LingoflyWhat is with you? in Tamil
A friend notices someone is out of sorts and asks about it in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «உன்ர (uṉra) மனநிலை (maṉanilai) நல்லா (nallā) இல்லை (illai) போல (pōla). என்ன (eṉṉa) நடந்தது (naḍandadu)?» — You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened?; «நானும் (nāṉum) என்ர (eṉra) தோழியும் பிணங்கிட்டம்» — I quarreled with my friend. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a friend notices someone is out of sorts and asks about it. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- illai, oru tavaṟāṉa puridal. ava eṉmēla kuṟṟam sāṭṭiṉāNo, a misunderstanding. She accused me.
- உன்ர கஷ்டம் எனக்கு புரியுது. முதல்ல நீ விட்டுக் குடுuṉra kaṣṭam eṉakku puriyudu. mudalla nī viṭṭuk kuḍuI understand you. Be the first to give in.
- சரி, நாளைக்கு கதைக்கிறன். எல்லாம் சரியாகிடும் தானே?sari, nāḷaikku kadaikkiṟaṉ. ellām sariyāgiḍum tāṉē?All right, I will talk tomorrow. It will all work out, will it not?
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| உன்ர (uṉra) மனநிலை (maṉanilai) நல்லா (nallā) இல்லை (illai) போல (pōla). என்ன (eṉṉa) நடந்தது (naḍandadu)? | uṉra maṉanilai nallā illai pōla. eṉṉa naḍandadu? | You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened? |
| நானும் (nāṉum) என்ர (eṉra) தோழியும் பிணங்கிட்டம் | nāṉum eṉra tōḻiyum piṇaṅgiṭṭam | I quarreled with my friend. |
| ஏன் (ēṉ)? பெரிய (periya) மோதலா? | ēṉ? periya mōdalā? | Why? A serious conflict? |
| இல்லை (illai), ஒரு (oru) தவறான புரிதல் (tavaṟāṉa puridal). அவ (ava) என்மேல (eṉmēla) குற்றம் (kuṟṟam) சாட்டினா | illai, oru tavaṟāṉa puridal. ava eṉmēla kuṟṟam sāṭṭiṉā | No, a misunderstanding. She accused me. |
| நீ நியாயம் (niyāyam) சொன்னாயா? | nī niyāyam soṉṉāyā? | Did you explain yourself? |
| இல்லை (illai), நான் (nāṉ) பேசாம (pēsāma) இருந்தன் (irundaṉ). எனக்கு (eṉakku) வெக்கமா (vekkamā) இருந்தது (irundadu) | illai, nāṉ pēsāma irundaṉ. eṉakku vekkamā irundadu | No, I kept silent. I was ashamed. |
| உன்ர கஷ்டம் எனக்கு புரியுது (uṉra kaṣṭam eṉakku puriyudu). முதல்ல (mudalla) நீ விட்டுக் (viṭṭuk) குடு | uṉra kaṣṭam eṉakku puriyudu. mudalla nī viṭṭuk kuḍu | I understand you. Be the first to give in. |
| சரி (sari), நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) கதைக்கிறன் (kadaikkiṟaṉ). எல்லாம் சரியாகிடும் (ellām sariyāgiḍum) தானே (tāṉē)? | sari, nāḷaikku kadaikkiṟaṉ. ellām sariyāgiḍum tāṉē? | All right, I will talk tomorrow. It will all work out, will it not? |
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?
“உன்ர (uṉra) மனநிலை (maṉanilai) நல்லா (nallā) இல்லை (illai) போல (pōla). என்ன (eṉṉa) நடந்தது (naḍandadu)?” (uṉra maṉanilai nallā illai pōla. eṉṉa naḍandadu?) — You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened? 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.