LingoflyOne 'we': நாங்கள்
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ). For example: “நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) சேர்ந்து (sērndu) ஒரு (oru) அறப்பணி (aṟappaṇi) செய்வம் (seyvam), நீங்களும் வாங்கோ” (vāṅgō) — Let us do a good deed together — and you come too. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ).
நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) போறம் (pōṟam) (nāṅgaḷ pōṟam) — 'we are going'. The verb does the inviting: the ending -வம் / -ப்பம் means 'let us': போவம் (pōvam) — 'let us go', செய்வம் (seyvam) — 'let us do it'. So நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) போவம் (pōvam) (nāṅgaḷ pōvam) is 'let us go together', and the listener knows he is being asked along.
நாம் lives on in the written language. The same goes for 'our': in speech எங்கட (eṅgaḍa) ஊர் (ūr) (eṅgaḍa ūr) is 'our town', while நமது நாடு (nāḍu) 'our country' is bookish.
Table
| Form | Who is included | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) | we, with or without the listener | நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) போறம் (pōṟam) | we are going |
| -வம் | 'let us', asks you along | நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) போவம் (pōvam) | let us go together |
| எங்கட (eṅgaḍa) | our, in speech | எங்கட (eṅgaḍa) ஊர் (ūr) | our town |
| நமது | our, bookish | நமது நாடு (nāḍu) | our country |
| பேர் (pēr) | counting people | மூண்டு (mūṇḍu) பேர் (pēr) | three people |
| ஆள் (āḷ) | a person as labor | ஒரு (oru) ஆள் (āḷ) வேணும் (vēṇum) | one worker is needed |
By example
- nāṅgaḷ pōṉa varuṣam kāsu sērttam, avai sērkkēllaiWe collected the money last year, and they did not
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
Naanga vs naama: the two Tamil we?
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ).
How to say we including the listener in Tamil?
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ).
How Tamil counts people with per and aal?
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ).
Why makkalgal is impossible?
In Tamil Nadu 'we' is double: நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) is we without you, நாம is we with you. On the island there is no such split: 'we without you' and 'we with you' are both நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ).
What does it look like in a Tamil example sentence?
“நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) சேர்ந்து (sērndu) ஒரு (oru) அறப்பணி (aṟappaṇi) செய்வம் (seyvam), நீங்களும் வாங்கோ” (vāṅgō) (nāṅgaḷ sērndu oru aṟappaṇi seyvam, nīṅgaḷum vāṅgō) — Let us do a good deed together — and you come too. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.