Greetings & Formality
வணக்கம் மற்றும் மரியாதை
Tamil marks respect with a formal/informal 'you' split — நீ vs. நீங்கள். English removes that distinction entirely, which is itself the thing to learn.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
One 'you' for everyone
you (used for a child, a friend, a stranger, or the Prime Minister — identically)
நீ (informal) / நீங்கள் (formal) — two separate words
Tamil gives you a dedicated pronoun (நீங்கள்) that signals respect automatically. English took that word away, so you have to rebuild formality through other means: titles (Sir, Madam), phrasing ('Would you mind...' instead of 'Give me...'), and tone. The common mistake is translating நீங்கள் literally into an overly stiff English sentence — English marks respect through word choice, not through a different pronoun.
Spelling doesn't match pronunciation
though, through, tough, thorough — four different vowel sounds for the same four letters
Tamil script — each letter is read the same way, essentially every time
Tamil script is close to fully phonetic: what's written is what's said. English spelling is not — it preserves centuries of borrowed spelling from French, Latin, and Old English without updating the sounds. Expect to learn the pronunciation of each new word separately from its spelling, rather than sounding it out reliably the way you would in Tamil.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- Tamil (English explanations)
- வணக்கம்vaṇakkam
- Tamil (English explanations)
- காலை வணக்கம்kālai vaṇakkam
- Tamil (English explanations)
- மாலை வணக்கம்mālai vaṇakkam
- Tamil (English explanations)
- மீண்டும் சந்திப்போம்mīṇṭum sandhippōm
- Tamil (English explanations)
- பை பைbye bye
- Tamil (English explanations)
- நன்றிnaṉṟi
- Tamil (English explanations)
- தயவுசெய்துtayavu seydhu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஆம்ām
- Tamil (English explanations)
- இல்லைillai
- Tamil (English explanations)
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?eppadi irukkinga?
- Tamil (English explanations)
- நல்லா இருக்கேன்nallā irukkēn