LingoflyRough, rusty, faded: where Tamil takes its adjectives from
Tamil has few adjectives of its own — a dozen short words like நல்ல (nalla), பெரிய (periya), சின்ன (siṉṉa), புது (pudu). Everything else is put together on the spot, in three ways. For example: “இது (idu) வழுவழுப்பான (vaḻuvaḻuppāṉa) தாள் (tāḷ), அது (adu) கரடுமுரடான (karaḍumuraḍāṉa) தாள்” (tāḷ) — This paper is smooth, and that one is rough. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Tamil has few adjectives of its own — a dozen short words like நல்ல (nalla), பெரிய (periya), சின்ன (siṉṉa), புது (pudu). Everything else is put together on the spot, in three ways.
First: a noun plus -ஆன. சதுரம் (saduram) 'a square' gives சதுரமான (saduramāṉa) 'square', அடர்த்தி 'density' gives அடர்த்தியான (aḍarttiyāṉa) 'dense'. This is the liveliest way, and it takes foreign words too.
Second: a verb in the form -இற or -ஞ்ச. ஒட்டு 'to stick' gives ஒட்டுற (oṭṭuṟa) 'sticky', வளை 'to bend' gives வளைஞ்ச (vaḷaiñca) 'crooked', கசங்கு 'to crease' gives கசங்கின (kasaṅgiṉa) 'creased'. The feature is the trace of an event.
Third: no word at all, but a whole thought. நிறம் போன (niṟam pōṉa) means 'the color went', that is, faded. Such a turn stands before the noun where an adjective would. A feature denied takes -ஆத: உடையாத (uḍaiyāda) 'unbroken'.
Table
| Way | Stem | Feature | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| noun + -ஆன | சதுரம் (saduram) — a square | சதுரமான (saduramāṉa) | square-shaped |
| noun + -ஆன | அடர்த்தி — density | அடர்த்தியான (aḍarttiyāṉa) | dense |
| verb + -இற | ஒட்டு — to stick | ஒட்டுற (oṭṭuṟa) | sticky |
| verb + -ஞ்ச | வளை — to bend | வளைஞ்ச (vaḷaiñca) | bent |
| verb + -ன | கசங்கு — to crease | கசங்கின (kasaṅgiṉa) | creased |
| verb + -ஆத | உடை (uḍai) — to break | உடையாத (uḍaiyāda) | intact |
| a whole turn | புழுதி (puḻudi) படி (paḍi) — dust to settle | புழுதி படிஞ்ச (puḻudi paḍiñca) | dusty |
By example
- இது வழுவழுப்பான தாள், அது கரடுமுரடான தாள்idu vaḻuvaḻuppāṉa tāḷ, adu karaḍumuraḍāṉa tāḷThis paper is smooth, and that one is rough
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Rough, rusty, faded: how does it work in Tamil?
Tamil has few adjectives of its own — a dozen short words like நல்ல (nalla), பெரிய (periya), சின்ன (siṉṉa), புது (pudu). Everything else is put together on the spot, in three ways.
What does it look like in a Tamil example sentence?
“இது (idu) வழுவழுப்பான (vaḻuvaḻuppāṉa) தாள் (tāḷ), அது (adu) கரடுமுரடான (karaḍumuraḍāṉa) தாள்” (tāḷ) (idu vaḻuvaḻuppāṉa tāḷ, adu karaḍumuraḍāṉa tāḷ) — This paper is smooth, and that one is rough. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.