How many meters of fabric in Tamil
A person at a fabric shop orders curtains and counts meters in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ஜன்னலுக்கு திரைச்சீலை தைக்க வேணும். எவ்வளவு துணி வேணும்?» — I need a curtain sewn for the window. How much fabric is needed?; «ஜன்னலின்ர உயரம் எவ்வளவு? அகலமும் சொல்லுங்க» — What is the height of the window? And tell me the width. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a person at a fabric shop orders curtains and counts meters. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- ஜன்னலுக்கு திரைச்சீலை தைக்க வேணும். எவ்வளவு துணி வேணும்?jaṉṉalukku tiraiccīlai taikka vēṇum. evvaḷavu tuṇi vēṇum?I need a curtain sewn for the window. How much fabric is needed?
- ஜன்னலின்ர உயரம் எவ்வளவு? அகலமும் சொல்லுங்கjaṉṉaliṉra uyaram evvaḷavu? agalamum solluṅgaWhat is the height of the window? And tell me the width.
- உயரம் ரெண்டு மீற்றர், அகலம் ஒன்றரை மீற்றர்uyaram reṇḍu mīṟṟar, agalam oṉṟarai mīṟṟarThe height is two meters, the width one and a half meters.
- அப்ப ஏறத்தாள ஐஞ்சு மீற்றர் வேணும். மடிப்புக்கு கொஞ்சம் கூடுதலா எடுங்கappa ēṟattāḷa añcu mīṟṟar vēṇum. maḍippukku koñcam kūḍudalā eḍuṅgaThen you need about five meters. Take a little more for the hem.
- சரியா ஐஞ்சு மீற்றர் தான் இருக்கா, இல்லாட்டி கூடுதலான துண்டு மிச்சம் ஆகுமா?sariyā añcu mīṟṟar tāṉ irukkā, illāṭṭi kūḍudalāṉa tuṇḍu miccam āgumā?Is there exactly five meters, or will a leftover piece remain?
- ஐஞ்சரை மீற்றர் தான் மிச்சம். கிட்டத்தட்ட அரை மீற்றர் கூட வரும், அது பரவாயில்லைañcarai mīṟṟar tāṉ miccam. kiṭṭattaṭṭa arai mīṟṟar kūḍa varum, adu paravāyillaiThere is exactly five and a half left. Almost half a meter extra — that is nothing.
- ஒரு மீற்றர் விலை என்ன? சராசரியா எவ்வளவு ஆகும்?oru mīṟṟar vilai eṉṉa? sarāsariyā evvaḷavu āgum?How much does a meter cost? What will it come to on average?
- மீற்றர் எழுநூறு ரூபா. ரெண்டு ஜன்னலுக்கு எடுத்தா விலை ரெண்டு மடங்குmīṟṟar eḻunūṟu rūbā. reṇḍu jaṉṉalukku eḍuttā vilai reṇḍu maḍaṅguSeven hundred rupees per meter. For two windows — the price is double.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ஜன்னலுக்கு திரைச்சீலை தைக்க வேணும். எவ்வளவு துணி வேணும்? | jaṉṉalukku tiraiccīlai taikka vēṇum. evvaḷavu tuṇi vēṇum? | I need a curtain sewn for the window. How much fabric is needed? |
| ஜன்னலின்ர உயரம் எவ்வளவு? அகலமும் சொல்லுங்க | jaṉṉaliṉra uyaram evvaḷavu? agalamum solluṅga | What is the height of the window? And tell me the width. |
| உயரம் ரெண்டு மீற்றர், அகலம் ஒன்றரை மீற்றர் | uyaram reṇḍu mīṟṟar, agalam oṉṟarai mīṟṟar | The height is two meters, the width one and a half meters. |
| அப்ப ஏறத்தாள ஐஞ்சு மீற்றர் வேணும். மடிப்புக்கு கொஞ்சம் கூடுதலா எடுங்க | appa ēṟattāḷa añcu mīṟṟar vēṇum. maḍippukku koñcam kūḍudalā eḍuṅga | Then you need about five meters. Take a little more for the hem. |
| சரியா ஐஞ்சு மீற்றர் தான் இருக்கா, இல்லாட்டி கூடுதலான துண்டு மிச்சம் ஆகுமா? | sariyā añcu mīṟṟar tāṉ irukkā, illāṭṭi kūḍudalāṉa tuṇḍu miccam āgumā? | Is there exactly five meters, or will a leftover piece remain? |
| ஐஞ்சரை மீற்றர் தான் மிச்சம். கிட்டத்தட்ட அரை மீற்றர் கூட வரும், அது பரவாயில்லை | añcarai mīṟṟar tāṉ miccam. kiṭṭattaṭṭa arai mīṟṟar kūḍa varum, adu paravāyillai | There is exactly five and a half left. Almost half a meter extra — that is nothing. |
| ஒரு மீற்றர் விலை என்ன? சராசரியா எவ்வளவு ஆகும்? | oru mīṟṟar vilai eṉṉa? sarāsariyā evvaḷavu āgum? | How much does a meter cost? What will it come to on average? |
| மீற்றர் எழுநூறு ரூபா. ரெண்டு ஜன்னலுக்கு எடுத்தா விலை ரெண்டு மடங்கு | mīṟṟar eḻunūṟu rūbā. reṇḍu jaṉṉalukku eḍuttā vilai reṇḍu maḍaṅgu | Seven hundred rupees per meter. For two windows — the price is double. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“ஜன்னலுக்கு திரைச்சீலை தைக்க வேணும். எவ்வளவு துணி வேணும்?” (jaṉṉalukku tiraiccīlai taikka vēṇum. evvaḷavu tuṇi vēṇum?) — I need a curtain sewn for the window. How much fabric is needed?. 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.