LingoflyAt the shoe shop in Tamil
Trying on and size in Tamil. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), எனக்கு (eṉakku) ஒரு (oru) ஷூ வேணும்» (vēṇum) — Hello, I need shoes; «என்ன (eṉṉa) அளவு (aḷavu)?» — What size? Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: trying on and size. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- எனக்கு தெரியேல்லை. போட்டுப் பாக்கிறன்eṉakku teriyēllai. pōṭṭup pākkiṟaṉI do not know. I will try them on.
- இது மிகவும் இறுக்கம். பெரிசா இருக்கா?idu migavum iṟukkam. perisā irukkā?They are too narrow. Do you have a bigger pair?
- inda kaṟuppu ṣū pāruṅgō. vilai kuṟaivuLook at these black ones. Cheaper.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), எனக்கு (eṉakku) ஒரு (oru) ஷூ வேணும் (vēṇum) | vaṇakkam, eṉakku oru ṣū vēṇum | Hello, I need shoes. |
| என்ன (eṉṉa) அளவு (aḷavu)? | eṉṉa aḷavu? | What size? |
| எனக்கு (eṉakku) தெரியேல்லை (teriyēllai). போட்டுப் பாக்கிறன் (pōṭṭup pākkiṟaṉ) | eṉakku teriyēllai. pōṭṭup pākkiṟaṉ | I do not know. I will try them on. |
| இந்தாங்கோ. அளவு (aḷavu) சரியா (sariyā) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | indāṅgō. aḷavu sariyā irukkā? | Here. Do they fit? |
| இது (idu) மிகவும் (migavum) இறுக்கம் (iṟukkam). பெரிசா (perisā) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | idu migavum iṟukkam. perisā irukkā? | They are too narrow. Do you have a bigger pair? |
| இந்த (inda) கறுப்பு (kaṟuppu) ஷூ பாருங்கோ (pāruṅgō). விலை குறைவு (vilai kuṟaivu) | inda kaṟuppu ṣū pāruṅgō. vilai kuṟaivu | Look at these black ones. Cheaper. |
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?
“வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), எனக்கு (eṉakku) ஒரு (oru) ஷூ வேணும்” (vēṇum) (vaṇakkam, eṉakku oru ṣū vēṇum) — Hello, I need shoes. 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.