փիղ
pʻiġ/pʰiʁ/
The Armenian word for elephant is փիղ (pʻiġ).
փիղ is a noun used to refer to the large mammal.
Meaning: mammal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the word definite, such as 'the elephant', add the suffix –ը to the end of the word to form փիղը. To form the plural 'elephants', the vowel is replaced with –եր to create փղեր.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /pʰiʁ/. The /pʰ/ sound is like the [p] in [p]ort, the /i/ is like the [ea] in s[ea] but short in duration and the /ʁ/ is like the French [r] in [r]ue or the Northumbrian burr.
Did you know?
- Armenian possesses a linguistic doublet for 'elephant'. You may encounter both the standard փիղ and its twin ֆիլ in different literary contexts.
- Because Armenia is a landlocked country without a native elephant population, an Armenian speaker's connection to the word փիղ is almost entirely through books and zoos rather than nature.
- The word փիղ is used in Armenian to translate the famous 'elephant in the room' idiom, though the cultural origin is Western.
Examples in context
- Որտե՞ղ է իմ փիղը։Where's my elephant?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of one's փիղ.Tatoeba #13337480 by Proxima5, translation #3400315 by _undertoad
- Փիղը ուժեղ կենդանի է։An elephant is a strong animal.This sentence is useful for describing the փիղ as a strong animal.Tatoeba #10716824 by vahanm, translation #268249 by CK
- Դու էլ ես փիղը տեսնո՞ւմ։Do you see the elephant, too?This sentence is useful for asking if someone else sees the փիղ.Tatoeba #13382319 by Proxima5, translation #13374206 by rul
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ani and Tigran are visiting the zoo.
- Անի AniՏիգրան, նայիր, փիղն այնտեղ է։Tigran, nayir, pighn ayntegh e.Tigran, look, the elephant is over there.
- Տիգրան TigranԻսկապես, փիղը շատ մեծ է։Iskapes, pighy shat mets e.Indeed, the elephant is very big.
- Անի AniԵս սիրում եմ փիղը։Yes sirum em pighy.I love the elephant.
- Տիգրան TigranԵս էլ եմ սիրում։Yes el em sirum.I love it too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “elephant” translations and entries փիղ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries փիղ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
