வ — va
«va» is a consonant of Tamil, the “Tamil script” script, read as “va”. Between 'v' and the English 'w'. For example, in the word “வணக்கம்” — hello. The Tamil alphabet has 49 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It appears, for example, in the word “வணக்கம்” — hello.
In short
| Character | வ |
| Name | va |
| Sound | va |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 28th of 49: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ல and ழ, appears in roughly every fifth word on this site.
How it sounds
Between 'v' and the English 'w'
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- வணக்கம்vaṇakkamhello
The character in the “idaiyinam — the six middles” group
Semivowels and liquids. Here lives ழ — the sound that exists only in Tamil and after which the language names itself: தமிழ்.
Words with this character
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 (for «va» it is “va”, as in the word “வணக்கம்”), 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 வ read?
As “va” — it is a consonant of the “Tamil script” script. Between 'v' and the English 'w'. For example, in the word “வணக்கம்” — hello.
What is the letter வ called?
Va. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Tamil script: it is called “va” and reads as “va”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.