LingoflyTwo unclear clauses in Tamil
A person rents premises for a shop and goes over the contract with the landlord in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ஒப்பந்தத்தை (oppandattai) படிச்சனான். ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) நிபந்தனை (nibandaṉai) எனக்கு (eṉakku) விளங்கேல்லை» (viḷaṅgēllai) — I have read the contract. Two terms are unclear to me; «எந்தப் பிரிவு (pirivu)? சொல்லுங்கோ (solluṅgō), விளக்குறன்» (viḷakkuṟaṉ) — Which clause? Tell me, I will explain. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a person rents premises for a shop and goes over the contract with the landlord. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- எந்தப் பிரிவு? சொல்லுங்கோ, விளக்குறன்endap pirivu? solluṅgō, viḷakkuṟaṉWhich clause? Tell me, I will explain.
- mūṇḍāvadu oppandap pirivila kaṭṭaṇa vigidam ovvoru varuṣamum māṟum eṇḍu irukkuThe third clause says that the rate changes every year.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ஒப்பந்தத்தை (oppandattai) படிச்சனான். ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) நிபந்தனை (nibandaṉai) எனக்கு (eṉakku) விளங்கேல்லை (viḷaṅgēllai) | oppandattai paḍiccaṉāṉ. reṇḍu nibandaṉai eṉakku viḷaṅgēllai | I have read the contract. Two terms are unclear to me. |
| எந்தப் பிரிவு (pirivu)? சொல்லுங்கோ (solluṅgō), விளக்குறன் (viḷakkuṟaṉ) | endap pirivu? solluṅgō, viḷakkuṟaṉ | Which clause? Tell me, I will explain. |
| மூண்டாவது (mūṇḍāvadu) ஒப்பந்தப் (oppandap) பிரிவில (pirivila) கட்டண விகிதம் (kaṭṭaṇa vigidam) ஒவ்வொரு வருஷமும் (ovvoru varuṣamum) மாறும் எண்டு (eṇḍu) இருக்கு (irukku) | mūṇḍāvadu oppandap pirivila kaṭṭaṇa vigidam ovvoru varuṣamum māṟum eṇḍu irukku | The third clause says that the rate changes every year. |
| ஓம் (ōm). விலைவாசி (vilaivāsi) உயர்வுக்கு ஏத்தமாதிரி கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) கூடும் (kūḍum), அது (adu) சட்டப்படி (saṭṭappaḍi) சரி (sari) | ōm. vilaivāsi uyarvukku ēttamādiri koñcam kūḍum, adu saṭṭappaḍi sari | Yes. It rises a little following inflation; by law that is correct. |
| அப்ப (appa) முற்பணம் (muṟpaṇam) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) தர (tara) வேணும் (vēṇum)? | appa muṟpaṇam evvaḷavu tara vēṇum? | Then how much must be given as an advance? |
| ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) மாத வாடகை (māda vāḍagai). ரசீதும் மூலப் (mūlap) பிரதியும் உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) தாறன் (tāṟaṉ) | reṇḍu māda vāḍagai. rasīdum mūlap piradiyum uṅgaḷukku tāṟaṉ | Two months of rent. I will hand you the receipt and the original. |
| ஒப்பந்தத்தை (oppandattai) மீற வேண்டி (vēṇḍi) வந்தா (vandā) என்ன (eṉṉa) நடக்கும் (naḍakkum)? | oppandattai mīṟa vēṇḍi vandā eṉṉa naḍakkum? | And if the contract has to be broken, what happens? |
| நட்ட (naṭṭa) ஈடு (īḍu) கொடுக்க (koḍukka) வேணும் (vēṇum). ஆனா (āṉā) ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) பேரும் (pērum) ஒத்துக்கொண்டா ரத்து (rattu) செய்யலாம் | naṭṭa īḍu koḍukka vēṇum. āṉā reṇḍu pērum ottukkoṇḍā rattu seyyalām | The damage will have to be compensated. But if both agree, the contract can be terminated. |
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?
“ஒப்பந்தத்தை (oppandattai) படிச்சனான். ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) நிபந்தனை (nibandaṉai) எனக்கு (eṉakku) விளங்கேல்லை” (viḷaṅgēllai) (oppandattai paḍiccaṉāṉ. reṇḍu nibandaṉai eṉakku viḷaṅgēllai) — I have read the contract. Two terms are unclear to me. 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.