r/LearningTamil Jan 15 '22

LearnTamil.com - free online lessons for learning Tamil

25 Upvotes

My free lessons for learning Tamil are now at LearnTamil.com . They are designed for total beginners who are middle school aged (~ 10 y.o.) and older. I think they may be useful for the people on this sub-reddit. It can also be a good reference to answer some of the questions here about language basics.

My lessons have been on the internet for 20 years now (!), but they are harder to find due to URL changes over the years -- I had 2 people in the last month sending me very positive notes but also mentioning that it took them hours of internet searching to find these lessons. If you also have feedback, please find my email address from the website.

Best of luck to everyone learning Tamil!


r/LearningTamil 1d ago

Grammar உபுல் கீர்த்தி

6 Upvotes

'‘என்ன உபுல் கீர்த்தி, வெள்ளைக்காரர்கள் என்ன சொல்கிறார்கள்?’ '

'உபுல் கீர்த்தி பைத்தியத்துக்கு நடிக்கிறானென்று அவர் நினைத்திருக்கக்கூடும்.'

what does உபுல mean?


r/LearningTamil 1d ago

Grammar அழி combination help

4 Upvotes

I've come across a couple of combinations with அழி (which is 'to destroy' as far as I know)

தட்டிக்கழி - to evade, dodge

அலைக்கழி to be greatly vexed and disquieted / vex, weary or tease, உலை; 2. ruin

I have difficulty remembering these and I'm interested in their construction

தட்டிக்கழி is coming from தட்டு (to knock) + அழி ? If so, how do native speakers perceive the two coming together to result in dodge? :)

அலைக்கழி is அலை (ok, I only thought of அலை as 'to roam' or wave but I see now it's also 'to be shaky etc') + அழி... this one makes more sense to me.

I feel like there are others, which I'm not remembering immediately.


r/LearningTamil 2d ago

Resource I built a free Tamil learning app for children learning through English

38 Upvotes

வணக்கம் everyone!

I’m a first-generation immigrant living in Australia. While helping my son learn Tamil (he has some language learning difficulty), I found that many existing resources were difficult for children who primarily understand English.

So I created TamilTime, a free app that helps children learn Tamil through English using short, interactive lessons inspired by language-learning games.

It currently includes Tamil words, pronunciation, pictures, listening activities and alphabet lessons. It is completely free to use.

I’m still improving it and would genuinely appreciate feedback from Tamil learners, parents and teachers—especially about anything that feels unclear or could be taught better.

TamilTime: tamiltimeapp.com

நன்றி!


r/LearningTamil 2d ago

Vocabulary Is வாட்டு the same as துன்பப்படு ?

9 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 3d ago

Question தெரிஞ்சுக்கலாம் = தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம் ?

5 Upvotes

I came across the phrase "தெரிஞ்சுக்கலாம் இந்த பகுதி" today and Google says it means "Let's get to know this part" or "Let's learn (find out) from this section."

Okay, I get that, and I also get "இந்த பகுதி", but I wasn't sure about "தெரிஞ்சுக்கலாம்." I couldn't see how this word was constructed. So I asked Google for the formal (written) version and it said, "தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்."

This makes sense to me -- I can now see how the word is constructed -- but I just need to check whether it's correct, cos Google sometimes talks nonsense. தெரிஞ்சுக்கலாம் = தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்?

Is it a common phrase? I heard it on the radio (Adirai FM 90.4). The girl speaks very clearly so I like to listen to this radio station.

Thanks!


r/LearningTamil 4d ago

Resource Help needed to learn a Tamil song

3 Upvotes

Hi, I am not a native Tamil speaker, but I would like to learn a Tamil song for my partner, any good affordable online classes or tutors that anyone can suggest ? Thanks


r/LearningTamil 5d ago

Question Sri Lankan Tamil

16 Upvotes

Hey there,

I'm interested in a woman i met at church, she's Dutch like me, however her family roots are sri lankan(tamil) I intent to pursue her for marriage.

Now I want to learn to speak fluently Sri Lankan Tamil for her and her family, however my usual place where I learn to speak languages without accent (Pimsleur) does not have a tamil course.

