Tamil phrasebook
A Tamil phrasebook arranged by situation, not alphabetically: introductions, cafés, directions. Each has both sides' lines, so you understand not only what to say but what you will be told back.
Conversations by situation
- 💬Getting acquaintedA first meeting in Jaffna
- 💬At the tea shopOrdering at a roadside stall
- 💬The way to the marketAsking a passerby for directions
- 💬At the marketHaggling over mangoes at a stall
- 💬The tap is leakingCalling the landlord
- 💬At the pharmacyA cold and a headache
- 💬Weather and plansTwo neighbors talking
- 💬About workAcquaintances meet at the post office
- 💬At the airportChecking in and a delay
- 💬A boat and fishingArranging a boat on the shore
- 💬At the shoe shopTrying on and size
- 💬What is wrong?Talking with a dormitory neighbor
- 💬Cooking togetherTwo people making dinner in the kitchen
- 💬Wi-fi and chargingAsking for the password and a socket at a small cafe
- 💬How to get to the embassyAsking for directions in the street
- 💬Asked to playA neighbor invites you to an evening match
- 💬A wedding invitationA colleague invites you to his sister's wedding
- 💬How many children?Neighbors meet in the yard
- 💬Which faculty?Two students meet on the university grounds
- 💬Opening an accountAt a bank branch in Jaffna
- 💬What is troubling you?At a doctor's appointment in a clinic
- 💬At the job interviewA candidate talks with an employer in an office
- 💬Viewing a houseA tenant and the landlord look over a house
- 💬Renting a carA car rental office in Jaffna
- 💬What is on TVAt home in the evening, arguing over the remote
- 💬At the notaryA notary office: certifying a document
- 💬No other choiceTwo people decide whether to take the bus or wait for a plane
- 💬On one hand, on the otherShould one move to Colombo for the sake of work?
- 💬What does he look like?Two people at the station wait for someone one of them has never seen
- 💬What is with you?A friend notices someone is out of sorts and asks about it
- 💬Mother explains in the kitchenA mother tells her son in the kitchen what to do
- 💬I want to exchange thisA customer has returned to the shop with a shirt
- 💬The phone will not chargeA customer at the service center tells the technician what happened
- 💬Rain for the whole dayTwo neighbors at the gate look at the sky and decide whether to go to town
- 💬How to get to the hospitalA visitor asks a shopkeeper at the corner store for directions
- 💬I want to enroll in a courseA person has come to a language school and talks with the administrator
- 💬When shall we meetTwo people arrange a meeting time by phone
- 💬I did not hear youIn a noisy office one person asks another again and clarifies the address
- 💬A mechanic is neededA person has come to apply for work at a factory and talks with the workshop owner
- 💬Two unclear clausesA person rents premises for a shop and goes over the contract with the landlord
- 💬On Saturday we clean the shoreTwo neighbors in the yard gather people and money for a shore cleanup
- 💬After the showTwo people leave the cinema and discuss a film based on a novel
- 💬Signing up at the gymA newcomer questions the administrator at the gym
- 💬How many meters of fabricA person at a fabric shop orders curtains and counts meters
- 💬At the doctorA patient has come to the clinic with back pain and a fever
- 💬Getting ready for the celebrationTwo neighbors in the yard agree who does what for a home celebration
- 💬At the residents' meetingTwo neighbors argue whether to put a security camera in the yard
- 💬Advice before a decisionA young man consults a friend about taking a job in another city
- 💬Is this thing still good?Two people sort out an old cupboard and decide what to keep and what to throw away
- 💬How to get out of hereA person lost in an unfamiliar quarter asks a passerby the way
- 💬Will it last the monthTwo people count household supplies and money before the rainy season
- 💬We will finish the jobA craftsman and a client discuss unfinished repairs
- 💬The water sampleA teacher and a student review the results of a school experiment
- 💬Everything as before?A person has returned to his native village after ten years and talks with a neighbor
- 💬What has become of the weatherA farmer and a school teacher talk about the changes in the climate
- 💬A batch with a defectA client and the workshop master review a defective batch
- 💬Is it worth watchingTwo neighbors discuss a film which one of them has already seen
- 💬Whom to take on the crewTwo people choose whom to call to work together
Phrases that always rescue you
These are learned first not for politeness. They bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong — which makes them more useful than any list of nouns.
- நன்றிnaṉṟithank you
- மன்னிக்கவும்maṉṉikkavumexcuse me
- தயவுசெய்துtayavuseyduplease (when asking)
- நீங்கnīṅgayou (polite)
- புரியலைpuriyalaiI don't understand
- மெதுவாmeduvāslowly
- திரும்பச் சொல்லுங்கtirumbac solluṅgaplease say that again
- உதவிudavihelp
- எனக்கு வேண்டாம்eṉakku vēṇḍāmI don't need it
- ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருங்கoru nimiṣam iruṅgawait a minute
- என்னால திறக்க முடியலைeṉṉāla tiṟakka muḍiyalaiI cannot open it
- அம்புலன்ஸ்ambulaṉsambulance
Frequently asked
Which Tamil phrases to learn first?
“Hello”, “thank you”, “sorry”, “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”. The first three open a conversation; the last two save it.
Is a phrasebook enough without grammar?
For a short trip — yes. For living in the country — no: memorized phrases do not assemble into new ones, and the other person does not follow your script.