Environment & Sustainability
சுற்றுச்சூழல்
Environmental vocabulary is dominated by nominalized nouns — a preview of the heavy Nominalstil you'll meet formally in B2 — so this is a good place to start noticing verbs hiding inside abstract nouns.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Spotting the verb inside an environmental noun
die Umweltverschmutzung (pollution, from Umwelt 'environment' + verschmutzen 'to dirty' + -ung)
சுற்றுச்சூழல் மாசுபாடு (சூழல் + மாசு, a compound built from environment + dirt/pollution)
German environmental vocabulary loves compounding a topic noun (Umwelt) with a nominalized verb (Verschmutzung, from verschmutzen), producing long words that look intimidating but decompose cleanly once you spot the -ung ending signaling a hidden verb. Tamil builds its own environmental compounds by joining nouns directly (சூழல் + மாசு), the same fusing instinct from the very first compound-words lesson in this course, just applied to a modern topic.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| German | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| die Umwelt | dee OOM-velt | சுற்றுச்சூழல்suṟṟuchūḻal | the environment |
| der Klimawandel | dair KLEE-mah-vahn-del | காலநிலை மாற்றம்kālanilai māṟṟam | climate change |
| die Umweltverschmutzung | dee OOM-velt-fer-shmoo-tsoong | சுற்றுச்சூழல் மாசுபாடுsuṟṟuchūḻal māsupāḍu | pollution |
| recyceln | ree-SY-keln | மறுசுழற்சி செய்யmaṟusuḻaṟchi seyya | to recycle |
| nachhaltig | NAHKH-hahl-tikh | நிலைத்தன்மையானnilaithanmaiyāṉa | sustainable |
| der Müll | dair muel | குப்பைkuppai | trash / waste |