LingoflyAdvice before a decision in Tamil
A young man consults a friend about taking a job in another city in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «கொழும்பில (koḻumbila) ஒரு (oru) வேலை (vēlai) கிடைச்சிருக்கு. போகவா வேண்டாமா எண்டு (eṇḍu) தெரியேல்லை» (teriyēllai) — A job was offered in Colombo. I do not know whether to go; «சம்பளம் (sambaḷam) எப்பிடி (eppiḍi)? இஞ்சருக்கிற வேலையோட ஒப்பிட்டா (oppiṭṭā) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) கூட (kūḍa)?» — How about the salary? How much bigger than the work here? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a young man consults a friend about taking a job in another city. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- கொழும்பில ஒரு வேலை கிடைச்சிருக்கு. போகவா வேண்டாமா எண்டு தெரியேல்லைkoḻumbila oru vēlai kiḍaiccirukku. pōgavā vēṇḍāmā eṇḍu teriyēllaiA job was offered in Colombo. I do not know whether to go.
- kiṭṭattaṭṭa reṇḍu maḍaṅgu. āṉā vāḍagaiyum adigam, aduvum nijamAlmost double. But the rent is expensive too — that is also a fact.
- nāṉ uṅgaḍa iḍattila irundā oru māsam pōy pāppaṉ. oru taram pākkalāmIn your place I would go for a month. It is worth trying.
- kuḍumbam iñca. appiḍi irundirundā nāṉ mundiyē pōyiruppaṉThe family is here. If not for that, I would have left long ago.
- appa nibandaṉai pōḍuṅgō: māsattukku oru taram vīṭṭukku vāṟa nibandaṉaiyilaThen set a condition: on condition that you go home once a month.
- nāṉ solla vēṇḍiyadai solliṭṭaṉ, muḍivu uṅgaḍa kaiyila. muḍiñcaḷavu sīkkiram solluṅgōI have said what I had to say; it is yours to decide. Say it as quickly as you can.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| கொழும்பில (koḻumbila) ஒரு (oru) வேலை (vēlai) கிடைச்சிருக்கு. போகவா வேண்டாமா எண்டு (eṇḍu) தெரியேல்லை (teriyēllai) | koḻumbila oru vēlai kiḍaiccirukku. pōgavā vēṇḍāmā eṇḍu teriyēllai | A job was offered in Colombo. I do not know whether to go. |
| சம்பளம் (sambaḷam) எப்பிடி (eppiḍi)? இஞ்சருக்கிற வேலையோட ஒப்பிட்டா (oppiṭṭā) எவ்வளவு (evvaḷavu) கூட (kūḍa)? | sambaḷam eppiḍi? iñcarukkiṟa vēlaiyōḍa oppiṭṭā evvaḷavu kūḍa? | How about the salary? How much bigger than the work here? |
| கிட்டத்தட்ட (kiṭṭattaṭṭa) ரெண்டு மடங்கு (reṇḍu maḍaṅgu). ஆனா (āṉā) வாடகையும் (vāḍagaiyum) அதிகம் (adigam), அதுவும் நிஜம் (nijam) | kiṭṭattaṭṭa reṇḍu maḍaṅgu. āṉā vāḍagaiyum adigam, aduvum nijam | Almost double. But the rent is expensive too — that is also a fact. |
| நான் (nāṉ) உங்கட இடத்தில இருந்தா (uṅgaḍa iḍattila irundā) ஒரு (oru) மாசம் (māsam) போய் (pōy) பாப்பன். ஒரு தரம் பாக்கலாம் (oru taram pākkalām) | nāṉ uṅgaḍa iḍattila irundā oru māsam pōy pāppaṉ. oru taram pākkalām | In your place I would go for a month. It is worth trying. |
| குடும்பம் (kuḍumbam) இஞ்ச (iñca). அப்பிடி இருந்திருந்தா (appiḍi irundirundā) நான் (nāṉ) முந்தியே (mundiyē) போயிருப்பன் | kuḍumbam iñca. appiḍi irundirundā nāṉ mundiyē pōyiruppaṉ | The family is here. If not for that, I would have left long ago. |
| அப்ப (appa) நிபந்தனை (nibandaṉai) போடுங்கோ (pōḍuṅgō): மாசத்துக்கு (māsattukku) ஒரு தரம் (oru taram) வீட்டுக்கு (vīṭṭukku) வாற (vāṟa) நிபந்தனையில (nibandaṉaiyila) | appa nibandaṉai pōḍuṅgō: māsattukku oru taram vīṭṭukku vāṟa nibandaṉaiyila | Then set a condition: on condition that you go home once a month. |
| அது (adu) நல்ல (nalla) யோசனை (yōsaṉai). ஆனா (āṉā) முடிவு (muḍivu) எடுக்கிறது எனக்கு (eṉakku) கஷ்டம் (kaṣṭam) | adu nalla yōsaṉai. āṉā muḍivu eḍukkiṟadu eṉakku kaṣṭam | That is a good thought. But it is hard for me to make the decision. |
| நான் சொல்ல வேண்டியதை சொல்லிட்டன், முடிவு உங்கட கையில (nāṉ solla vēṇḍiyadai solliṭṭaṉ, muḍivu uṅgaḍa kaiyila). முடிஞ்சளவு சீக்கிரம் (muḍiñcaḷavu sīkkiram) சொல்லுங்கோ (solluṅgō) | nāṉ solla vēṇḍiyadai solliṭṭaṉ, muḍivu uṅgaḍa kaiyila. muḍiñcaḷavu sīkkiram solluṅgō | I have said what I had to say; it is yours to decide. Say it as quickly as you can. |
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?
“கொழும்பில (koḻumbila) ஒரு (oru) வேலை (vēlai) கிடைச்சிருக்கு. போகவா வேண்டாமா எண்டு (eṇḍu) தெரியேல்லை” (teriyēllai) (koḻumbila oru vēlai kiḍaiccirukku. pōgavā vēṇḍāmā eṇḍu teriyēllai) — A job was offered in Colombo. I do not know whether to go. 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.