Tamil sounds

This beginner's guide shows you how to pronounce the sounds used in informal Tamil, specifically the kind of informal Tamil used in the popular media of Tamil Nadu. We hope it can help you get started and avoid some common mistakes. It might also help you train you ear as you listen to native speech.

If you want a more technical overview, see the Wikipedia article on Tamil phonology.

Vowels

Both formal and informal Tamil use these basic vowels:

Notes for native English speakers:

• The vowels a, i, u, e, and o are short. All other vowels are long and pronounced for twice as much time as the short vowels.

• In many varieties of English, vowels like e and o are actually diphthongs, or combinations of two simple vowel sounds. For example, the "o" in "bode" often sounds like "o" + "u". This is not the case in Tamil. As a test, try pronouncing each vowel for multiple seconds at a time. Except for ai and au, each vowel should sound constant from start to finish.

• The a sound in ai and au is simply a short a. Avoid the tendency to pronounce these vowels as in kite or cow.

Consonants

In written Tamil, the same letters can describe multiple different sounds depending on context and dialect. For example, க் might be pronounced as k, g, or even h.

Written Tamil also makes distinctions that are no longer found in some dialects of informal Tamil. For example, ந and ன are pronounced identically in many Tamil dialects, including the dialect we focus on here.

General notes:

• For simplicity, this site will write ṅ, ñ, and n identically as n. This is because the correct sound is almost always clear from context: nk and ng use ṅ, nc and nj use ñ, and all other cases are simply n. That said, we will use ñ as needed for specific words like ñānam.

Notes for native English speakers:

• Tamil consonants are unaspirated. As an experiment, hold your hand close to your mouth and try pronouncing the words kill and skill. What do you notice? For most native speakers, the k in kill is followed by an extra puff of air. We call this aspiration, and so we say that k is an aspirated consonant. Try to avoid this extra puff of air when pronouncing Tamil. In particular, be attentive to how you pronounce k, ʈ, and p at the beginning of words.

• c and j are pronounced by touching the middle of the tongue to the hard palate. Native English speakers tend to instead these sounds as the English "ch" and "j," which touch the tip of the tongue to the area near the upper teeth.

• Tamil uses a variety of retroflex consonants. Here, "retroflex" means that the tongue turns ("flex") back ("retro") in the mouth. For ʈ and ɖ, try touching the top of the roof of your mouth with the underside of your tongue. Use a similar tongue position for ɭ, ʐ, and ʂ.

• v is pronounced somewhere between "v" and "w." Try to keep your lower lip between your upper lip and your upper teeth.

• ʐ is nearly identical to the "r" used in American English. As you pronounce ʐ, try to relax the base of your tongue and avoid moving the lips.

Pronunciation tips

General notes for native English speakers:

• With minor exceptions, Tamil is written phonetically, and each sound is pronounced as it is written. So, pronounce each sound and give it the time it deserves.

• For example, sāmbār has two long vowels, and both should be pronounced with equal time and emphasis. Avoid the tendency to soften, shorten, or de-emphasize one of the two syllables.

• Or, puɭi has a single ɭ but puɭɭi has two. These words are pronounced differently and have different meanings, so give each ɭ the time it needs.

Some exceptions for individual sounds:

• At the beginning of a word, e and ē are almost always pronounced as ye and yē, respectively.

• At the beginning of a word, o and ō are sometimes pronounced as vo and vō, respectively.

• In many dialects, ʐ is pronounced as ɭ or even l.

• ʂ is used only in loanwards, typically from Sanskrit. Many speakers will simply use s instead.

• In some dialects, s may be pronounced as sh or c.

Some exceptions for combinations of sounds:

• At the end of a word, -ān and -ām are pronounced as a nasalized -ā vowel (ā̃).

• At the end of a word, -am and -um are pronounced as a nasalized -o vowel (õ).

• At the end of a word, -ōm is pronounced as a nasalized -ō vowel (ȭ).

• At the end of a word, -an is pronounced as a nasalized -æ vowel. Here, æ represents the vowel sound in "cat" or "apple."

• Words ending with -ēn are pronounced as if ending with a nasalized -ǣ vowel.

  • This ǣ sound also appears in the common word vēɳɖām, which means "not wanted." So in practice, this word is pronounced as vǣɳɖā̃.

• The Tamil script is sometimes ambiguous when writing words borrowed from other languages. For example, the loanword புத்தி could be pronounced as putti, butti, puddi, or buddi. Here buddi is the standard pronunciation, from the Sanskrit buddhi. Context and experience will make these words clear.

Word pairs

To conclude, see if you can pronounce these words differently and hear the differences between them:

• paɖam (picture) and padam (word)

• paɖam (picture) and pāɖam (lesson)

• puli (tiger) and puɭi (tamarind)

• puɭi (tamarind) and puɭɭi (dot)