Numbers 1–10
எண்கள் 1–10
English numbers compound almost as cleanly as Tamil's from thirteen onward — but eleven and twelve are a small irregular pocket worth knowing about upfront.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Thirteen onward is transparent, eleven and twelve aren't
thirteen = three + teen ('ten'); but eleven, twelve don't visibly mean 'ten-one', 'ten-two'
பதிமூன்று = பத்து + மூன்று; பதினொன்று, பன்னிரண்டு are equally transparent
From thirteen to nineteen, English does what Tamil does the whole way through: fuse a unit-word with '-teen' (a worn-down form of 'ten'). But eleven and twelve break that pattern — they descend from old words meaning roughly 'one left over' and 'two left over' rather than 'ten-one' and 'ten-two', so they don't visibly decompose the way Tamil's பதினொன்று and பன்னிரண்டு do. Treat eleven and twelve as two irregular words to memorize, then the pattern resumes.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஒன்றுoṉṟu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- இரண்டுiraṇṭu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- மூன்றுmūṉṟu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- நான்குnāṉku
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஐந்துaindhu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஆறுāṟu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஏழுēḻu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- எட்டுeṭṭu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- ஒன்பதுoṉbadhu
- Tamil (English explanations)
- பத்துpaththu