எல்லைக் காவலர்
“எல்லைக் காவலர்” (ellaik kāvalar) — border guard in Tamil. Noun, level A2. kaavalar, 'a guard', the same word about a policeman and a watchman. But the island has no land border: the one you meet at the airport is the immigration officer. In a live sentence: “எல்லைக் காவலர் கடவுச்சீட்டை கேட்டார்” — The border guard asked for the passport. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters எ, ல, ், ல, ை, க, ், க, ா, வ, ல, ர.
In short
| Written in Tamil | எல்லைக் காவலர் |
| Read in Latin letters | ellaik kāvalar |
| Translation | border guard |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
- எல்லைக் காவலர்ellaik kāvalarborder guard
Why it looks that way
kaavalar, 'a guard', the same word about a policeman and a watchman. But the island has no land border: the one you meet at the airport is the immigration officer
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.
- எல்லைக் காவலர் கடவுச்சீட்டை கேட்டார்ellaik kāvalar kaḍavuccīṭṭai kēṭṭārThe border guard asked for the passport
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 “border guard” in Tamil?
«எல்லைக் காவலர்», read “ellaik kāvalar”. In a live sentence: “எல்லைக் காவலர் கடவுச்சீட்டை கேட்டார்” — The border guard asked for the passport. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A2; written with the characters எ, ல, ், ல, ை, க, ், க, ா, வ, ல, ர.
How is “எல்லைக் காவலர்” written in Latin letters?
ellaik kāvalar. 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?
kaavalar, 'a guard', the same word about a policeman and a watchman. But the island has no land border: the one you meet at the airport is the immigration officer. 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.