Alphabet & Pronunciation
எழுத்துக்கள் மற்றும் உச்சரிப்பு
Spanish is written with the Latin alphabet plus one extra letter, ñ, that Tamil script doesn't have — but Spanish spelling is far more consistent than English's, so once you learn the rules, reading aloud becomes predictable, much closer to how Tamil's phonetic script behaves.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Spanish is phonetic, close to Tamil
Como se escribe, así (casi siempre) se pronuncia.
தமிழ் எழுத்துக்கள் எழுதியபடியே உச்சரிக்கப்படும்.
Tamil script is close to fully phonetic — what's written is what's said, every time. Spanish works the same way for the same underlying reason: a vowel always makes the same sound (a is always like Tamil's அ, i is always like இ), with none of English's silent-letter surprises. Once you've learned a handful of rules, you can read almost any Spanish word aloud correctly on first sight, the same confidence Tamil script gives you.
Sounds neither language has
j (breathy 'h'), the rolled rr — no exact Tamil equivalent
ட, ண, ள (retroflex consonants) — no Spanish equivalent
Spanish j is a breathy sound made at the back of the throat (Juan sounds like 'hwahn'), and its rolled rr is a rapid multiple-tap of the tongue tip — neither has a precise Tamil match, though the rr is closer to Tamil's ற than to any English sound. Going the other direction, Tamil's retroflex consonants — ட, ண, ள, formed by curling the tongue back — don't exist in Spanish either. Both directions require training your mouth into genuinely new positions, not approximating with the closest sound you already know.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ñ | 'ny' as in canyon | ny ஒலிny oli | as in mañana ('tomorrow') |
| j | breathy 'h' | —— | as in Juan |
| ll | like English 'y' | ய (இழுவை)ya | as in llamar ('to call') |
| rr | strongly rolled 'r' | ற (உருட்டல்)uruṭṭal | as in perro ('dog') |
| h | always silent | —— | as in hola ('hello') |
| c (before e, i) | soft 's' sound | ஸ்s | as in cinco ('five') |
| c (before a, o, u) | hard 'k' sound | க்k | as in casa ('house') |
| g (before e, i) | breathy 'h', like j | —— | as in gente ('people') |
| z | soft 's' sound | ஸ்s | as in zapato ('shoe') |
| v | same as 'b' in most dialects | ப்/வ்b/v | as in vaca ('cow') |