Tamil Language/Consonants

Introduction

Here you can learn to write the Tamil consonants. It should be noted that the pure consonants all have a 'pulli' (dot) placed above them. When written without this 'pulli' the consonants are read with the vowel 'அ' (a) added after them, that is, 'க்'(k) is pronounced as 'க' (ka) (க்+அ). You may find it easier to pronounce the consonants with the vowel 'அ' added to them (that is, ka, nga, cha, nga, ta, na, etc.) We shall learn the other combinations of consonants and vowels in our next lesson.

Writing Consonants

Consonant	Group	Pronounciation Help	How to write
க்	vallinam	k + a as in kaite
ங்	mellinam	ng as in ring
ச்	vallinam	ch as in catch
ஞ்	mellinam	ng as in syringe
ட்	vallinam	t as in tap
ண்	mellinam	n as in Cinderella
த்	vallinam	th as in both
ந்	mellinam	n as in panther
ப்	vallinam	p as in pack
ம்	mellinam	m as in plum
ய்	idaiyinam	y as in yak
ர்	idaiyinam	r as in stir
ல்	idaiyinam	l as in lamp
வ்	idaiyinam	v as in victory
ழ்	idaiyinam	(tongue retracted)
ள்	idaiyinam	l as in marble
ற்	vallinam	tr as in citric
ன்	mellinam	n as in sin

Course: Tamil Letters
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