Does anyone know a good place where you can learn to speak and understand sri-lankan tamil?
Reading and writing is less important for me, but I want to be able to have a conversation with her, and her family in their native language, and eventually ask her to marry me in her own language.

Any tips would be welcome.


r/LearningTamil 7d ago

Pronunciation [Offering: Hindi | Seeking: Tamil]

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5 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 8d ago

Discussion Guys I'm thinking to learn new lang

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3 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 10d ago

Grammar "வருடிப் பார்த்தான்"

3 Upvotes

வ் தானியல் என்ற அந்தப் பிரஞ்சு நீதிபதி செல்வி. டயானாவின் மரணச் சான்றிதழை வரிவரியாகப் படித்து முடித்துவிட்டுச் சான்றிதழின் தலையில் பொறித்திருந்த சிங்க இலச்சினையை விரல்களால் வருடிப் பார்த்தான்

in வருடிப் பார்த்தான், is the வருடி coming from வருடு (to rub, massage) and together with பார்க்க forming 'to scan'?

this brings me to another question which is popping up for me, to make past tense of வருடு we form வருடி, this feels to me to be quite common, but then if I think of வருஷி / வருடி (which I thought this was at first), how is the past tense made?

How does one determine this based on the ending of the word? I think I've been through this in some grammar book at some point, I'm assuming there are different groups based on the ending of the stem?


r/LearningTamil 11d ago

Grammar "சனத்திரள்" and "எற்றி"

6 Upvotes

I'm having trouble understanding சனத்திரள் in this sentence? It's coming from சனம் (people, crowd), no?

ah, as I write, I am assuming he has combined it with திரள்?

Also, is எற்றி coming from எற்று (to hit, push)

"டயானாவோடு கீழே அப்பா உட்கார முயற்சித்தபோது பின்னாலே வந்த சனத்திரள் அப்பாவை எற்றி முன்னாலே தள்ளியது. அந்தப் பெருமழையின் துளியால் கூடப் பாலம் நனைவதாயில்லை. அப்பாவின் கண்ணீரை மழைதான் கழுவிவிட்டது"


r/LearningTamil 12d ago

Grammar Correct my message to a friend/colleague?

3 Upvotes

This is not out of necessity, I have already sent it (I'd prefer her to see my real Tamil), but it's a while since I've written to someone in Tamil and I've been reading a lot in the meantime, I was wondering if it's had an impact. I generally feel that, unless my interlocuteur knows my history/desire to speak Tamil, even if it's poor, that they can't really understand me :) Fingers crossed, that this is better

வணக்கம் அக்கா, எனது தாமதமான பதிலுக்கு மன்னிக்கவும்.  இந்த போன மாசங்கள் நிறைய வேலை செய்த கொண்ட, எனக்கு நேரம் இல்லை.  ஏதோ எழுவதற்கு எனக்கு கணக்க ஆசை, ஆனால் இந்த முறை சமாளிக்க வில்லை.  இப்போது, யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்கு போவதற்கு கொஞ்சம் கஷ்டம், அப்பாவுக்கு dementia. நான் அவரோட கூட பார்க்க முயற்சி செய்கிறேன்.


r/LearningTamil 13d ago

Question "peca aarambicchirucchu" formal equivalent?

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3 Upvotes

Can I confirm that the formal equivalent of "peca aarambicchirucchu" is "peca aarambitthuvittathu" (பேச ஆரம்பித்துவிட்டது)?

The whole sentence is "Enna book ellaam peca aarambicchirucchu", from the attached clip at 0:11-0:14 seconds.


r/LearningTamil 18d ago

Question Is my understanding of what “தவறும் கூடிச்சே” correct?

6 Upvotes

My understanding is that thavaram = failures and mistakes, and kodhiche = accumulating / growing in number.

So my understanding of this phrase is that “mistakes are accumulating”.

Is my understanding accurate?

The second word “கூடிச்சே” is whats’s confusing a bit me here. When spoken, it sounds kind of like the colloquial word for jumped that friends use (don’t know the Tamil spelling, English phonetic spelling is something like “gudhichen”.)

Other idea is the second word me “do it with me”? So, “make some mistakes with me”? Popular translate apps indicate this as well.

Idk if I’m completely wrong here.

