அளவு சரிவரலை
“அளவு சரிவரலை” (aḷavu sarivaralai) — the size does not fit in Tamil. Phrase, level B1, topic — shopping and money. saru, 'to come out right', plus the negation -alai. When it fits: 'the size is right'. In a live sentence: “சட்டையின்ர அளவு சரிவரலை” — The size of the shirt did not fit. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters அ, ள, வ, ு, ச, ர, ி, வ, ர, ல, ை.
In short
| Written in Tamil | அளவு சரிவரலை |
| Read in Latin letters | aḷavu sarivaralai |
| Translation | the size does not fit |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- அளவு சரிவரலைaḷavu sarivaralaithe size does not fit
Why it looks that way
saru, 'to come out right', plus the negation -alai. When it fits: 'the size is right'
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.
- சட்டையின்ர அளவு சரிவரலைsaṭṭaiyiṉra aḷavu sarivaralaiThe size of the shirt did not fit
Nearby words: shopping and money
How much it costs, whether there is a smaller one, whether cards are accepted. A shop forgives mistakes: miss a word and they will show you the thing with their hands anyway.
- எவ்வளவு?evvaḷavu?how much does it cost?Literally just 'how much' — no 'cost' in it, and at the market that is enough. About countable things one asks ettanai
- விலைvilaipriceDear and cheap are said through it: vilai adigam, vilai kuṟaivu. Do not confuse with viḷai, 'to be born' — that one has ḷ
- ரூபாய்rūpāyrupeeThe Sri Lankan rupee, not the Indian: the island mints its own currency under the same name. A hundredth of it is catam
- கடைkaḍaishopHere the position rule is audible: ḍ between vowels stays soft d — kaḍay, not kaṭay
- சந்தைsandaimarketFrom candi, 'to meet' — the place where people come together. Its relative candi means 'crossroads', and mixing them up is easy
- கடை மேசைkaḍai mēsaicounterLiterally 'the shop table'. A separate market stall is more often called simply 'shop'
- கடைக்காரர்kaḍaikkārarvendorThe suffix means 'the one at the trade': shop gives shopkeeper. The form with -r is already polite
- வாங்குறவர்vāṅguṟavarbuyerLiterally 'the buying one': the ending turns a verb into a person. 'To buy' becomes 'the buying one'
- தராசுtarāsuscalesThe vendor's balance scales. The word came through Persian and lives with the Sinhala neighbours too
- கிலோkilōkilogramIn the shop one simply says 'a kilo'. Half a kilo is 'half kilo', a quarter is 'quarter kilo'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “shopping and money”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “the size does not fit” in Tamil?
saru, 'to come out right', plus the negation -alai. When it fits: 'the size is right'
- How do you say “vendor” in Tamil?
The suffix means 'the one at the trade': shop gives shopkeeper. The form with -r is already polite
- How do you say “rupee” in Tamil?
The Sri Lankan rupee, not the Indian: the island mints its own currency under the same name. A hundredth of it is catam
- How do you say “kilogram” in Tamil?
In the shop one simply says 'a kilo'. Half a kilo is 'half kilo', a quarter is 'quarter kilo'
- How do you say “counter” in Tamil?
Literally 'the shop table'. A separate market stall is more often called simply 'shop'
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 “the size does not fit” in Tamil?
«அளவு சரிவரலை», read “aḷavu sarivaralai”. In a live sentence: “சட்டையின்ர அளவு சரிவரலை” — The size of the shirt did not fit. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1, from the set “shopping and money”; written with the characters அ, ள, வ, ு, ச, ர, ி, வ, ர, ல, ை.
How is “அளவு சரிவரலை” written in Latin letters?
aḷavu sarivaralai. 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?
saru, 'to come out right', plus the negation -alai. When it fits: 'the size is right'. 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.