கடல் இறக்கம்
“கடல் இறக்கம்” (kaḍal iṟakkam) — low tide in Tamil. Noun, level B1. The pair of the last one: irakkam, 'a descent, a fall'. Fishermen say just 'rise' and 'fall', without the sea word. In a live sentence: “இப்ப கடல் இறக்கம், மீனவர் வலை போடுவார்” — It is low tide now, the fisherman is setting his net. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters க, ட, ல, ், இ, ற, க, ், க, ம, ்.
In short
| Written in Tamil | கடல் இறக்கம் |
| Read in Latin letters | kaḍal iṟakkam |
| Translation | low tide |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- கடல் இறக்கம்kaḍal iṟakkamlow tide
Why it looks that way
The pair of the last one: irakkam, 'a descent, a fall'. Fishermen say just 'rise' and 'fall', without the sea word
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.
- இப்ப கடல் இறக்கம், மீனவர் வலை போடுவார்ippa kaḍal iṟakkam, mīṉavar valai pōḍuvārIt is low tide now, the fisherman is setting his net
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 “low tide” in Tamil?
«கடல் இறக்கம்», read “kaḍal iṟakkam”. In a live sentence: “இப்ப கடல் இறக்கம், மீனவர் வலை போடுவார்” — It is low tide now, the fisherman is setting his net. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1; written with the characters க, ட, ல, ், இ, ற, க, ், க, ம, ்.
How is “கடல் இறக்கம்” written in Latin letters?
kaḍal iṟakkam. 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 pair of the last one: irakkam, 'a descent, a fall'. Fishermen say just 'rise' and 'fall', without the sea word. 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.