Why learn Tamil?
Tamil (தமிழ், tamiḻ) is one of the oldest living languages in the world, with documented literature dating back over 2,000 years. Spoken by approximately 80 million people, it is an official language in Tamil Nadu (India), Sri Lanka, Singapore and the territory of Pondicherry.
According to Ethnologue, Tamil (ISO code tam) has approximately 80 million native speakers worldwide, making it the 18th most spoken language in the world. It is one of the few classical languages of India still spoken as a vibrant everyday tongue by tens of millions of people.
Discover our Tamil vocabulary and explore full courses on Targumi.
A classical language of India
Tamil is one of the six classical languages recognised by the Indian government. The Sangam literature (3rd century BCE — 3rd century CE) is considered one of the greatest literary corpora of antiquity. The Thirukkural, a collection of 1,330 ethical couplets attributed to Thiruvalluvar, has been translated into over 80 languages.
The Dravidian family
Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family, distinct from the Indo-European family of Hindi and Sanskrit. Dravidian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam) are spoken primarily in South India. Tamil is the earliest attested Dravidian language.
Kollywood and the cultural industry
The Tamil film industry, nicknamed Kollywood (from the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai), is India's second largest after Bollywood. It produces around 300 films per year and has influence throughout South Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and the diaspora. Tamil music, driven by legendary composers such as A.R. Rahman, is appreciated worldwide.
Multiple opportunities
- Chennai (formerly Madras) is a major tech hub
- Singapore uses Tamil as an official language
- The Tamil diaspora, highly skilled, is present in IT, medicine and engineering
The Tamil alphabet
The Tamil alphabet (தமிழ் எழுத்துக்கள்) is an abugida of remarkable elegance. It comprises 12 vowels, 18 consonants and 216 consonant-vowel combinations, plus a special character (ஃ, the āytam), totalling 247 characters.
Vowels (உயிர் எழுத்துக்கள்)
| Vowel | Pronunciation | Long vowel | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| அ (a) | short "a" | ஆ (ā) | long "a" |
| இ (i) | short "i" | ஈ (ī) | long "ee" |
| உ (u) | short "oo" | ஊ (ū) | long "oo" |
| எ (e) | short "e" | ஏ (ē) | long "ay" |
| ஒ (o) | short "o" | ஓ (ō) | long "oh" |
| ஐ (ai) | as in "eye" | ஔ (au) | as in "ow" |
Consonants (மெய் எழுத்துக்கள்)
The 18 consonants are classified into three categories:
Vallinam (hard): க (ka), ச (ca), ட (ṭa), த (ta), ப (pa), ற (ṟa)
Mellinam (soft): ங (ṅa), ஞ (ña), ண (ṇa), ந (na), ம (ma), ன (ṉa)
Idaiyinam (medium): ய (ya), ர (ra), ல (la), வ (va), ழ (ḻa), ள (ḷa)
The sound ழ (ḻa) is unique to Tamil — a retroflex lateral approximant found in almost no other language in the world. It is the sound that gives Tamil its distinctive sonority.
Learning tip
The Tamil alphabet may seem daunting with its 247 characters, but it follows perfect logic: once the 12 vowels and 18 consonants are mastered, the combinations become predictable. Use Targumi to practise writing with interactive exercises.
Basic grammar
Word order: SOV
Tamil follows the Subject - Object - Verb (SOV) order:
- நான் சாதம் சாப்பிடுகிறேன் (nāṉ sātam sāppiṭukiṟēṉ) = I rice eat → "I eat rice"
- அவன் புத்தகம் படிக்கிறான் (avaṉ puttakam paṭikkiṟāṉ) = He book reads → "He reads a book"
Agglutination
Tamil is a highly agglutinative language: suffixes are added one after another to express grammatical cases, tenses, person and number.
Example with வீடு (vīṭu, house):
| Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| வீடு (vīṭu) | house |
| வீட்டில் (vīṭṭil) | in the house |
| வீட்டிலிருந்து (vīṭṭiliruntu) | from the house |
| வீடுகள் (vīṭukaḷ) | houses |
| வீடுகளில் (vīṭukaḷil) | in the houses |
The verb system
Verbs are conjugated according to tense, person and number:
| Tense | Example (படி, paṭi = read) |
|---|---|
| Present | படிக்கிறேன் (paṭikkiṟēṉ) — I read |
| Past | படித்தேன் (paṭittēṉ) — I read (past) |
| Future | படிப்பேன் (paṭippēṉ) — I will read |
Tamil distinguishes the inclusive "we" (நாம், nām — we including the listener) from the exclusive "we" (நாங்கள், nāṅkaḷ — we excluding the listener).
