← All lessons
Lesson 6A1
Numbers 1–10
எண்கள் 1–10
Tamil numbers past 10 stay perfectly transparent — பதினொன்று is always பத்து + ஒன்று. French breaks that transparency earlier than you'd expect, so it's worth flagging now.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Where the compounding breaks
French
onze, douze, treize... (11, 12, 13 — not obviously 'ten-one', 'ten-two')
Tamil
பதினொன்று, பன்னிரண்டு, பதிமூன்று (11, 12, 13 — clearly பத்து + ஒன்று, ஈரண்டு, மூன்று)
Tamil's பதி-/பன்-series stays transparent all the way from 11 to 19 — you can always see the 'ten' plus the unit inside the word. French numbers 11–16 (onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize) don't visibly contain dix (ten), so they have to be memorized as standalone words. The compounding logic only becomes visible again from 17 onward (dix-sept = 'ten-seven').
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| French | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| un | uhn | ஒன்றுoṉṟu | one |
| deux | duh | இரண்டுiraṇṭu | two |
| trois | twah | மூன்றுmūṉṟu | three |
| quatre | KAH-truh | நான்குnāṉku | four |
| cinq | sank | ஐந்துaindhu | five |
| six | sees | ஆறுāṟu | six |
| sept | set | ஏழுēḻu | seven |
| huit | weet | எட்டுeṭṭu | eight |
| neuf | nuhf | ஒன்பதுoṉbadhu | nine |
| dix | dees | பத்துpaththu | ten |