LingoflyWhen shall we meet in Tamil
Two people arrange a meeting time by phone in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «உங்களுக்கு ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருக்கா? (uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā) நான் அதைப் பற்றித்தான் (nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ) கூப்பிட்டன்» — Do you have a minute? I am calling about exactly that; «சொல்லுங்கோ, கேக்கிறன்» (solluṅgō, kēkkiṟaṉ) — I am listening. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people arrange a meeting time by phone. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- உங்களுக்கு ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருக்கா? நான் அதைப் பற்றித்தான் கூப்பிட்டன்uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā? nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ kūppiṭṭaṉDo you have a minute? I am calling about exactly that.
- nāḷaikku oru nēram kuṟikkalāmā? uṅgaḷukku vasadiyāṉa nēram eppa?Shall we set a time for tomorrow? When is convenient for you?
- kālaiyila vēlai irukku. añcu maṇikku mundi ēlāduWork in the morning. Not earlier than five.
- appa sāyandaram pakkamā? āṟu maṇi sarivarumā?Then closer to the evening? Does six suit you?
- பரவாயில்லை. முதல்நாள் எனக்கு ஞாபகப்படுத்துங்கோparavāyillai. mudalnāḷ eṉakku ñābagappaḍuttuṅgōNo problem. Remind me the day before.
- sari. muḍiñcā kālaiyilayē oru mesēj pōḍuṟaṉ. appa kadaippamAll right. If it works out, I will write a message in the morning. Until we speak.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| உங்களுக்கு ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருக்கா? (uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā) நான் அதைப் பற்றித்தான் (nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ) கூப்பிட்டன் | uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā? nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ kūppiṭṭaṉ | Do you have a minute? I am calling about exactly that. |
| சொல்லுங்கோ, கேக்கிறன் (solluṅgō, kēkkiṟaṉ) | solluṅgō, kēkkiṟaṉ | I am listening. |
| நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) ஒரு (oru) நேரம் (nēram) குறிக்கலாமா? உங்களுக்கு வசதியான நேரம் எப்ப? (uṅgaḷukku vasadiyāṉa nēram eppa) | nāḷaikku oru nēram kuṟikkalāmā? uṅgaḷukku vasadiyāṉa nēram eppa? | Shall we set a time for tomorrow? When is convenient for you? |
| காலையில (kālaiyila) வேலை (vēlai) இருக்கு (irukku). அஞ்சு மணிக்கு முந்தி ஏலாது (añcu maṇikku mundi ēlādu) | kālaiyila vēlai irukku. añcu maṇikku mundi ēlādu | Work in the morning. Not earlier than five. |
| அப்ப (appa) சாயந்தரம் பக்கமா (sāyandaram pakkamā)? ஆறு (āṟu) மணி (maṇi) சரிவருமா? | appa sāyandaram pakkamā? āṟu maṇi sarivarumā? | Then closer to the evening? Does six suit you? |
| சரி (sari), ஆறு (āṟu) மணி (maṇi) வசதி. ஆனா (āṉā) நான் (nāṉ) கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) லேட்டா (lēṭṭā) வரலாம் (varalām) | sari, āṟu maṇi vasadi. āṉā nāṉ koñcam lēṭṭā varalām | Good, six is convenient. But I may be a little late. |
| பரவாயில்லை (paravāyillai). முதல்நாள் எனக்கு (eṉakku) ஞாபகப்படுத்துங்கோ | paravāyillai. mudalnāḷ eṉakku ñābagappaḍuttuṅgō | No problem. Remind me the day before. |
| சரி (sari). முடிஞ்சா (muḍiñcā) காலையிலயே (kālaiyilayē) ஒரு (oru) மெசேஜ் (mesēj) போடுறன் (pōḍuṟaṉ). அப்ப கதைப்பம் (appa kadaippam) | sari. muḍiñcā kālaiyilayē oru mesēj pōḍuṟaṉ. appa kadaippam | All right. If it works out, I will write a message in the morning. Until we speak. |
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?
“உங்களுக்கு ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருக்கா? (uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā) நான் அதைப் பற்றித்தான் (nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ) கூப்பிட்டன்” (uṅgaḷukku oru nimiṣam irukkā? nāṉ adaip paṟṟittāṉ kūppiṭṭaṉ) — Do you have a minute? I am calling about exactly that. 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.