LingoflyHow many children? in Tamil
Neighbors meet in the yard in Tamil. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «இது (idu) என்ர (eṉra) குடும்பம் (kuḍumbam). இவள் என்ர (eṉra) மகள்» (magaḷ) — This is my family. And this is my daughter; «அழகா (aḻagā) இருக்கினம் (irukkiṉam). உங்களுக்கு எத்தனை பிள்ளைகள்?» (uṅgaḷukku ettaṉai piḷḷaigaḷ) — How pretty. How many children do you have? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: neighbors meet in the yard. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- illai, avai yāḻppāṇattila. ovvoru varuṣamum nāṅgaḷ aṅgē pōṟamNo, they are in Jaffna. We go there every year.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| இது (idu) என்ர (eṉra) குடும்பம் (kuḍumbam). இவள் என்ர (eṉra) மகள் (magaḷ) | idu eṉra kuḍumbam. ivaḷ eṉra magaḷ | This is my family. And this is my daughter. |
| அழகா (aḻagā) இருக்கினம் (irukkiṉam). உங்களுக்கு எத்தனை பிள்ளைகள்? (uṅgaḷukku ettaṉai piḷḷaigaḷ) | aḻagā irukkiṉam. uṅgaḷukku ettaṉai piḷḷaigaḷ? | How pretty. How many children do you have? |
| ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) பேர் (pēr). ஒரு (oru) பையனும் ஒரு (oru) மகளும் | reṇḍu pēr. oru paiyaṉum oru magaḷum | Two. A boy and a girl. |
| பையனுக்கு எத்தனை (ettaṉai) வயசு (vayasu)? | paiyaṉukku ettaṉai vayasu? | How old is the boy? |
| அவனுக்கு (avaṉukku) பத்து (pattu) வயசு (vayasu). மகள் (magaḷ) இன்னும் (iṉṉum) பாப்பா (pāppā) | avaṉukku pattu vayasu. magaḷ iṉṉum pāppā | He is ten. And the daughter is still a baby. |
| உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) பெற்றோர் (peṟṟōr) இங்கே (iṅgē) இருக்கினமா? | uṅgaḍa peṟṟōr iṅgē irukkiṉamā? | Do your parents live here? |
| இல்லை (illai), அவை (avai) யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில (yāḻppāṇattila). ஒவ்வொரு வருஷமும் (ovvoru varuṣamum) நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) அங்கே (aṅgē) போறம் (pōṟam) | illai, avai yāḻppāṇattila. ovvoru varuṣamum nāṅgaḷ aṅgē pōṟam | No, they are in Jaffna. We go there every year. |
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?
“இது (idu) என்ர (eṉra) குடும்பம் (kuḍumbam). இவள் என்ர (eṉra) மகள்” (magaḷ) (idu eṉra kuḍumbam. ivaḷ eṉra magaḷ) — This is my family. And this is my daughter. 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.