Armenian Family Words: Parents, Siblings and Relatives

Family comes up early in almost any conversation in Armenia. People will ask if you are married, how many brothers and sisters you have, and where your parents live, often within the first few minutes. Learning a core set of Armenian family words makes those conversations easier and warmer, and it will help you follow what people are talking about at the table.

Here are the words you need, from close family to aunts, uncles and in-laws, plus a few phrases to put them to use.

Armenian family words for parents and children

• ընտանիք (entanik) – family
• ծնողներ (tsnoghner) – parents
• մայր (mayr) – mother
• մայրիկ (mayrik) – mum, a warmer form
• մամա (mama) – mum, very common in speech
• հայր (hayr) – father
• հայրիկ (hayrik) – dad, a warmer form
• պապա (papa) – dad, in everyday speech
• երեխա (yerekha) – child
• երեխաներ (yerekhaner) – children
• որդի (vordi) – son
• դուստր (dustr) – daughter

Mayr and hayr are the neutral, slightly formal words you will see in writing. At home, most people say mama and papa, or mayrik and hayrik.

In conversation, people often use տղա (tgha) – boy, and աղջիկ (aghjik) – girl, to mean son and daughter. Vordi and dustr sound more formal.

Brothers and sisters

• եղբայր (yeghbayr) – brother
• քույր (kuyr) – sister

Short and useful. You will also hear ախպեր (akhper), a colloquial form of yeghbayr, which friends use with each other much like "bro".

Grandparents and grandchildren

• տատիկ (tatik) – grandmother
• պապիկ (papik) – grandfather
• թոռ (tor) – grandchild

Grandparents often play a big role in Armenian family life, and many children spend a lot of time with them. You may also hear young people address any older woman or man as tatik or papik, as a friendly and respectful way to speak to someone of that age.

Aunts and uncles: mother's side or father's side

This is where Armenian family words become more precise than English. Armenian uses different words for your mother's side and your father's side.

• մորաքույր (morakuyr) – aunt, your mother's sister
• հորաքույր (horakuyr) – aunt, your father's sister
• քեռի (keri) – uncle, your mother's brother
• հորեղբայր (horeghbayr) – uncle, your father's brother

The pattern is easy to spot once you see it. Mor- comes from mayr (mother) and hor- from hayr (father), so morakuyr is literally "mother's sister" and horeghbayr is "father's brother". Keri is the odd one out, so it is worth learning on its own.

For cousins, you will hear զարմիկ (zarmik) for a male cousin and զարմուհի (zarmuhi) for a female cousin. In everyday speech, many people simply describe the link instead, for example "my aunt's son".

Husband, wife and in-laws

• ամուսին (amusin) – husband, spouse
• կին (kin) – wife, also woman
• հարս (hars) – bride, daughter-in-law
• փեսա (pesa) – groom, son-in-law
• սկեսուր (skesur) – mother-in-law, the husband's mother
• սկեսրայր (skesrayr) – father-in-law, the husband's father
• զոքանչ (zokanch) – mother-in-law, the wife's mother
• աներ (aner) – father-in-law, the wife's father

So a woman calls her husband's mother skesur, while a man calls his wife's mother zokanch. Armenian has more in-law words than these, but these are the ones you will hear most. If you have an Armenian partner, learning them is a small gesture that families tend to notice and appreciate.

Saying "my mother" and "my brother"

You can say "my" in two ways. The first uses իմ (im) – my: իմ մայրը (im mayrə) – my mother. The second, very common in speech, adds -ս (-s) to the end of the word:

• մայրս (mayrs) – my mother
• հայրս (hayrs) – my father
• եղբայրս (yeghbayrs) – my brother
• քույրս (kuyrs) – my sister

For "your", when speaking to a friend, add -դ (-d): մայրդ (mayrd) – your mother.

Phrases for talking about family

• Քանի՞ եղբայր ու քույր ունես։ (kani yeghbayr u kuyr unes?) – How many brothers and sisters do you have?
• Ես մեկ եղբայր ունեմ։ (yes mek yeghbayr unem) – I have one brother.
• Սա իմ մայրն է։ (sa im mayrn e) – This is my mother.
• Ամուսնացա՞ծ ես։ (amusnatsats es?) – Are you married?
• Երեխաներ ունե՞ս։ (yerekhaner unes?) – Do you have children?

Notice that after a number or քանի (kani) – how many, the noun stays singular: mek yeghbayr, yerek kuyr.

You will often hear family words with ջան (jan) – dear, added after them, as in մայրիկ ջան (mayrik jan). It is affectionate and used all the time.

Practise with your own family

The easiest way to learn these words is to use them about real people. Draw a simple family tree and label it in Armenian, then describe it out loud. If you would like structured lessons that build this vocabulary into everyday conversation, you can find them on Haylingua.