ழ — zha
«zha» is a consonant of Tamil, the “Tamil script” script, read as “zha”. A sound found nowhere else: the tongue is curled back and never touches the palate — something between 'zh', 'r' and a dark English 'r'. For example, in the word “தமிழ்” — Tamil. The Tamil alphabet has 49 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. With this sound the Tamils name the language itself — தமிழ். It is also how they spot an outsider: replacing it with 'l' is the easiest and the most audible slip. It appears, for example, in the word “தமிழ்” — Tamil.
In short
| Character | ழ |
| Name | zha |
| Sound | zha |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 29th of 49: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are வ and ள, appears in 270 words of this site.
How it sounds
A sound found nowhere else: the tongue is curled back and never touches the palate — something between 'zh', 'r' and a dark English 'r'
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.
- தமிழ்tamiḻTamil
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 «zha» it is “zha”, as in the word “தமிழ்”), 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 ழ read?
As “zha” — it is a consonant of the “Tamil script” script. A sound found nowhere else: the tongue is curled back and never touches the palate — something between 'zh', 'r' and a dark English 'r'. For example, in the word “தமிழ்” — Tamil.
What is the letter ழ called?
Zha. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Tamil script: it is called “zha” and reads as “zha”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ழ be confused with?
With this sound the Tamils name the language itself — தமிழ். It is also how they spot an outsider: replacing it with 'l' is the easiest and the most audible slip. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.