LingoflyHow to get to the embassy in Tamil
Asking for directions in the street in Tamil. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «மன்னிக்கவும் (maṉṉikkavum), தூதரகம் (tūdaragam) எங்கே (eṅgē) இருக்கு (irukku)?» — Excuse me, where is the embassy?; «நேரா போங்கோ (nērā pōṅgō). போக்குவரத்து (pōkkuvarattu) விளக்குல (viḷakkula) வலது பக்கம் திரும்புங்கோ» (valadu pakkam tirumbuṅgō) — Go straight. At the traffic light, turn right. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: asking for directions in the street. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- maṉṉikkavum, tūdaragam eṅgē irukku?Excuse me, where is the embassy?
- nērā pōṅgō. pōkkuvarattu viḷakkula valadu pakkam tirumbuṅgōGo straight. At the traffic light, turn right.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| மன்னிக்கவும் (maṉṉikkavum), தூதரகம் (tūdaragam) எங்கே (eṅgē) இருக்கு (irukku)? | maṉṉikkavum, tūdaragam eṅgē irukku? | Excuse me, where is the embassy? |
| நேரா போங்கோ (nērā pōṅgō). போக்குவரத்து (pōkkuvarattu) விளக்குல (viḷakkula) வலது பக்கம் திரும்புங்கோ (valadu pakkam tirumbuṅgō) | nērā pōṅgō. pōkkuvarattu viḷakkula valadu pakkam tirumbuṅgō | Go straight. At the traffic light, turn right. |
| நடந்து (naḍandu) போகலாமா? | naḍandu pōgalāmā? | Can I walk there? |
| முடியும் (muḍiyum), ஆனா (āṉā) கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) தூரம் (tūram). பஸ் நிறுத்தம் (bas niṟuttam) அங்கே (aṅgē) இருக்கு (irukku) | muḍiyum, āṉā koñcam tūram. bas niṟuttam aṅgē irukku | You can, but it is a bit far. The bus stop is over there. |
| எந்த (enda) வழித்தடம் (vaḻittaḍam) எடுக்க (eḍukka) வேணும் (vēṇum)? | enda vaḻittaḍam eḍukka vēṇum? | Which route should I take? |
| நூலகத்துக்கு (nūlagattukku) முன்னால (muṉṉāla) நிக்கிற பஸ்ஸை எடுங்கோ (eḍuṅgō) | nūlagattukku muṉṉāla nikkiṟa passai eḍuṅgō | Take the bus that stands in front of the library. |
| மிக்க (mikka) நன்றி (naṉṟi), நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) மிகவும் (migavum) உதவி (udavi) செய்தியள் (seydiyaḷ) | mikka naṉṟi, nīṅgaḷ migavum udavi seytiyaḷ | Thank you so much, you have helped a lot. |
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?
“மன்னிக்கவும் (maṉṉikkavum), தூதரகம் (tūdaragam) எங்கே (eṅgē) இருக்கு (irukku)?” (maṉṉikkavum, tūdaragam eṅgē irukku?) — Excuse me, where is the embassy? 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.