ஏக்கமா இருக்கு
“ஏக்கமா இருக்கு” (ēkkamā irukku) — to miss (someone) in Tamil. Verb, level A1. Literally 'it is lonely'. The subject slips into the dative: 'to me it is lonely'. In a live sentence: “என் குடும்பத்த நினைச்சு ஏக்கமா இருக்கு” — I miss my family. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ஏ, க, ், க, ம, ா, இ, ர, ு, க, ், க. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | ஏக்கமா இருக்கு |
| Read in Latin letters | ēkkamā irukku |
| Translation | to miss (someone) |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- ஏக்கமா இருக்குēkkamā irukkuto miss (someone)
Why it looks that way
Literally 'it is lonely'. The subject slips into the dative: 'to me it is lonely'
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.
- என் குடும்பத்த நினைச்சு ஏக்கமா இருக்குeṉ kuḍumbattai niṉaiccu ēkkamā irukkuI miss my family
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 “to miss (someone)” in Tamil?
«ஏக்கமா இருக்கு», read “ēkkamā irukku”. In a live sentence: “என் குடும்பத்த நினைச்சு ஏக்கமா இருக்கு” — I miss my family. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1; written with the characters ஏ, க, ், க, ம, ா, இ, ர, ு, க, ், க.
How is “ஏக்கமா இருக்கு” written in Latin letters?
ēkkamā irukku. 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?
Literally 'it is lonely'. The subject slips into the dative: 'to me it is lonely'. 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.