பில்லை கட்டுறேன்
“பில்லை கட்டுறேன்” (billai kaṭṭuṟēṉ) — to pay the bill in Tamil. Phrase, level A2. kattu, 'to tie', serves as the paying verb: one 'ties' the tax, the rent, the bill. The English 'bill' has settled in firmly. In a live sentence: “நான் இன்னிக்கு பில்லை கட்டுறேன்” — I will pay the bill today. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ப, ி, ல, ், ல, ை, க, ட, ், ட, ு, ற. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | பில்லை கட்டுறேன் |
| Read in Latin letters | billai kaṭṭuṟēṉ |
| Translation | to pay the bill |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- பில்லை கட்டுறேன்billai kaṭṭuṟēṉto pay the bill
Why it looks that way
kattu, 'to tie', serves as the paying verb: one 'ties' the tax, the rent, the bill. The English 'bill' has settled in firmly
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.
- நான் இன்னிக்கு பில்லை கட்டுறேன்nāṉ iṉṉikku billai kaṭṭuṟēṉI will pay the bill today
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 “to pay the bill” in Tamil?
«பில்லை கட்டுறேன்», read “billai kaṭṭuṟēṉ”. In a live sentence: “நான் இன்னிக்கு பில்லை கட்டுறேன்” — I will pay the bill today. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2; written with the characters ப, ி, ல, ், ல, ை, க, ட, ், ட, ு, ற.
How is “பில்லை கட்டுறேன்” written in Latin letters?
billai kaṭṭuṟēṉ. 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?
kattu, 'to tie', serves as the paying verb: one 'ties' the tax, the rent, the bill. The English 'bill' has settled in firmly. 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.