LingoflyI did not hear you in Tamil
In a noisy office one person asks another again and clarifies the address in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «மன்னிக்கவும், என்ன சொன்னியள்? (maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ) சத்தம் அதிகம், எனக்கு சரியா கேக்கேல்லை» (sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllai) — Excuse me, what did you say? It is noisy, I did not catch it; «நான் (nāṉ) சொன்னது (soṉṉadu) — ஆவணத்தை (āvaṇattai) நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) கொண்டு (koṇḍu) வாங்கோ» (vāṅgō) — I said: bring the document tomorrow. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: in a noisy office one person asks another again and clarifies the address. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ? sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllaiExcuse me, what did you say? It is noisy, I did not catch it.
- நான் சரியா புரிஞ்சுக்கொண்டனா? நாளைக்கு, ஆவணத்தோடnāṉ sariyā puriñcukkoṇḍaṉā? nāḷaikku, āvaṇattōḍaHave I understood correctly? Tomorrow, with the document.
- adēdāṉ. oru viṣayam sērttuc sollaṭṭā? nagal oṇḍum vēṇumExactly so. Allow me to add: a copy is needed too.
- அப்பிடியா? அது எனக்கு தெரியாது. அலுவலகத்தின்ர பேர் எப்படி எழுதுறது?appiḍiyā? adu eṉakku teriyādu. aluvalagattiṉra pēr eppaḍi eḻuduṟadu?Is that so? I did not know. And how is the name of the office spelled?
- நன்றி. கஷ்டம் இல்லாட்டி, ஒரு நகல் எனக்கும் தாறியளா?naṉṟi. kaṣṭam illāṭṭi, oru nagal eṉakkum tāṟiyaḷā?Thank you. If it is not difficult, will you give me a copy too?
- iṇḍaikku ēlādu, vēṟa oru taram pāppam. maṉasila vaikka vēṇḍāmIt will not work today; maybe another time. No offense.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| மன்னிக்கவும், என்ன சொன்னியள்? (maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ) சத்தம் அதிகம், எனக்கு சரியா கேக்கேல்லை (sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllai) | maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ? sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllai | Excuse me, what did you say? It is noisy, I did not catch it. |
| நான் (nāṉ) சொன்னது (soṉṉadu) — ஆவணத்தை (āvaṇattai) நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) கொண்டு (koṇḍu) வாங்கோ (vāṅgō) | nāṉ soṉṉadu — āvaṇattai nāḷaikku koṇḍu vāṅgō | I said: bring the document tomorrow. |
| நான் சரியா புரிஞ்சுக்கொண்டனா? (nāṉ sariyā puriñcukkoṇḍaṉā) நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku), ஆவணத்தோட | nāṉ sariyā puriñcukkoṇḍaṉā? nāḷaikku, āvaṇattōḍa | Have I understood correctly? Tomorrow, with the document. |
| அதேதான் (adēdāṉ). ஒரு விஷயம் சேர்த்துச் சொல்லட்டா? (oru viṣayam sērttuc sollaṭṭā) நகல் (nagal) ஒண்டும் (oṇḍum) வேணும் (vēṇum) | adēdāṉ. oru viṣayam sērttuc sollaṭṭā? nagal oṇḍum vēṇum | Exactly so. Allow me to add: a copy is needed too. |
| அப்பிடியா? (appiḍiyā) அது (adu) எனக்கு (eṉakku) தெரியாது (teriyādu). அலுவலகத்தின்ர பேர் (pēr) எப்படி (eppaḍi) எழுதுறது (eḻuduṟadu)? | appiḍiyā? adu eṉakku teriyādu. aluvalagattiṉra pēr eppaḍi eḻuduṟadu? | Is that so? I did not know. And how is the name of the office spelled? |
| கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) இருங்கோ (iruṅgō), எழுத்துக் (eḻuttuk) கூட்டி (kūṭṭi) சொல்லுறன் (solluṟaṉ) | koñcam iruṅgō, eḻuttuk kūṭṭi solluṟaṉ | One moment, I will spell it out. |
| நன்றி (naṉṟi). கஷ்டம் இல்லாட்டி (kaṣṭam illāṭṭi), ஒரு (oru) நகல் (nagal) எனக்கும் (eṉakkum) தாறியளா (tāṟiyaḷā)? | naṉṟi. kaṣṭam illāṭṭi, oru nagal eṉakkum tāṟiyaḷā? | Thank you. If it is not difficult, will you give me a copy too? |
| இண்டைக்கு ஏலாது, வேற ஒரு தரம் பாப்பம் (iṇḍaikku ēlādu, vēṟa oru taram pāppam). மனசில வைக்க வேண்டாம் (maṉasila vaikka vēṇḍām) | iṇḍaikku ēlādu, vēṟa oru taram pāppam. maṉasila vaikka vēṇḍām | It will not work today; maybe another time. No offense. |
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?
“மன்னிக்கவும், என்ன சொன்னியள்? (maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ) சத்தம் அதிகம், எனக்கு சரியா கேக்கேல்லை” (sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllai) (maṉṉikkavum, eṉṉa soṉṉiyaḷ? sattam adigam, eṉakku sariyā kēkkēllai) — Excuse me, what did you say? It is noisy, I did not catch it. 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.