փոկ
pʻok/pʰok/
The English word seal (referring to the animal) is փոկ (pʻok) in Armenian. Wiktionary also lists ծովաշուն (covašun).
Meaning: pinniped (noun)
Ways to say it
| Armenian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| փոկ | pʻok | /pʰok/ (Eastern Armenian) /poɡ/ (Western Armenian) |
| ծովաշուն | covašun | /t͡sovɑˈʃun/ (Eastern Armenian) /d͡zovɑˈʃun/ (Western Armenian) |
When referring to the pinniped animal, you can use փոկ or ծովաշուն. Note that the verb կնքել is used in Armenian to mean both sealing a document or fastening something closed so that it cannot be opened without visible damage.
What does it mean word for word?
The word ծովաշուն is a compound of ծով (sea) and շուն (dog), literally translating to sea dog.
Which one should you use?
While փոկ is the general term for a seal, ծովաշուն is often used colloquially to refer to sea lions.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of փոկ is /pʰok/. The /pʰ/ sound is like the [p] in port, and the /k/ sound is like the [c] in scan.
Did you know?
- Because Armenian uses different words for the animal փոկ and the act of sealing կնքել, there is no linguistic overlap between 'seal' the animal and 'seal' the stamp.
- The word փոկ is an ancient term that has survived from Old Armenian into the modern language with its core meaning intact.
- Using ծովաշուն instead of փոկ shifts the tone of a sentence from a clinical description to a more literary or storytelling style.
Examples in context
- Փոկը լողում է ջրում:P'okë lughum e jrum:The seal is swimming in the water.
- Մենք տեսանք մեծ փոկ:Menq tesanq mets p'ok:We saw a large seal.
- Փոկերը սիրում են ձուկ ուտել:P'okere sirum en dzuk utel:Seals love to eat fish.
Example conversation
Lilian and Artash are visiting a zoo.
- Լիլիան LilianԱրտաշ, նայի, այնտեղ փոկ կա:Artash, nayi, ayntégh pok ka:Artash, look, there is a seal over there.
- Արտաշ ArtashԻհարկե, այն շատ մեծ է:Iharké, ayn shat mets e:Of course, it is very big.
- Լիլիան LilianԻսկ դու գիտե՞ս, թե ինչ է ուտում փոկը:Isk du gitéś, t'e inch e utum pokë:And do you know what the seal eats?
- Արտաշ ArtashԱյն սիրում է ձկներ:Ayn sirum e dzkner:It loves fish.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seal” translations and entries փոկ, ծովաշուն, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ծովաշուն, փոկ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
