முதுகு வலிக்குது
“முதுகு வலிக்குது” (mudugu valikkudu) — the back hurts in Tamil. Phrase, level A2. The aching organ is the subject and the person stands in the dative: 'to me the back aches'. In a live sentence: “நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு முதுகு வலிக்குது” — Since yesterday my back has been hurting. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ம, ு, த, ு, க, ு, வ, ல, ி, க, ், க. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | முதுகு வலிக்குது |
| Read in Latin letters | mudugu valikkudu |
| Translation | the back hurts |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- முதுகு வலிக்குதுmudugu valikkuduthe back hurts
Why it looks that way
The aching organ is the subject and the person stands in the dative: 'to me the back aches'
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.
- நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு முதுகு வலிக்குதுnēṟṟila irundu eṉakku mudugu valikkuduSince yesterday my back has been hurting
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 back hurts” in Tamil?
«முதுகு வலிக்குது», read “mudugu valikkudu”. In a live sentence: “நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு முதுகு வலிக்குது” — Since yesterday my back has been hurting. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2; written with the characters ம, ு, த, ு, க, ு, வ, ல, ி, க, ், க.
How is “முதுகு வலிக்குது” written in Latin letters?
mudugu valikkudu. 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 aching organ is the subject and the person stands in the dative: 'to me the back aches'. 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.