tamil

Hi everyone, I am starting a reseach project where I need a database of African countries in various languages, with alternative spellings and case variants. Basically, I need to be able to identify country names in texts in those languages, in all different grammatical circumstances. I also...

For Tamil boy names, what is the meaning and pronunciation of the name Mahin? What is the context and connotation?

There are 2 forms of each word: ஜனங்கள் . ஜனங்க . கலகலப் ஜனங்கள் கலகலப்பு ஜனங்கள் . "Collected Writings on Indian Music" by Dr. V. Raghavan is a three volume work running to over a thousand pages. Sri Kanchi Acharya temple conferred the title Sakala Kala Kalapa for versatility. " In...

Straightforward question – would the five proper names transcribed below be acceptable to native speakers of Tamil? நேஉஸா / நேஉஃஸா, மார்ஸேல், லேத்திஸியா, மிகேல், தாநியேல் / தாநிஏல். If not, why? Reasoning behind it: Are there rules of any kind when transliterating foreign names into Tamil...

I'm asking for the biggest ones from South India: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Is there some kind of mutual intelligibility? Up to which point? Or is it just restricted to certain words? Would the speakers of these languages understand the others if they were written in their writing...

This appears to be /jel/ and to mean "termite". Is that correct ? In Middle Tamil, could the word have meant "bee" which are similar insects in form and make similar nests ?

Hi I started Tamil yesterday (learning intensively) and have come across something most confusing to me. What I don't understand is this: you seem to have three categories of letters: uyir yelteker (எழுத்து?), mei yelteker and Girantha yelteker. I think I understand the categories of letter...

பகவன் என்னுடைய . உன்னுடைய Is it possible to say "bhaga ennutaiya / unnutaiya" meaning "your fortunate one" "your beautiful lord" and similar ideas? Could it be an ancient expression?

In this example, someone walks up to you in a coffee shop and ask if they can take a chair you are not using from your table. You want to reply, "Yes. Take it please." I was told I shouldn't use amaam in this situation. I was advised to use the following 2 words and I would like confirmation...

Hi, This a stupid question but, I received from a friend a piece of jewelry and there is this on it : Does anyone know what this is ? I'd say asian language, if it's a language at all :D

I added the Tamil suffix -kal to "kumara-" and found the word exists. Probably it means princes, young men, heirs. However a comment on Sanskrit has the word as babies but I can't find that in a Skr dictionary. Is that a false comment and does "kumarakal" mean princes, young men, heirs ?

Hi, As far as I know, the original pronunciation of the Tamil letter ச at the start of a word was something like [c] or [ʧ]. This is preserved in Malayalam (and some dialects of modern Tamil?). However, I hardly ever hear it pronounced like that in Tamil films or songs - almost everyone seems...

Tamil names may be compounds of naga- (Nagarathar). Can they take the suffix possessive -in (Nagaratharin) or is it possible to say Nagainrathar?

Greetings friends, There is a film in both languages by the name of "Ghajini". Does this word have a meaning? Is it the same as "Ghaznii" (ग़ज़नी), which is the name of a city?

I am intrigued by a close apparent resemblance between two words that belong to two otherwise quite different languages, belonging to two distinct languages: saaru of Gujarati and seri of Tamil. Both mean "fine, alright, ok". What are the etymologies of these words, and is there a traceable...

I'm aware that the formal pronunciation of this sound is a retroflex approximant - basically, American English or Mandarin "r". And indeed, I always hear it pronounced this way in songs. Yet, I have read that it is sometimes pronounced as "L" (retroflex l) in colloquial Tamil - how pervasive is...

can someone tell the difference between "thazhaithu" and "izhaithu"???:)

I am told that this word comes from Portuguese chave pronounced shavi. Does anyone know? Key சாவி

Hi, could someone please let me know the English names of these places? பட்டமங்களம் சேந்தங்குடி Thanks நன்றி

Can anyone assist me with translation of the following three phrases into authentic Tamil characters: Waiting area is for appointments only. Thank you for your time and effort. It is greatly appreciated! ~Adam

Can anyone assist me with translation of the following three phrases into authentic Tamil characters: Counseling session is in progress - do not disturb Thank you for your time and effort. It is greatly appreciated! ~Adam

Can anyone assist me with translation of the following three phrases into authentic Tamil characters: I will return shortly Thank you for your time and effort. It is greatly appreciated! ~Adam

Hi everyone, I'm reading a novel "Tiger Hills", it's a story happened in Coorg in South India, and although it's written in English, there's some words I can't find in the dictionary, I really wish to know their meanings. e.g. 1. monae - "She is fine, they are both fine monae. Come in and see...

Hello everybody! Arabian merchants used since antiquity to sail in the Indian Ocean to exchange merchandises with peoples of Indian subcontinent including now Sri Lanka. When haired a name of a place, a title or any thing new to them, Arabs gave it that same word(s) to it as a name being...

Hello, I only speak English and was reading an article with one Tamil word in it 'Ejamaniamma'..it was the most important word of the article and unfortunately I do not understand it. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what it meant?

Hello, I am trying to write a thank you note in tamil for my mother. It is not very long and I hope someone can help me with the written translation. I wish to write: Thank you for being my mother. Thank you for being who you are. I would be grateful if anyone could help. Cheers:)

I have heard many pronunciations for the letter ka between short a's. My mother and father both speak "Brahman" Iyer Tamil, but they pronounce this sound differently. For example, for the word spelled "pustakam" (book), my mother would say "pustaham" with a voiced ha sound but my father would...