Grammatical respect
Tamil encodes respect in its grammar. Verb suffixes change according to the level of politeness:
- நீ வா (nī vā) — come (informal, between friends)
- நீங்கள் வாருங்கள் (nīṅkaḷ vāruṅkaḷ) — come (respectful)
Greetings and polite expressions
| English | Tamil | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | வணக்கம் | vaṇakkam |
| How are you? | எப்படி இருக்கீங்க? | eppaṭi irukkīṅka? |
| Fine, thank you | நல்லா இருக்கேன், நன்றி | nallā irukkēṉ, naṉṟi |
| Thank you | நன்றி | naṉṟi |
| Please | தயவுசெய்து | tayavuceytu |
| Excuse me | மன்னிக்கவும் | maṉṉikkavum |
| Goodbye | போய் வருகிறேன் | pōy varukiṟēṉ |
| Yes | ஆமா | āmā |
| No | இல்லை | illai |
வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam) is the universal Tamil greeting, accompanied by joined hands (anjali). It literally means "I bow" and is appropriate at any time and in any context.
Essential vocabulary — 50 words
| English | Tamil | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Water | தண்ணீர் | taṇṇīr |
| Food | சாப்பாடு | sāppāṭu |
| Rice | சாதம் | sātam |
| House | வீடு | vīṭu |
| Family | குடும்பம் | kuṭumpam |
| Mother | அம்மா | ammā |
| Father | அப்பா | appā |
| Child | குழந்தை | kuḻantai |
| Brother (elder/younger) | அண்ணன் / தம்பி | aṇṇaṉ / tampi |
| Sister (elder/younger) | அக்கா / தங்கை | akkā / taṅkai |
| Friend | நண்பன் | naṇpaṉ |
| Love | காதல் | kātal |
| Money | பணம் | paṇam |
| Work | வேலை | vēlai |
| School | பள்ளி | paḷḷi |
| Book | புத்தகம் | puttakam |
| Road | சாலை | sālai |
| Car | கார் | kār |
| Day | நாள் | nāḷ |
| Night | இரவு | iravu |
| Sun | சூரியன் | sūriyaṉ |
| Moon | நிலா | nilā |
| Rain | மழை | maḻai |
| Sea | கடல் | kaṭal |
| Mountain | மலை | malai |
| Tree | மரம் | maram |
| Flower | பூ | pū |
| Big | பெரிய | periya |
| Small | சிறிய | ciṟiya |
| Good | நல்ல | nalla |
| Bad | கெட்ட | keṭṭa |
| Beautiful | அழகான | aḻakāṉa |
| Hot | சூடு | cūṭu |
| Cold | குளிர் | kuḷir |
| Eat | சாப்பிடு | sāppiṭu |
| Drink | குடி | kuṭi |
| Sleep | தூங்கு | tūṅku |
| Go | போ | pō |
| Come | வா | vā |
| Speak | பேசு | pēcu |
| See | பார் | pār |
| Hear | கேள் | kēḷ |
| Know | தெரி | teri |
| Want | வேணும் | vēṇum |
| Can | முடி | muṭi |
| Love (verb) | காதலி | kātali |
| Temple | கோயில் | kōyil |
| Film | படம் | paṭam |
| Country | நாடு | nāṭu |
| Man | ஆண் | āṇ |
Numbers
| Number | Tamil | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ஒன்று | oṉṟu |
| 2 | இரண்டு | iraṇṭu |
| 3 | மூன்று | mūṉṟu |
| 4 | நான்கு | nāṉku |
| 5 | ஐந்து | aintu |
| 6 | ஆறு | āṟu |
| 7 | ஏழு | ēḻu |
| 8 | எட்டு | eṭṭu |
| 9 | ஒன்பது | oṉpatu |
| 10 | பத்து | pattu |
| 20 | இருபது | irupatu |
| 50 | ஐம்பது | aimpatu |
| 100 | நூறு | nūṟu |
| 1000 | ஆயிரம் | āyiram |
Tamil has its own complete numerical system within its alphabet, though Arabic numerals are now common. The system is decimal: 11 = பதினொன்று (patiṉoṉṟu), 25 = இருபத்தைந்து (irupattaintu).
