Tamil is read left to right, and mostly the way it is written. Learn a few rules here and you can sound out new words on signs and menus.
Step 1: the vowels. There are 12. Five are short and seven are long. A long vowel is simply held longer: அ (a) and ஆ (aa). Tap each one.
Words that start with a vowel
Step 2: consonants carry an a. A consonant on its own says the letter with a: க is ka. To take the a away, a dot goes on top: க் is just k.
Step 3: vowel signs. To say kaa, ki or ku, add a small sign for the vowel to க. Here is க with all 12 vowels. Tap them in order.
One letter, two sounds
| Letter | At the start | Between vowels | Doubled |
|---|---|---|---|
| க | கடை (kadai) shop: k | மகன் (magan) son: g | அக்கா (akkaa): kk |
| ச | சரி (sari) okay: s | பசி (pasi) hunger: s | பச்சை (pachchai) green: chch |
| ட | only inside words | ஆடு (aadu) goat: d | பட்டம் (pattam) kite: tt |
| த | தண்ணீர் (thaNNiir) water: th | மாதம் (maadham) month: dh | அத்தை (atthai) aunt: thth |
| ப | பால் (paal) milk: p | கோபம் (koobam) anger: b | அப்பா (appaa): pp |
The hard letters க ச ட த ப soften between vowels. You do not need to think about it: listen, and your mouth will follow.
The famous zh
Curl your tongue far back, then say an l. Close is good enough at first.
Vikram is hungry after school
Which letter is the long vowel aa?
அம்மாWhat does it mean?
Tap a word on the left, then its partner on the right.
க் + ஆ = blank
k + aa = kaa
In மகன் (son), how does க sound?
Mum, I'm hungry!
Read this word and write it in English letters: பால்
Write the letter for the sound ka (type ka).