இடது பக்கத்தில
“இடது பக்கத்தில” (iḍadu pakkattila) — on the left of in Tamil. Preposition, level A1, topic — asking the way. There is no preposition: what the thing is to the left of goes first, in the genitive. In a live sentence: “கோவிலின்ர இடது பக்கத்தில ஒரு கடை இருக்கு” — To the left of the temple there is a shop. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters இ, ட, த, ு, ப, க, ், க, த, ், த, ி.
In short
| Written in Tamil | இடது பக்கத்தில |
| Read in Latin letters | iḍadu pakkattila |
| Translation | on the left of |
| Part of speech | preposition |
| Level | A1 |
- இடது பக்கத்திலiḍadu pakkattilaon the left of
Why it looks that way
There is no preposition: what the thing is to the left of goes first, in the genitive
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.
- கோவிலின்ர இடது பக்கத்தில ஒரு கடை இருக்குkōviliṉra iḍadu pakkattila oru kaḍai irukkuTo the left of the temple there is a shop
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- எங்கே?eṅgē?where?In Jaffna speech it sounds shorter, eṅga. It stands at the end: kaḍai eṅgē?, literally 'the shop where?'
- இங்கேiṅgēhereIn Jaffna speech it shortens to iṅga. Its partner aṅgē, 'there', behaves the same way
- அங்கேaṅgēthereThe initial vowel points: a- to the far, i- to the near, e- asks the question. Tamil runs this row everywhere
- வலது பக்கம்valadu pakkamto the rightLiterally 'the right side': pakkam is obligatory. The right hand is vaḷatu kai — the only hand one eats with on the island
- இடது பக்கம்iḍadu pakkamto the leftThe partner of 'to the right'. Careful: iḍam without the ending means 'place', not 'left'
- நேராnērāstraight aheadFrom nēr, 'straight'. Also 'frankly, directly': nērā kadaikkirār, 'he speaks straight'
- கிட்டkiṭṭacloseAlso the case of 'at someone's, to someone's': eṉṉaṭṭa, 'at my place'; ḍāktariṭṭa, 'to the doctor'. One word for both place and person
- தூரம்tūramfarThe noun 'distance' working as an adverb: evvaḷavu tūram?, 'how far?'
- எப்பிடிப் போறதுeppiḍip pōṟaduhow do I walk toThe spoken 'in what manner' instead of the bookish one; the question is built on the verbal noun 'the going', not on the personal verb form
- வந்து சேருறேன்vandu sēruṟēṉto reachYou know 'I go and arrive' — getting there; this one is arriving here, to the speaker. Tamil packs the direction into the verb itself
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “on the left of” in Tamil?
There is no preposition: what the thing is to the left of goes first, in the genitive
- How do you say “close” in Tamil?
Also the case of 'at someone's, to someone's': eṉṉaṭṭa, 'at my place'; ḍāktariṭṭa, 'to the doctor'. One word for both place and person
- How do you say “there” in Tamil?
The initial vowel points: a- to the far, i- to the near, e- asks the question. Tamil runs this row everywhere
- How do you say “to reach” in Tamil?
You know 'I go and arrive' — getting there; this one is arriving here, to the speaker. Tamil packs the direction into the verb itself
- How do you say “straight ahead” in Tamil?
From nēr, 'straight'. Also 'frankly, directly': nērā kadaikkirār, 'he speaks straight'
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 “on the left of” in Tamil?
«இடது பக்கத்தில», read “iḍadu pakkattila”. In a live sentence: “கோவிலின்ர இடது பக்கத்தில ஒரு கடை இருக்கு” — To the left of the temple there is a shop. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Preposition, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters இ, ட, த, ு, ப, க, ், க, த, ், த, ி.
How is “இடது பக்கத்தில” written in Latin letters?
iḍadu pakkattila. 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?
There is no preposition: what the thing is to the left of goes first, in the genitive. 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.