இலஞ்சம்
“இலஞ்சம்” (ilañcam) — bribe in Tamil. Noun, level B1. i-lan-jam; the nj is a nasal 'ny' in front of ch. In a live sentence: “இலஞ்சம் குடுக்கிறது தவறு” — Giving a bribe is wrong. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters இ, ல, ஞ, ், ச, ம, ். A word from the everyday Tamil course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | இலஞ்சம் |
| Read in Latin letters | ilañcam |
| Translation | bribe |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- இலஞ்சம்ilañcambribe
How to pronounce it
i-lan-jam; the nj is a nasal 'ny' in front of ch
Why it looks that way
A direct and accusing word, never said to the face. Instead people hint: 'there will be some expenses'
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.
- இலஞ்சம் குடுக்கிறது தவறுilañcam kuḍukkiṟadu tavaṟuGiving a bribe is wrong
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 “bribe” in Tamil?
«இலஞ்சம்», read “ilañcam”. i-lan-jam; the nj is a nasal 'ny' in front of ch. In a live sentence: “இலஞ்சம் குடுக்கிறது தவறு” — Giving a bribe is wrong. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1; written with the characters இ, ல, ஞ, ், ச, ம, ்.
How is “இலஞ்சம்” written in Latin letters?
ilañcam. 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?
A direct and accusing word, never said to the face. Instead people hint: 'there will be some expenses'. 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.