LingoflyWhat does he look like? in Tamil
Two people at the station wait for someone one of them has never seen in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) மாமா (māmā) எப்படி (eppaḍi) இருப்பார் (iruppār)? நான் (nāṉ) அவரை (avarai) பாத்ததில்லை» — What does your uncle look like? I have not seen him; «அவர் (avar) நடுத்தர உயரம் (naḍuttara uyaram), வழுக்கைத் தலை» (vaḻukkait talai) — He is of medium height, bald. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people at the station wait for someone one of them has never seen. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- avar naḍuttara uyaram, vaḻukkait talaiHe is of medium height, bald.
- migavum kalandu paḻaguṟa āḷ, nagaiccuvai uṇarvum irukkuVery sociable, and with a sense of humor.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) மாமா (māmā) எப்படி (eppaḍi) இருப்பார் (iruppār)? நான் (nāṉ) அவரை (avarai) பாத்ததில்லை | uṅgaḍa māmā eppaḍi iruppār? nāṉ avarai pāttadillai | What does your uncle look like? I have not seen him. |
| அவர் (avar) நடுத்தர உயரம் (naḍuttara uyaram), வழுக்கைத் தலை (vaḻukkait talai) | avar naḍuttara uyaram, vaḻukkait talai | He is of medium height, bald. |
| முகத்தில (mugattila) ஏதாவது (ēdāvadu) அடையாளம் (aḍaiyāḷam)? | mugattila ēdāvadu aḍaiyāḷam? | Any mark on his face? |
| கன்னத்தில (kaṉṉattila) ஒரு (oru) மச்சம் (maccam) இருக்கு (irukku), புருவம் (puruvam) கறுப்பு (kaṟuppu) | kaṉṉattila oru maccam irukku, puruvam kaṟuppu | A mole on his cheek, black eyebrows. |
| அவர் (avar) எப்படிப்பட்ட ஆள் (āḷ)? கதைக்கலாமா? | avar eppaḍippaṭṭa āḷ? kadaikkalāmā? | What kind of person is he? Can one talk with him? |
| மிகவும் (migavum) கலந்து பழகுற (kalandu paḻaguṟa) ஆள் (āḷ), நகைச்சுவை (nagaiccuvai) உணர்வும் இருக்கு (irukku) | migavum kalandu paḻaguṟa āḷ, nagaiccuvai uṇarvum irukku | Very sociable, and with a sense of humor. |
| நல்லது (nalladu). அவர் (avar) வாறதுக்கு (vāṟadukku) இன்னும் (iṉṉum) நேரம் (nēram) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | nalladu. avar vāṟadukku iṉṉum nēram irukkā? | Good. Is there still time before he arrives? |
| பத்து (pattu) நிமிஷம் (nimiṣam). அவர் (avar) ஒருபோதும் (orubōdum) தாமதிக்கிற ஆள் (āḷ) இல்லை (illai) | pattu nimiṣam. avar orubōdum tāmadikkiṟa āḷ illai | Ten minutes. He is never late. |
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?
“உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) மாமா (māmā) எப்படி (eppaḍi) இருப்பார் (iruppār)? நான் (nāṉ) அவரை (avarai) பாத்ததில்லை” (uṅgaḍa māmā eppaḍi iruppār? nāṉ avarai pāttadillai) — What does your uncle look like? I have not seen him. 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.