இலங்கை
“இலங்கை” (ilaṅkai) — Sri Lanka in Tamil. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. The same word as Sinhala 'Lanka': both peoples call the island by one name. In a live sentence: “நான் இலங்கையில இருந்து வாறன்” — I am from Sri Lanka. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters இ, ல, ங, ், க, ை. One of 19 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | இலங்கை |
| Read in Latin letters | ilaṅkai |
| Translation | Sri Lanka |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- இலங்கைilaṅkaiSri Lanka
Why it looks that way
The same word as Sinhala 'Lanka': both peoples call the island by one name
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 இலங்கையில இருந்து வாறன்nāṉ ilaṅkaiyila irundu vāṟaṉI am from Sri Lanka
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- யாழ்ப்பாணம்yāḻppāṇamJaffnaThe great Tamil city of the island — and its name carries that very ḻ sound
- கடல்kaḍalseaBefore another word it becomes kaḍaṟ-: kaḍaṟkarai, 'the seashore'. The island is ringed by sea on three sides, and the word is heard everywhere
- விமான நிலையம்vimāṉa nilaiyamairport'Station' — the same word as in the post office
- விடுதிviḍudihotelOn the island the English 'hotel' more often means an eatery, while one sleeps in this kind of place — do not mix up the signs
- கடற்கரைkaḍaṟkaraibeachka-dar-kay-ray; the r here is a firm r, not an l
- துறைமுகம்tuṟaimugamporttu-ray-mu-gam; the r is rolled, the g between vowels sounds like g
- காடுkāḍuforestkaa-du; the t between vowels sounds like d, at the start it would be t
- மலைmalaimountainAlso a hill on the larger side. The island's hill country is 'mountain land'
- பஸ் நிலையம்pas nilaiyambus stationNilaiyam is 'station': one stop is a bus stop, but the place all the routes start from is the bus station
- படகுத்துறைpaḍaguttuṟaiboat jetty'Boat' plus 'descent to the water'. The big port of the course is a different compound — that one is about ships
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “Sri Lanka” in Tamil?
The same word as Sinhala 'Lanka': both peoples call the island by one name
- How do you say “forest” in Tamil?
A forest and any wild place beyond the village. Before a case ending the consonant doubles: 'in the forest'
- How do you say “airport” in Tamil?
'Station' — the same word as in the post office
- How do you say “boat jetty” in Tamil?
'Boat' plus 'descent to the water'. The big port of the course is a different compound — that one is about ships
- How do you say “port” in Tamil?
'Landing, branch' plus 'face, mouth of a river'
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 “Sri Lanka” in Tamil?
«இலங்கை», read “ilaṅkai”. In a live sentence: “நான் இலங்கையில இருந்து வாறன்” — I am from Sri Lanka. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters இ, ல, ங, ், க, ை.
How is “இலங்கை” written in Latin letters?
ilaṅkai. 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 word as Sinhala 'Lanka': both peoples call the island by one name. 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.