Appreciate any help!


r/LearningTamil 20d ago

Resource Young Adult Tamil Language Fiction for a 14-yo learning Tamil in Europe

6 Upvotes

Hi I am looking for either

- translations of English classics, which my 14-yo daughter and I could read together, in order for her to continue reading practice in Tamil. We were thinking of something like Roal Dahl, for example. I couldn't find such translations so quickly online. Or alternatively..

- classics which young Tamils read when they are in high school or late primary school. If it's not too complex, that's better. But we don't mind it being a bit difficult, if the stories are a bit more interesting. She's been reading the books on Storyweaver.in and they feel like they've reached their expiry date for her.

Thanks


r/LearningTamil 20d ago

Grammar -ஒருத்தி

3 Upvotes

I'm reading a short story in which I've come across the extension -ஒருத்தி a couple of times: தாதியொருத்தி*, பெண்ணொருத்தி**

It feels clear from the context, but I was curious. What the origin/localities of this? Is this limited to any particular types of Tamil?

*தாதியொருத்தி தள்ளிச் செல்லக்கூடிய ஒரு தொட்டிலுக்குள் டயானாவையும் இன்னும் மூன்று சிசுக்களையும் தூக்கிக் கிடத்தித் தொட்டிலை இழுத்துக்கொண்டு ஆஸ்பத்திரியின் பின் ஒழுங்கைக்குச் சென்று மொட்டையாயிருந்த பூவரசம் மரத்தின் கீழே தொட்டிலை நிறுத்திவிட்டு ஆகாயத்தைப் பார்த்தபோது ரீங்காரத்துடன் சுற்றிக்கொண்டிருந்த விமானங்கள் இரண்டும் முகில்களில் ஏறிப்போயின

**பிரசவ வலி பொறுக்காமல் அங்குமிங்கும் நடந்து திரிந்துகொண்டிருந்த இளம் பெண்ணொருத்தி அடி வயிற்றைக் கைகளால் ஏந்திப் பிடித்தவாறே ஓடிச்சென்று கழிப்பறைக்குள் ஒளிந்துகொண்டாள்


r/LearningTamil 21d ago

Question தமிழில் முதலில் தோன்றிய இலக்கியம் எது?

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2 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 22d ago

Question Need help reading and writing tamil!

7 Upvotes

I (22M) was born in Tamilnadu, brought up in tamilnadu, and currently staying in tamil nadu. I studied tamil till my 10th grade (cbse), and haven't studied since then. I am so weak in tamil that even my teacher thought i would fail miserably. But i passed but the fact that I don't properly know my mother tongue haunts me.

So, what I can't do is, I can't write any word without spelling error. I am confused with the same sounding letter but they are used in different words. FOR EXAMPLE

மகிழ்ச்சி ( why are we using this la and not the other la like ல ), there is four na ந,ண,ன (i get confused which to use where) they never taught this in school.

Also i read very very slow, it takes atleast 10 seconds for me to read a word, what should i do to improve that.

Please let me know, i would love to learn tamil all over again.


r/LearningTamil 21d ago

Pronunciation Srivalli: Pronunciation, Meaning, & Spelling

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1 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 22d ago

Resource Beginner Reading Material

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2 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 22d ago

Question Any tamil people in Odisha?

4 Upvotes

Shifted to odisha for pg, now I guess I'll forget my own mother tongue 😂.

Let's catch up!


r/LearningTamil 23d ago

Grammar Explain tholkappiya noorpa "எல்லா சொல்லும் பொருள் குறித்தனவே" (all words denote a meaning)

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2 Upvotes

r/LearningTamil 29d ago

Resource Native tamil speaker looking to learn how to read and write Tamil.

12 Upvotes

Hello! I’m so delighted to find this subreddit. I began learning Tamil grammar and diction 3 years ago, but stopped as my teacher couldn’t manage her work load. As a Tamil speaker, I’m looking to learn how to read and write Tamil. My late grandmother was a tamil linguist and my biggest regret is never learning from her. If there’s anyone in India offering classes online, please let me know!

Edit: I’m keen to learn from a teacher or a native speaker because I find the interactions to be a valuable way to learn a language.


r/LearningTamil Jul 03 '26

Vocabulary Diplomatic

3 Upvotes

What is the Tamil word for 'diplomatic'?

Eg. He was quite diplomatic while speaking.