Useful everyday phrases
| English | Tamil | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| What is your name? | உங்கள் பெயர் என்ன? | uṅkaḷ peyar eṉṉa? |
| My name is... | என் பெயர்... | eṉ peyar... |
| I don't understand | எனக்கு புரியவில்லை | eṉakku puriyavillai |
| Speak slowly | மெதுவாக பேசுங்கள் | metuvāka pēcuṅkaḷ |
| How much does it cost? | இது எவ்வளவு? | itu evvaḷavu? |
| Where are the toilets? | கழிவறை எங்கே? | kaḻivaṟai eṅkē? |
| I'm learning Tamil | நான் தமிழ் கற்றுக்கொள்கிறேன் | nāṉ tamiḻ kaṟṟukkoḷkiṟēṉ |
| It's delicious! | மிகவும் சுவையாக இருக்கிறது! | mikavum cuvaiyāka irukkiṟatu! |
| I come from England | நான் இங்கிலாந்திலிருந்து வருகிறேன் | nāṉ iṅkilāntiliruntu varukiṟēṉ |
| Help me please | தயவுசெய்து உதவுங்கள் | tayavuceytu utavuṅkaḷ |
Tamil culture and traditions
Pongal — the harvest festival
Pongal (January) is the most important festival in Tamil Nadu. Over four days, Tamils celebrate the rice harvest by letting milk boil over in a clay pot — the overflowing symbolises abundance. The cry "Pongal ō Pongal!" echoes in every household.
Dravidian temples
Tamil temple architecture is spectacular. The gopurams (gateway towers) of the temples of Madurai, Thanjavur and Rameswaram are among the most imposing in the world. Bharatanatyam, a classical dance born in Tamil temples, is one of the oldest dance forms in human history.
Kollywood and music
Tamil cinema is a cultural phenomenon. Actors like Rajinikanth are revered as demigods. Film music, blending Carnatic traditions with modern sounds, dominates the charts in South India. A.R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning composer, is a son of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil cuisine
Tamil Nadu cuisine is predominantly vegetarian and is traditionally served on a banana leaf. Must-try dishes include:
- Dosa: fermented rice and lentil crepe
- Idli: steamed rice cake
- Sambar: spiced lentil and vegetable soup
- Rasam: peppery digestive broth
- Filter coffee: Chennai's famous filter coffee, served in a metal tumbler
The Tamil diaspora
In France — La Chapelle and beyond
France is home to the largest Tamil community in Europe, estimated at 100,000 to 150,000 people. The La Chapelle neighbourhood (Paris 10th/18th arrondissement) is the vibrant heart of this community, nicknamed "Little Jaffna":
- Restaurants: Sri Lankan and South Indian eateries along Boulevard de la Chapelle
- Hindu temples: the Ganesh temple (rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis) and its annual processions
- Shops: saris, spices, jewellery, Tamil film DVDs
- Ganesh Festival (September): spectacular procession through the streets of Paris
The Tamil diaspora in France is primarily of Sri Lankan origin, having arrived from the 1980s due to the civil war.
In Canada — Toronto
Toronto is home to the largest Tamil diaspora outside South Asia, with over 200,000 people. The Scarborough neighbourhood is the centre of Tamil community life.
In the United Kingdom
London (East Ham, Wembley, Harrow) has a significant Tamil community, with temples, language schools and Tamil media.
In Singapore and Malaysia
Tamil is one of the four official languages of Singapore. Little India in Singapore is a vibrant neighbourhood where Tamil is the everyday language. In Malaysia, Tamils make up about 7% of the population.
Learn Tamil with Targumi
On Targumi, we offer a complete method to learn Tamil:
- Thematic vocabulary with native speaker audio
- Tamil alphabet with interactive writing exercises
- Progressive grammar from beginner to advanced level
- Cultural context: traditions, cinema, Tamil music
- Community of learners and native speakers
Tamil is a gateway to one of the oldest continuous civilisations in the world. Every word you learn connects you to 2,000 years of poetry, philosophy and wisdom.
வணக்கம்! (Welcome!)
Article written by Meenakshi Sundaram, certified Tamil teacher and Targumi collaborator. At Targumi, we make learning Tamil accessible to everyone.
Sources and References
- Targumi — Learn Tamoul: courses with certified native teachers.
- Wikipedia — Tamoul: encyclopedic information on the language.
Further Reading
- All languages on Targumi — 106 languages taught