LingoflyViewing a house in Tamil
A tenant and the landlord look over a house in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «இந்த (inda) வீடு (vīḍu) இன்னும் (iṉṉum) வாடகைக்கு (vāḍagaikku) இருக்கா (irukkā)?» — Is this house still for rent?; «இருக்கு (irukku). உள்ளே (uḷḷē) வந்து (vandu) பாருங்கோ» (pāruṅgō) — It is. Come in, have a look. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a tenant and the landlord look over a house. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ōm. mīṭṭar aḷavu māsam oru taram eḻuduviṉamYes. Meter readings are recorded once a month.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| இந்த (inda) வீடு (vīḍu) இன்னும் (iṉṉum) வாடகைக்கு (vāḍagaikku) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | inda vīḍu iṉṉum vāḍagaikku irukkā? | Is this house still for rent? |
| இருக்கு (irukku). உள்ளே (uḷḷē) வந்து (vandu) பாருங்கோ (pāruṅgō) | irukku. uḷḷē vandu pāruṅgō | It is. Come in, have a look. |
| மாத வாடகை எவ்வளவு? (māda vāḍagai evvaḷavu) தளபாடம் (taḷapāḍam) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | māda vāḍagai evvaḷavu? taḷapāḍam irukkā? | How much is the rent? Is there furniture? |
| கட்டில் (kaṭṭil), அலமாரி (alamāri), ஒரு (oru) சோபா (sōpā) இருக்கு (irukku). மற்றது நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) கொண்டு (koṇḍu) வாங்கோ (vāṅgō) | kaṭṭil, alamāri, oru sōpā irukku. maṟṟadu nīṅgaḷ koṇḍu vāṅgō | There is a bed, a wardrobe and a sofa. Bring the rest yourself. |
| தண்ணி (taṇṇi) பில்லும் மின்சாரப் (miṉsārap) பில்லும் தனியா (taṉiyā)? | taṇṇi billum miṉsārap billum taṉiyā? | Are the water and electricity bills separate? |
| ஓம் (ōm). மீட்டர் அளவு (mīṭṭar aḷavu) மாசம் (māsam) ஒரு தரம் (oru taram) எழுதுவினம் | ōm. mīṭṭar aḷavu māsam oru taram eḻuduviṉam | Yes. Meter readings are recorded once a month. |
| பக்கத்து வீட்டு சத்தம் (pakkattu vīṭṭu sattam) அதிகமா (adigamā)? | pakkattu vīṭṭu sattam adigamā? | Is the noise from the neighbors loud? |
| இல்லை (illai), இது (idu) அமைதியான (amaidiyāṉa) தெரு (teru). விரும்பினா நாளைக்கே (nāḷaikku) ஒப்பந்தம் (oppandam) போடலாம் (pōḍalām) | illai, idu amaidiyāṉa teru. virumbiṉā nāḷaikkē oppandam pōḍalām | No, the street is quiet. If you like, the contract can be signed tomorrow. |
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?
“இந்த (inda) வீடு (vīḍu) இன்னும் (iṉṉum) வாடகைக்கு (vāḍagaikku) இருக்கா (irukkā)?” (inda vīḍu iṉṉum vāḍagaikku irukkā?) — Is this house still for rent? 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.