ஸ — sa
«sa» is a consonant of Tamil, the “Tamil script” script, read as “sa”. The usual 's' — in purely Tamil words its place is taken by ச. The Tamil alphabet has 49 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It appears, for example, in the word “பஸ்” — bus.
In short
| Character | ஸ |
| Name | sa |
| Sound | sa |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 34th of 49: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ஷ and ஹ, appears in 107 words of this site.
How it sounds
The usual 's' — in purely Tamil words its place is taken by ச
The character in the “grantha — letters for foreign sounds” group
Six signs taken from the grantha script for Sanskrit and English words. The Tamil classification does not count them: thirty-one letters means 12 vowels, 18 consonants and the aytham.
Words with this character
- பஸ்basbus
- டாக்ஸிṭāksitaxi
- பிளாஸ்டர்piḷāsṭarsticking plaster
- ஆஸ்பத்திரிāspattirihospital
- அம்புலன்ஸ்ambulaṉsambulance
- பொலிஸை கூப்பிடுங்கpolisai kūppiḍuṅgacall the police
- பாஸ்போர்ட்டைக் காணோம்pāspōrṭṭaik kāṇōmI have lost my passport
- பீஸ்pīspiece
- போர்டிங் பாஸ்bōrḍiṅ pāsboarding pass
- கூலிங் கிளாஸ்kūliṅ kiḷāssunglasses
- சூரிய அஸ்தமனம்sūriya astamaṉamsunset
- ஸ்வெட்டர்sveṭṭarsweater
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 ஸ read?
As “sa” — it is a consonant of the “Tamil script” script. The usual 's' — in purely Tamil words its place is taken by ச.
What is the letter ஸ called?
Sa. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Tamil script: it is called “sa” and reads as “sa”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.