բանտ
bant/bɑnt/
The Armenian word for jail is բանտ (bant).
բանտ refers to a place for short-term confinement (noun).
Meaning: place for short-term confinement (noun)
Which one should you use?
While բանտ is the general term for jail or prison, it is more commonly used for long-term incarceration than for a temporary holding cell.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say someone is 'in jail', the noun բանտ takes the locative case ending –ում to become բանտում. The genitive form, used to indicate possession or 'of jail', is բանտի.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is bant (/bɑnt/). The /b/ sound is like the [b] in bee, the /ɑ/ sound is like the [a] in lava, the /n/ sound is like the [n] in nest and the /t/ sound is like the [t] in stop.
Did you know?
- In colloquial Armenian, talking about բանտ often invokes the historical memory of the Soviet Gulags, giving the word a heavier emotional weight than the English word 'jail'.
- The word բանտ is a direct loan from the Old Persian 'band', meaning 'bond' or 'shackle'.
- There is a linguistic distinction where բանտ refers to the institution, but the act of being 'locked up' may use verbs related to 'binding' or 'tying'.
Examples in context
- Ֆադիլն այժմ բանտում է։Fadil is in jail now.This sentence uses the form բանտ to show someone is currently in jail.Tatoeba #13379622 by Proxima5, translation #5881160 by OsoHombre
- Թոմին բանտ է սպառնում։Tom is facing jail.This sentence uses the form բանտ to show someone is facing jail.Tatoeba #13387936 by Proxima5, translation #12121025 by CK
- Ես երբեք բանտում չեմ եղել:I have never been to jail.This sentence uses the form բանտ to express having been in jail.Tatoeba #13044927 by Proxima5, translation #5109257 by honestlang
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “jail” translations and entries բանտ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries բանտ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
