கல்குலேட்டர்
“கல்குலேட்டர்” (kalkulēṭṭar) — calculator in Tamil. Noun, level A1. The native 'reckoner' — from the same root as the account and the account word — stands in the maths textbook. Behind the counter and at the exam people say the English. In a live sentence: “கல்குலேட்டரை எடுத்துக் கூட்டிப் பாருங்க” — Take the calculator and add it up. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters க, ல, ், க, ு, ல, ே, ட, ், ட, ர, ்.
In short
| Written in Tamil | கல்குலேட்டர் |
| Read in Latin letters | kalkulēṭṭar |
| Translation | calculator |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- கல்குலேட்டர்kalkulēṭṭarcalculator
Why it looks that way
The native 'reckoner' — from the same root as the account and the account word — stands in the maths textbook. Behind the counter and at the exam people say the English
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.
- கல்குலேட்டரை எடுத்துக் கூட்டிப் பாருங்கkalkulēṭṭar eḍuttuk kūṭṭiba pāruṅgaTake the calculator and add it up
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 “calculator” in Tamil?
«கல்குலேட்டர்», read “kalkulēṭṭar”. In a live sentence: “கல்குலேட்டரை எடுத்துக் கூட்டிப் பாருங்க” — Take the calculator and add it up. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1; written with the characters க, ல, ், க, ு, ல, ே, ட, ், ட, ர, ்.
How is “கல்குலேட்டர்” written in Latin letters?
kalkulēṭṭar. 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 native 'reckoner' — from the same root as the account and the account word — stands in the maths textbook. Behind the counter and at the exam people say the English. 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.