LingoflyWhat is on TV in Tamil
At home in the evening, arguing over the remote in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ரிமோட் (rimōṭ) தாங்கோ (tāṅgō), நான் (nāṉ) செய்தி (seydi) பாக்கவேணும்» (pākkavēṇum) — Give me the remote, I want to watch the news; «கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) இருங்கோ (iruṅgō), என்ர (eṉra) தொடர் (toḍar) இப்பதான் (ippadāṉ) ஆரம்பிச்சுது» (ārambiccudu) — Wait, my series has only just begun. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at home in the evening, arguing over the remote. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- yāriṉra nērkāṇal? anda toguppāḷar aḍikkaḍi migaippaḍuttuṟārWhose interview? That anchor often exaggerates.
- amaiccarōḍa. āṉā seydikku mūlam teḷivā illaiWith the minister. But the source of the news is unclear.
- சரி, தகவலை சரிபாக்கிறன். வசன வரிகள் போட முடியுமா?sari, tagavalai saripākkiṟaṉ. vasaṉa varigaḷ pōḍa muḍiyumā?Fine, I will check the information. Can subtitles be turned on?
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ரிமோட் (rimōṭ) தாங்கோ (tāṅgō), நான் (nāṉ) செய்தி (seydi) பாக்கவேணும் (pākkavēṇum) | rimōṭ tāṅgō, nāṉ seydi pākkavēṇum | Give me the remote, I want to watch the news. |
| கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) இருங்கோ (iruṅgō), என்ர (eṉra) தொடர் (toḍar) இப்பதான் (ippadāṉ) ஆரம்பிச்சுது (ārambiccudu) | koñcam iruṅgō, eṉra toḍar ippadāṉ ārambiccudu | Wait, my series has only just begun. |
| எட்டு (eṭṭu) மணிக்கு (maṇikku) நேரலையில (nēralaiyila) ஒரு (oru) நேர்காணல் (nērkāṇal) வரும் (varum) எண்டு (eṇḍu) சொன்னினம் (soṉṉiṉam) | eṭṭu maṇikku nēralaiyila oru nērkāṇal varum eṇḍu soṉṉiṉam | They said there will be a live interview at eight. |
| யாரின்ர (yāriṉra) நேர்காணல் (nērkāṇal)? அந்த (anda) தொகுப்பாளர் (toguppāḷar) அடிக்கடி (aḍikkaḍi) மிகைப்படுத்துறார் | yāriṉra nērkāṇal? anda toguppāḷar aḍikkaḍi migaippaḍuttuṟār | Whose interview? That anchor often exaggerates. |
| அமைச்சரோட (amaiccarōḍa). ஆனா (āṉā) செய்திக்கு (seydikku) மூலம் (mūlam) தெளிவா (teḷivā) இல்லை (illai) | amaiccarōḍa. āṉā seydikku mūlam teḷivā illai | With the minister. But the source of the news is unclear. |
| அப்ப (appa) தலைப்பு (talaippu) மட்டும் (maṭṭum) பாத்திட்டு (pāttiṭṭu) நம்ப (namba) வேண்டாம் (vēṇḍām) | appa talaippu maṭṭum pāttiṭṭu namba vēṇḍām | Then do not trust it after reading one headline. |
| சரி (sari), தகவலை சரிபாக்கிறன் (tagavalai saripākkiṟaṉ). வசன வரிகள் (vasaṉa varigaḷ) போட (pōḍa) முடியுமா (muḍiyumā)? | sari, tagavalai saripākkiṟaṉ. vasaṉa varigaḷ pōḍa muḍiyumā? | Fine, I will check the information. Can subtitles be turned on? |
| முடியும் (muḍiyum). ஆனா (āṉā) அந்த (anda) சேனலில வசன வரிகள் (vasaṉa varigaḷ) அபூர்வமா (apūrvamā) தான் (tāṉ) இருக்கும் (irukkum) | muḍiyum. āṉā anda sēṉalila vasaṉa varigaḷ apūrvamā tāṉ irukkum | They can. But that channel rarely has them. |
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?
“ரிமோட் (rimōṭ) தாங்கோ (tāṅgō), நான் (nāṉ) செய்தி (seydi) பாக்கவேணும்” (pākkavēṇum) (rimōṭ tāṅgō, nāṉ seydi pākkavēṇum) — Give me the remote, I want to watch the news. 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.