LingoflyWhat is troubling you? in Tamil
At a doctor's appointment in a clinic in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «வாங்கோ (vāṅgō), உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) என்ன (eṉṉa) அறிகுறி (aṟiguṟi)?» — Come in, what are your symptoms?; «மூணு (mūṇu) நாளா (nāḷā) தொண்டை வலிக்குது (toṇḍai valikkudu), காய்ச்சலும் இருக்கு» (irukku) — My throat has hurt for three days, and I have a fever. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at a doctor's appointment in a clinic. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- mūṇu nāḷā toṇḍai valikkudu, kāyccalum irukkuMy throat has hurt for three days, and I have a fever.
- iravila kuḷir naḍukkam varudu. migavum sōrvā irukkuChills at night. Very strong weakness.
- இது ஃபுளூவின் அறிகுறி. இரத்த அழுத்தம் பாப்பம்idu fuḷūviṉ aṟiguṟi. iratta aḻuttam pāppamThese are signs of flu. Let us check your blood pressure.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| வாங்கோ (vāṅgō), உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) என்ன (eṉṉa) அறிகுறி (aṟiguṟi)? | vāṅgō, uṅgaḷukku eṉṉa aṟiguṟi? | Come in, what are your symptoms? |
| மூணு (mūṇu) நாளா (nāḷā) தொண்டை வலிக்குது (toṇḍai valikkudu), காய்ச்சலும் இருக்கு (irukku) | mūṇu nāḷā toṇḍai valikkudu, kāyccalum irukku | My throat has hurt for three days, and I have a fever. |
| சளி (saḷi) இருக்கா (irukkā)? நடுக்கம் (naḍukkam) வருதா? | saḷi irukkā? naḍukkam varudā? | A runny nose? Any chills? |
| இரவில (iravila) குளிர் நடுக்கம் (kuḷir naḍukkam) வருது (varudu). மிகவும் (migavum) சோர்வா இருக்கு (irukku) | iravila kuḷir naḍukkam varudu. migavum sōrvā irukku | Chills at night. Very strong weakness. |
| இது (idu) ஃபுளூவின் அறிகுறி (aṟiguṟi). இரத்த அழுத்தம் (iratta aḻuttam) பாப்பம் (pāppam) | idu fuḷūviṉ aṟiguṟi. iratta aḻuttam pāppam | These are signs of flu. Let us check your blood pressure. |
| சத்திரசிகிச்சை (sattirasikiccai) வேணுமா (vēṇum)? | sattirasikiccai vēṇumā? | Do I need surgery? |
| இல்லை (illai). மருந்து (marundu) எழுதுறன் (eḻuduṟaṉ), மூணு (mūṇu) நாள் (nāḷ) வைத்திய லீவு (vaittiya līvu) எடுங்கோ (eḍuṅgō) | illai. marundu eḻuduṟaṉ, mūṇu nāḷ vaittiya līvu eḍuṅgō | No. I will prescribe medicine — take three days of sick leave. |
| நன்றி (naṉṟi). இல்லாட்டி (illāṭṭi) நான் (nāṉ) திரும்ப (tirumba) வாறன் (vāṟaṉ) | naṉṟi. illāṭṭi nāṉ tirumba vāṟaṉ | Thank you. If it is not gone, I will come again. |
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?
“வாங்கோ (vāṅgō), உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) என்ன (eṉṉa) அறிகுறி (aṟiguṟi)?” (vāṅgō, uṅgaḷukku eṉṉa aṟiguṟi?) — Come in, what are your symptoms? 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.