எப்படி இருக்க?
“எப்படி இருக்க?” (eppaḍi irukka?) — how are you (informal)? in Tamil. Phrase, level A0, topic — greetings and goodbyes. The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do. In a live sentence: “வணக்கம், எப்படி இருக்க?” — Hi, how are you? You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | எப்படி இருக்க? |
| Read in Latin letters | eppaḍi irukka? |
| Translation | how are you (informal)? |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
- எப்படி இருக்க?eppaḍi irukka?how are you (informal)?
Why it looks that way
The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do
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.
- வணக்கம், எப்படி இருக்க?vaṇakkam, eppaḍi irukka?Hi, how are you?
Nearby words: greetings and goodbyes
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
- வணக்கம்vaṇakkamhellova-NAK-kam; hold the double kk about twice as long as a single k — length changes words in Tamil
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?eppaḍi irukkīṅga?how are you?Literally 'how are you keeping?' The ending -īṅga is the polite you — the same one you meet all over the course
- நல்லா இருக்கேன்nallā irukkēṉI am doing wellThe standard answer to eppadi. Literally 'I am being well': Tamil states a condition where English reaches for a verb
- போயிட்டு வாறேன்pōyiṭṭu vāṟēṉgoodbyeLiterally 'I will go and come back'. Saying a plain 'I am leaving' is bad luck, so you always promise to return
- காலை வணக்கம்kālai vaṇakkamgood morningYou know vaṇakkam, the greeting for all day, and kālai, 'morning'. The island keeps no separate morning ritual: the compound sounds on the radio, while in the yard neighbours say plain vaṇakkam — and immediately ask whether you have eaten
- மதிய வணக்கம்madiya vaṇakkamgood afternoonAssembled like kālai vaṇakkam, which you know: only the first word changes. Madhiyam is noon
- மாலை வணக்கம்mālai vaṇakkamgood eveningMālai is 'evening' — you know this word separately. Before sleep one says iṉiya iravu, and that is no longer a greeting
- இனிய இரவுiṉiya iravugood nightLiterally 'a sweet night'. Said when parting for bed, never on meeting — in the evening the greeting is mālai vaṇakkam
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “greetings and goodbyes”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “how are you (informal)?” in Tamil?
The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do
- How do you say “good evening” in Tamil?
Mālai is 'evening' — you know this word separately. Before sleep one says iṉiya iravu, and that is no longer a greeting
- How do you say “good morning” in Tamil?
You know vaṇakkam, the greeting for all day, and kālai, 'morning'. The island keeps no separate morning ritual: the compound sounds on the radio, while in the yard neighbours say plain vaṇakkam — and immediately ask whether you have eaten
- How do you say “I am doing well” in Tamil?
The standard answer to eppadi. Literally 'I am being well': Tamil states a condition where English reaches for a verb
- How do you say “hello” in Tamil?
Literally 'a bowing', said with palms together before the chest, at any hour of the day. Tamil keeps no separate casual greeting: vaṇakkam serves the elder and the friend alike
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 “how are you (informal)?” in Tamil?
«எப்படி இருக்க?», read “eppaḍi irukka?”. In a live sentence: “வணக்கம், எப்படி இருக்க?” — Hi, how are you? You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A0, from the set “greetings and goodbyes”; written with the characters எ, ப, ், ப, ட, ி, இ, ர, ு, க, ், க.
How is “எப்படி இருக்க?” written in Latin letters?
eppaḍi irukka?. 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?
The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do. 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.