Hi, I found this in a Tamil book and am unsure of what it means. Can someone please provide me with a translation into English? அ ைல ேயரம Thanks P.S. Are there any websites that convert Tamil writing into English? If so, it would be much appreciated. The dashed circles are also not part of...

Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me what உள்ளம் means in the following sentence: "நடராஜர் வீடு எங்கள் உள்ளம்." This is a reading exercise about the two Tamil Nadu cities Madurai (மதுரை) and Chidambaram (சிதம்பரம்.) This sentence is referring to the Nataraja (நடராஜர்/கூத்தன்) Shaiva...

Just want to find some website to help learn Tamil. Thank you very much! மிகவும் நன்றி!

Hi, Sorry I can't provide a transliteration, but because there is no transliteration standard, not a simple, well-known one, anyway, I can't be sure how to write this in the Tamil script. I was just wondering what "aiyo keelavan" means. I took a quiz on the website "facebook", which gave the...

Hi, I know this is not the most, shall we say, everyday language question you're likely to come accross. However, I have been practising my Tamil and a friend (who doesn't speak Tamil, so I couldn't ask her :)) challenged me to say, "I love trees." My attempt is: "நான் மரத்தைகள் காதலிக்கிறேன்"...

I was looking at a website and it said that the 1st person plural (inclusive) pronoun, (i.e. "we",) in Tamil is "நாம் (நாம)". What I would like to know is, is there a difference between the two, and if so, what? In case of any confusion I shall provide a few more examples: Our (inclusive): நம்...

Namaste / Nomoskar / Vanakkam! I am trying to translate the title of a TV Feature series "Extraordinary People" into Hindi, Bengali and Tamil. Examples of "Extraordinary People": - People who have outstanding abilities/achievements (e.g. able to speak many languages/ having photographic...

A great Tamil poet, who I believe is called Kanniyan Poongundran wrote a poem in Purananuru and the first line is: "யாதும் ஊரே, யாவரும் கேளிர்" The translation of this, I believe, is: "To us all towns are one, all men our kin." However, I would just like confirmation, if...

I would like the TAMIL translation for "larynx". Also, is there a colloquial TAMIL expression similar to "voice box". Thanks for your help. IRA

I was looking for the word "angel" in Tamil, and I read that "தேவதூதன்" is the translation, however, I am not sure if this is accurate and was wondering if anybody could confirm. Thanks.

I'm looking to say something similar to the Urdu shukriya bahen jaan or the Hindi dhanyavaad diidii jii. Something endearing sounding. Thanks in advance. PG

Could anyone type "Merry Christmas" or "happy holidays" in Gujarati, Tagalog, or Tamil please? I am doing a newletter for multicultural community. I need those greetings in their own characters. Thanks!!

Can someone please translate this line from a very famous song? I just wanna know its meaning. Thank you very much.

I am currently working on learning Tamil, which is a (ahem!) fascinating language in many ways, and one of the most difficult languages I have tackled in my life, particularly but not exclusively in the fundamentals. My question is this, and I hope that there are some professional linguists...

Hi, can anyone help me with this Tamil saying: "அழுத பிள்ளை பால் குடிக்கும்" In the Latin alphabet: "Azhutha pillai paal kudikkum" I am told that it means: "A child who cries only will get the milk." But that doesn't make sense. For a start, it should surely be: "A child who only cries...

Hey there Im a language lover but unfortunately I only know spanish english and lately some japanese but not TAMIL¡¡ This 22 (wich would be the next friday) is my lucky 18 birthday and im getting a tatto to commemorate being an all-grown-up (in my country 18 is like 21 in usa or others...

My good friend who passed away spoke Tamil, and I was thinking of various ways to honor her memory. Her name is Kavya, and I know that this means "poet" in tamil, but is there anyone who would know how that would look written out? I'd appreciate it very much. edit: I did try using the quillpad...

I appologise if this has been asked before, but I did trawl many, many pages searching. So, as you've probably guessed, I wonder, out of interest, if anybody knows how to say "I love you" in Tamil. <<<If you know how to write it, that would be great, only there are a lot of "n"s and "r"s and...

Hi, does anybody know how to write any of the districts of Sri Lanka in Tamil, e.g. Vavuniya is வவுனியா, I think, but I'm not sure. If anybody knows any of them, I would be very greatful. However, if I could find out how to say all 25, that would be really helpful. Thanks.

Hello everybody! I am trying to learn Tamil, but at the moment I cannot speak a word because there is nobody to teach me pronunciation. However, I do know the alphabet. In order to practice this, I was transliterating a poem about the 26/12/04 (12/26/04 for the Americans) Tsunami when I came...

Is the Hindi word /maamaa/ also used for uncle in Tamil as well? I just encountered this word in a book with a South Indian protagonist, and it just doesn't fit too well! Thanks PG

Hello. I want to get a tatoo in Tamil. I was wondering if someone could translate this for me: Nothing is going to change my world. Could you include the symbols?

Hiya, my name is Chanelle. I was wondering if any of you know a slightly accurate translation of my name into Tamil because I think it is a beautiful language! Thanks.