ஞ — nya
«nya» is a consonant of Tamil, the “Tamil script” script, read as “nya”. Soft nasal 'ny', like the 'ñ' of Spanish 'año'. The Tamil alphabet has 49 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It appears, for example, in the word “அஞ்சு” — five.
In short
| Character | ஞ |
| Name | nya |
| Sound | nya |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 20th of 49: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ங and ண, appears in 81 words of this site.
How it sounds
Soft nasal 'ny', like the 'ñ' of Spanish 'año'
The character in the “mellinam — the six nasals” group
One nasal for each hard one: ங with க, ஞ with ச, ண with ட, ந with த, ம with ப, ன with ற. The pair always goes together, and the nasal lets one guess which consonant will come next.
Words with this character
- அஞ்சுañcufive
- கொஞ்சம் குறைக்க முடியுமா?koñcam kuṟaikka muḍiyumā?can it be cheaper?
- உடைஞ்சuḍaiñcabroken
- ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமைñāyiṟṟukkiḻamaiSunday
- இஞ்சினியர்iñciṉiyarengineer
- ஞாபகம் வைக்கிறேன்ñābagam vaikkiṟēṉto memorize
- பதினைஞ்சுpadiṉaiñcufifteen
- கொஞ்சம்koñcamlittle (not much)
- மஞ்சள்mañcaḷyellow
- வீட்டு ஞாபகம் வருதுvīṭṭu ñābagam varuduI miss home
- நல்லா செஞ்சீங்கnallā señcīṅgawell done
- வயிறு நிறைஞ்சிருக்குvayiṟu niṟaiñcirukkusated
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 ஞ read?
As “nya” — it is a consonant of the “Tamil script” script. Soft nasal 'ny', like the 'ñ' of Spanish 'año'.
What is the letter ஞ called?
Nya. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Tamil script: it is called “nya” and reads as “nya”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.