கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது
“கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது” (kadavu sātta ēlādu) — the door won't close in Tamil. Phrase, level A1. The Jaffna 'it does not come about'; Tamil Nadu would say 'it is not possible'. In Jaffna they 'shut' the door in the yard, while you know the bookish 'close'. In a live sentence: “இந்தக் கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது” — This door won't close. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters க, த, வ, ு, ச, ா, த, ், த, ஏ, ல, ா.
In short
| Written in Tamil | கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது |
| Read in Latin letters | kadavu sātta ēlādu |
| Translation | the door won't close |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- கதவு சாத்த ஏலாதுkadavu sātta ēlāduthe door won't close
Why it looks that way
The Jaffna 'it does not come about'; Tamil Nadu would say 'it is not possible'. In Jaffna they 'shut' the door in the yard, while you know the bookish 'close'
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.
- இந்தக் கதவு சாத்த ஏலாதுindak kadavu sātta ēlāduThis door won't close
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 “the door won't close” in Tamil?
«கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது», read “kadavu sātta ēlādu”. In a live sentence: “இந்தக் கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது” — This door won't close. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1; written with the characters க, த, வ, ு, ச, ா, த, ், த, ஏ, ல, ா.
How is “கதவு சாத்த ஏலாது” written in Latin letters?
kadavu sātta ēlādu. 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 Jaffna 'it does not come about'; Tamil Nadu would say 'it is not possible'. In Jaffna they 'shut' the door in the yard, while you know the bookish 'close'. 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.