அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை
“அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை” (adu viṣayattukku sambandam illai) — that's beside the point in Tamil. Phrase, level B1. Sambandam means 'connection' — the same word serves for family ties and for matchmaking. Here it is the link to the topic that is missing. In a live sentence: “மன்னிக்கவும், அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை” — Sorry, that's beside the point. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters அ, த, ு, வ, ி, ஷ, ய, த, ், த, ு, க.
In short
| Written in Tamil | அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை |
| Read in Latin letters | adu viṣayattukku sambandam illai |
| Translation | that's beside the point |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லைadu viṣayattukku sambandam illaithat's beside the point
Why it looks that way
Sambandam means 'connection' — the same word serves for family ties and for matchmaking. Here it is the link to the topic that is missing
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- மன்னிக்கவும், அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லைmaṉṉikkavum, adu viṣayattukku sambandam illaiSorry, that's beside the point
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “that's beside the point” in Tamil?
«அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை», read “adu viṣayattukku sambandam illai”. In a live sentence: “மன்னிக்கவும், அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை” — Sorry, that's beside the point. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters அ, த, ு, வ, ி, ஷ, ய, த, ், த, ு, க.
How is “அது விஷயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தம் இல்லை” written in Latin letters?
adu viṣayattukku sambandam illai. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Sambandam means 'connection' — the same word serves for family ties and for matchmaking. Here it is the link to the topic that is missing. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.