Family
குடும்பம்
Family words are some of the first nouns worth learning, and they introduce a Polish quirk Tamil has no real parallel for: a noun's ending doesn't always predict its gender.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
tata Looks Feminine But Isn't — Tamil Nouns Don't Mark Gender by Ending at All
tata, kolega
அப்பா, (ஆண்) நண்பன்
Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine in Polish, but a small, important group of masculine nouns referring to men also end in -a — tata (dad) is the clearest example. Adjectives and verbs describing tata still agree with masculine gender ('mój tata', not 'moja tata'), even though the noun's ending looks feminine at a glance. Tamil gives you no prior instinct to lean on here: Tamil nouns don't carry grammatical gender in their spelling or ending the way Polish nouns do — அப்பா (dad) is simply a word, with gender only showing up separately in pronouns and verb agreement, never in the noun's own form.
Mama/Tata vs. Matka/Ojciec
mama / tata
அம்மா / அப்பா
Mama and tata are the everyday, affectionate terms you'll hear constantly in conversation — the same warm register as Tamil's அம்மா and அப்பா. Matka and ojciec are more formal or clinical-sounding, closer to 'mother' and 'father' used at a distance, and feel stiff in casual talk about your own family, the way an overly formal Tamil term would.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
- Tamil
- குடும்பம்kuṭumbam
- English
- the family
- Tamil
- அம்மாammā
- English
- mom
- Tamil
- அப்பாappā
- English
- dad
- Tamil
- சகோதரன்sakōdharaṉ
- English
- brother
- Tamil
- சகோதரிsakōdhari
- English
- sister
- Tamil
- மகன்makaṉ
- English
- son
- Tamil
- மகள்makaḷ
- English
- daughter
- Tamil
- கணவன்kaṇavaṉ
- English
- husband
- Tamil
- மனைவிmaṉaivi
- English
- wife
- Tamil
- தாத்தா பாட்டிthāththā pāṭṭi
- English
- grandparents
- Tamil
- மாமாmāmā
- English
- uncle
- Tamil
- அத்தை / சித்திaththai / siththi
- English
- aunt