LingoflyWill it last the month in Tamil
Two people count household supplies and money before the rainy season in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «அரிசிக் (arisik) கையிருப்பு (kaiyiruppu) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) இருக்கு (irukku)? எண்ணிப் (eṇṇip) பாத்தியளா (pāttiyaḷā)?» — How much rice do we have in store? Have you counted?; «சும்மா ஒரு கணக்கா (summā oru kaṇakkā) முப்பது (muppadu) கிலோ (kilō). ஒரு (oru) மாசத்துக்கு (māsattukku) அளவுக்குத்தான்» (aḷavukkuttāṉ) — Roughly thirty kilos offhand. Barely enough for a month. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people count household supplies and money before the rainy season. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- arisik kaiyiruppu evvaḷavu irukku? eṇṇip pāttiyaḷā?How much rice do we have in store? Have you counted?
- summā oru kaṇakkā muppadu kilō. oru māsattukku aḷavukkuttāṉRoughly thirty kilos offhand. Barely enough for a month.
- eṇṇey tīrap pōgudu. vilai uyarudu eṇḍu kēḷvippaṭṭaṉThe oil is running out. I heard the price is rising.
- sambaḷattila mūṇḍila oru paṅgu vāḍagaikku pōgudu. miccam koñcam tāṉA third of the salary goes to rent. The remainder is not large.
- appa selavai mūṇḍila oru paṅgālē kuṟaikka vēṇum. paḍippaḍiyā seyvamThen we must cut expenses by a third. We will do it smoothly.
- சரி. அரிசியை தேவைக்கு மேல வாங்கி வைப்பம், மத்ததை அளவா செலவழிப்பம்sari. arisiyai tēvaikku mēla vāṅgi vaippam, mattadai aḷavā selavaḻippamAll right. We will buy rice with a reserve and spend the rest with measure.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| அரிசிக் (arisik) கையிருப்பு (kaiyiruppu) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) இருக்கு (irukku)? எண்ணிப் (eṇṇip) பாத்தியளா (pāttiyaḷā)? | arisik kaiyiruppu evvaḷavu irukku? eṇṇip pāttiyaḷā? | How much rice do we have in store? Have you counted? |
| சும்மா ஒரு கணக்கா (summā oru kaṇakkā) முப்பது (muppadu) கிலோ (kilō). ஒரு (oru) மாசத்துக்கு (māsattukku) அளவுக்குத்தான் (aḷavukkuttāṉ) | summā oru kaṇakkā muppadu kilō. oru māsattukku aḷavukkuttāṉ | Roughly thirty kilos offhand. Barely enough for a month. |
| எண்ணெய் (eṇṇey) தீரப் போகுது (tīrap pōgudu). விலை (vilai) உயருது (uyarudu) எண்டு (eṇḍu) கேள்விப்பட்டன் | eṇṇey tīrap pōgudu. vilai uyarudu eṇḍu kēḷvippaṭṭaṉ | The oil is running out. I heard the price is rising. |
| ஓம் (ōm), போன (pōṉa) மாசத்தை விட (viḍa) இரட்டியா (iraṭṭiyā) ஆயிட்டுது (āyiṭṭudu). மொத்தமா (mottamā) வாங்கினா (vāṅgiṉā) குறைவு (kuṟaivu) | ōm, pōṉa māsattai viḍa iraṭṭiyā āyiṭṭudu. mottamā vāṅgiṉā kuṟaivu | Yes, compared to last month it has doubled. Wholesale is cheaper. |
| சம்பளத்தில மூண்டில ஒரு பங்கு வாடகைக்கு போகுது (sambaḷattila mūṇḍila oru paṅgu vāḍagaikku pōgudu). மிச்சம் (miccam) கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) தான் (tāṉ) | sambaḷattila mūṇḍila oru paṅgu vāḍagaikku pōgudu. miccam koñcam tāṉ | A third of the salary goes to rent. The remainder is not large. |
| அப்ப (appa) செலவை (selavai) மூண்டில ஒரு பங்காலே (mūṇḍila oru paṅgālē) குறைக்க (kuṟaikka) வேணும் (vēṇum). படிப்படியா (paḍippaḍiyā) செய்வம் (seyvam) | appa selavai mūṇḍila oru paṅgālē kuṟaikka vēṇum. paḍippaḍiyā seyvam | Then we must cut expenses by a third. We will do it smoothly. |
| மழைக்காலத்தையும் (maḻaikkālattaiyum) கணக்கில (kaṇakkila) எடுங்கோ (eḍuṅgō). அப்ப (appa) வேலை (vēlai) குறையும் | maḻaikkālattaiyum kaṇakkila eḍuṅgō. appa vēlai kuṟaiyum | Take into account the rainy season too. There will be less work then. |
| சரி (sari). அரிசியை தேவைக்கு மேல (tēvaikku mēla) வாங்கி (vāṅgi) வைப்பம், மத்ததை அளவா செலவழிப்பம் | sari. arisiyai tēvaikku mēla vāṅgi vaippam, mattadai aḷavā selavaḻippam | All right. We will buy rice with a reserve and spend the rest with measure. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Tamil in this situation?
“அரிசிக் (arisik) கையிருப்பு (kaiyiruppu) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) இருக்கு (irukku)? எண்ணிப் (eṇṇip) பாத்தியளா (pāttiyaḷā)?” (arisik kaiyiruppu evvaḷavu irukku? eṇṇip pāttiyaḷā?) — How much rice do we have in store? Have you counted? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.