Tamil
Tamil — Dravidian family, about 80 million speakers (estimate, Ethnologue). Script: the Tamil script: 12 vowels, 18 consonants and their combinations. This site has 4052 words and 49 letters with audio.
Where to start
A young course: the words, the lessons and the recordings are all here, but a native speaker has not read it end to end yet. Spot a rough edge — tell us and we will fix it.
First words
Every conversation starts with them — and so does the first impression: one greeting in the local language and you stop being a stranger within a second.
- வணக்கம்vaṇakkamhellova-NAK-kam; hold the double kk about twice as long as a single k — length changes words in Tamil
- நன்றிnaṉṟithank youThe letters ṉṟ sound as 'ndr', so the word runs nan-dri, not na-ri. You will hear it a dozen times a day
- எப்படி இருக்க?eppaḍi irukka?how are you (informal)?The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?eppaḍi irukkīṅga?how are you?Literally 'how are you keeping?' The ending -īṅga is the polite you — the same one you meet all over the course
- நல்லா இருக்கேன்nallā irukkēṉI am doing wellThe standard answer to eppadi. Literally 'I am being well': Tamil states a condition where English reaches for a verb
- மன்னிக்கவும்maṉṉikkavumexcuse meBoth an apology and the polite way to open a talk with a stranger — the word you reach for before any question
- தயவுசெய்துtayavuseyduplease (when asking)Opens a request: tayavuseydu, give me tea. Never used as a reply to thank you — that slot stays empty in Tamil
- நீங்கnīṅgayou (polite)The polite you: for strangers, elders and everyone you are not on first-name terms with. Its verbs take the ending -īṅga
How it sounds
Five words spoken aloud: click the speaker and pick the translation. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.
- What is this word?
It is வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam) — hello.
- What is this word?
It is தயவுசெய்து (tayavuseydu) — please (when asking).
- What is this word?
It is அவள் (avaḷ) — she.
- What is this word?
It is யாழ்ப்பாணம் (yāḻppāṇam) — Jaffna.
- What is this word?
It is நல்லா இருக்கேன் (nallā irukkēṉ) — I am doing well.
About the language
| Native name | தமிழ் · tamiḻ |
| Official in | India (Tamil Nadu), Sri Lanka and Singapore |
| Also spoken in | Malaysia, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Canada |
| How many speakers | about 80 million speakers (estimate, Ethnologue) |
| Family | Dravidian family |
| Writing | the Tamil script: 12 vowels, 18 consonants and their combinations |
| Writing direction | left to right |
Hard: a syllabic script and a noticeable gap between written and spoken language.
Easy: no gender for things, strict word order, pronunciation with no surprises.
What Russian speakers most often take it up for: work in India and Singapore, family, interest in the culture.
How lessons work
A lesson is up to half an hour a day, split into three to five short sessions. A word comes back not on the course's schedule but at the moment you are about to forget it: the interval is computed by an algorithm from your own answers.
- The longer you want to keep a word, the rarer its repetitions should be. To hold it for a week, review every day; to hold it for a year, about once a month.checked many timesCepeda et al., 2008, Psychological Science 19(11) · Over 1,350 participants, tested after delays of up to a year. The best gap is about 20% of the target interval on a horizon of weeks, and 5–10% on a horizon of a year.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Pay someone to study and they study less, not more. Praise and a clear explanation of their mistakes do the opposite — they help.checked many timesDeci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999, Psychological Bulletin 125(6) · 128 experiments. Material reward: d = −0.40 for taking part, −0.36 for finishing. Praise and feedback: +0.33.
Frequently asked
Where to start learning Tamil?
With the script: 49 letters are worked through in a week or two, and after that words stop being pictures.
How many people speak it in Tamil?
About 80 million speakers — an estimate from Ethnologue. Nobody runs an exact census of languages, and sources disagree by noticeable amounts.
Is Tamil hard?
A syllabic script and a noticeable gap between written and spoken language. At the same time, no gender for things, strict word order, pronunciation with no surprises.
Where is it spoken in Tamil?
An official language in: India (Tamil Nadu), Sri Lanka and Singapore. Noticeable communities: Malaysia, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Is Tamil in Duolingo?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Duolingo’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Tamil in full: 4052 words, with audio, the script explained, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.