Այբուբեն · Aybuben
The alphabet of Mashtots
Thirty-nine letters, designed in 405 AD so a people could keep their faith and their stories in their own hand. Tap any letter to hear it spoken and see it in a word.
A short history
Created by Mesrop Mashtots
A monk and scholar, Mashtots designed the alphabet to translate the Bible into Armenian. The first sentence ever written in Armenian was a proverb from Solomon.
Three letters added later
The original alphabet had 36 letters. Օ and Ֆ were added in the Middle Ages for loanwords, and և is technically a ligature — but is taught as its own letter.
Two orthographies
Eastern (Republic of Armenia) uses the reformed spelling. Western (diaspora) and Classical Armenian keep the traditional spelling — same letters, slightly different rules.
«Ճանաչել զիմաստութիւն և զխրատ, իմանալ զբանս հանճարոյ»
— the first sentence ever written in Armenian, Proverbs 1:2