ஔ — au
«au» is a vowel of Tamil, the “Tamil script” script, read as “au”. The diphthong 'au' as in 'how'; it occurs in only a handful of words. The Tamil alphabet has 49 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. In the alphabet it sits in the “uyir — the twelve vowels” group.
In short
| Character | ஔ |
| Name | au |
| Sound | au |
| What it is | a vowel |
In our course the character comes 12th of 49: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ஓ and க.
How it sounds
The diphthong 'au' as in 'how'; it occurs in only a handful of words
The character in the “uyir — the twelve vowels” group
'Uyir' means 'soul': Tamil grammar counts the vowel the soul of the syllable and the consonant its body. A vowel is written as a separate letter only at the beginning of a word.
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound, see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 49 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Tamil character ஔ read?
As “au” — it is a vowel of the “Tamil script” script. The diphthong 'au' as in 'how'; it occurs in only a handful of words.
What is the letter ஔ called?
Au. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Tamil script: it is called “au” and reads as “au”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.