எப்படி இருக்க? and எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?: plain and polite
Both questions mean 'how are you keeping', and the whole difference sits in the ending — the polite -ங்க. In the present it arrives as -ஈங்க, and -ஈங்க is the polite 'you': eppaḍi irukkīṅga? goes to strangers, elders and everyone you are not on plain terms with. Take the tail off, and எப்படி இருக்க? is what is left — the form for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. For example: “எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?” — How are…
How it works
Both questions mean 'how are you keeping', and the whole difference sits in the ending — the polite -ங்க. In the present it arrives as -ஈங்க, and -ஈங்க is the polite 'you': eppaḍi irukkīṅga? goes to strangers, elders and everyone you are not on plain terms with. Take the tail off, and எப்படி இருக்க (eppaḍi irukka)? is what is left — the form for a peer, someone younger, a close friend.
Mistaking these costs more than it seems. Tamil politeness lives in endings, not in separate words: speaking to a stranger in the plain form is not casualness but open rudeness — the same rudeness as saying நீ (nī) where நீங்க (nīṅga) belongs. So the safe rule is one: until the person is your own, take the full form.
The answer is the same for both questions — nallā irukkēṉ, literally 'I am keeping well'. The word for 'well' here is its own, nallā; and Tamil has no linking verb 'I am' at all — its job is done by iru, 'to be, to stay'. The same assembly stands in rusiyā irukku, 'it is tasty' — literally 'tasty it stays'.
Table
| to whom | the question | how it reads | the pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| a stranger, an elder | எப்படி இருக்கீங்க? | eppaḍi irukkīṅga? | நீங்க |
| a peer, someone younger, a friend | எப்படி இருக்க? | eppaḍi irukka? | நீ |
| the answer — to anyone | நல்லா இருக்கேன் | nallā irukkēṉ | நான் can be dropped |
By example
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?eppaḍi irukkīṅga?How are you? (to a stranger or an elder)
- எப்படி இருக்க?eppaḍi irukka?How are you? (to a peer or someone younger)
- நல்லா இருக்கேன்nallā irukkēṉI am doing well
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
Eppadi irukka vs eppadi irukkinga?
Both questions mean 'how are you keeping', and the whole difference sits in the ending — the polite -ங்க. In the present it arrives as -ஈங்க, and -ஈங்க is the polite 'you': eppaḍi irukkīṅga? goes to strangers, elders and everyone you are not on plain terms with. Take the tail off, and எப்படி…
How to ask how are you in Tamil?
Mistaking these costs more than it seems. Tamil politeness lives in endings, not in separate words: speaking to a stranger in the plain form is not casualness but open rudeness — the same rudeness as saying நீ where நீங்க belongs. So the safe rule is one: until the person is your own, take the full…
How to ask how are you politely in Tamil?
The answer is the same for both questions — nallā irukkēṉ, literally 'I am keeping well'. The word for 'well' here is its own, nallā; and Tamil has no linking verb 'I am' at all — its job is done by iru, 'to be, to stay'. The same assembly stands in rusiyā irukku, 'it is tasty' — literally 'tasty…
What does it look like in an example sentence Tamil?
“எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?” (eppaḍi irukkīṅga?) — How are you? (to a stranger or an elder). A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.