: t.

A t with little puff of air, like t after s in stop. Keep it distinct from թ.

An arch whose left leg drops below the line. Think of one quick tap on a drum: r.

A single tap of the tongue, like Spanish r in pero. It is not the usual English r. The rolled ռ comes in step 4.

Like a small g with a tail curling left. Picture a small cloud of breath following ts.

The ts at the end of cats, released with an extra puff of air. Compare ծ in step 6.

Two shapes, one sound: ո + ւ read together as the oo in food.

In older spelling ւ counts as its own letter. Today ու is one letter.

Like տ with a middle stroke reaching both up and down. The extra reach reminds you of extra breath.

P with a puff of air, as in English pin. Hold a palm in front of your mouth and compare պ in spin.

A loop on a stem with a crossbar below. Picture a key: k with a puff of air.

Like k at the start of key. Compare unaspirated կ, like k in skin.

A joined ե + վ. It also means “and”: հայր և մայր (father and mother).

At the start of a word it reads yev, inside a word ev. As a capital it is written Եվ.

A simple circle for a steady o, wherever it appears.

An o without a v at the start: օր (or, day). Avoid the strong English oh glide.

A tall loop and a round lower body, rather like Greek phi. Read f.

Often found in borrowed words, such as ֆիլմ (film).