Language/Tamil/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Tamil Alphabet, IPA Pronuncation, Video, Virtual Keyboard...

Hello Polyglots,

In today's lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Tamil alphabet, how to pronounce these letters whether it is through the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), or through a video with the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker.

You will also find at the end of this lesson a virtual keyboard to be able to type each special character of this language.

Forming Letters

Tamil has many letters, but most of them are derived from the 12 vowels and 18 consonants. In the table below, the vowels are the letters in the first row. The consonants are the letters in the first column. Some consonants are hard to pronounce on their own. The other 216 letters are made by combining the sounds of a vowel and a consonant. Even in writing, they are viewed as the addition of a vowel and consonant. Ex:

• க் + அ = க
• ப்+ இ = பி

Note: The ெ, ே, and ா characters by themselves are not considered letters.

Tamil Alphabet and IPA Pronunciation

Consonants - Tamil Alphabet and Pronunciation

b

like 'b' in "bed"

c

like 's' in "supper", 'k' in "kid"

d

like 'd' in "dog"

f

like 'ph' in "phone"

g

like 'g' in "go", 'j' in "jello"

h

like 'h' in "help" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries)

j

like 'dg' in "edge"

k

like 'c' in "cat"

l

like 'l' in "love"

m

like 'm' in "mother"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

p

like 'p' in "pig"

q

like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)

r

like 'r' in "row", like 'r' in "feather" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries at end of word)

s

like 'ss' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze"

t

like 't' in "top"

v

like 'v' in "victory"

w

like 'w' in "weight"

x

like 'cks' in "kicks", like 'z' in "haze" (at beginning of a word)

y

like 'y' in "yes", like 'ie' in "pie", like 'ee' in "flee"

z

like 'z' in "haze"

Consonant

Letter	க்	ங்	ச்	ஞ்	ட்	ண்	த்	ந்	ப்	ம்	ய்	ர்	ல்	வ்	ழ்	ள்	ற்	ன்	ஜ்	ஶ்	ஷ்	ஸ்	ஹ்	க்ஷ்
IPA	[k], [ɡ], [x], [ɣ], [h]	[ŋ]	[t͡ʃ], [d͡ʒ], [ʃ], [s], [ʒ], [z]	[ɲ]	[ʈ], [ɖ], [ɽ]	[ɳ]	[t̪], [d̪], [ð]	[n̪]	[p], [b], [β]	[m]	[j]	[ɾ]	[l]	[ʋ]	[ɻ]	[ɭ]	[r], [t], [d]	[n]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɕ], [ʃ]	[ʂ]	[s]	[h]	[kʂ]

Common diphthongs

ay

like 'ay' in "say"

ai

like 'ay' in "say"

au

like 'awe'

ee

like 'ee' in "see"

ei

like 'ay' in "say"

ey

like 'ay' in "say", like 'ee' in "see"

ie

like 'ee' in "see"

oi

like 'oy' in "boy"

oo

like 'oo' in "food", like 'oo' in "good"

ou

like 'ow' in "cow", like 'oo' in "food", like 'o' in "cot"

ow

like 'ow' in "cow"

oy

like 'oy' in "boy"

ch

like 'ch' in "touch"

sh

like 'sh' in "sheep"

th

like 'th' in "this", like 'th' in "those"

gh

like 'f' in "fish"

ph

like 'f' in "fish"

Vowels - Tamil Alphabet and Pronunciation

Vowel

Letter	அ	ஆ	இ	ஈ	உ	ஊ	எ	ஏ	ஐ	ஒ	ஓ	ஔ
IPA	[ʌ]	[ɑː]	[i]	[iː]	[u], [ɯ]	[uː]	[e]	[eː]	[ʌj]	[o]	[oː]	[ʌʋ]

Tamil Online Virtual Keyboard

Sources

• https://www.learntamil.com/part1/intro/thamil-alphabet/