զզվելի
zzveli/zəzveˈli/
The Armenian word for "gross" (as in something causing disgust) is զզվելի (zzveli).
Meaning: causing disgust (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /zəzveˈli/. You can approximate the sounds using these English comparisons: the /z/ sound is like the [z] in "zoo", the /ə/ sound is like the [a] in "again", the /v/ sound is like the [v] in "van", the /l/ sound is like the [l] in "lace" and the /i/ sound is like the [ea] in "seat", but short in duration.
Did you know?
- The double 'զ' sound at the start of զզվելի creates a heavy, buzzing phonetic texture that mimics the sensation of revulsion.
- The suffix -ի in զզվելի transforms the action of shuddering into a quality of the object. This allows the word to literally translate to 'that which causes one to shudder'.
- Unlike the English 'gross', which can occasionally be used as slang for 'great' or 'large' (as in gross profit), զզվելի is strictly used for repulsion and never for quantity or scale.
Examples in context
- Դա շատ զզվելի է:Da shat zzvveli e:That is very gross.
- Զզվելի հոտ է այստեղ:Zzvveli hot e aystekh:There is a gross smell here.
Example conversation
Levon and Mariam are looking at a messy kitchen counter.
- Մարիամ MariamԼևոն, նայիր սեղանին, ինչ զզվելի է:Levon, nayir seghanin, inch zzveli e:Levon, look at the table, it's so gross!
- Լևոն LevonԻհարկե, ամեն ինչ կղտոտ է:Iharke, amen inch kghtot e:Of course, everything is dirty.
- Մարիամ MariamԵս չեմ կարող սրան դիմանալ:Yes chem karogh sran dimanal:I cannot stand this.
- Լևոն LevonԱրի միասին մաքրենք սա:Ari miasin maqrenq sa:Let's clean this together.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry զզվելի, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries զզվելի, CC BY-SA 4.0.
