நான் நினைக்கிறேன்
“நான் நினைக்கிறேன்” (nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉ) — I believe that in Tamil. Phrase, level B1. The key difference from English: the thought stands in front of these words and ends on -nnu, while the turn itself closes the sentence: 'this is not right, that I believe'. In a live sentence: “அவர் வரமாட்டார்ன்னு நான் நினைக்கிறேன்” — I believe that he will not come. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ா, ன, ், ந, ி, ன, ை, க, ், க, ி.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நான் நினைக்கிறேன் |
| Read in Latin letters | nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉ |
| Translation | I believe that |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- நான் நினைக்கிறேன்nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉI believe that
Why it looks that way
The key difference from English: the thought stands in front of these words and ends on -nnu, while the turn itself closes the sentence: 'this is not right, that I believe'
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.
- அவர் வரமாட்டார்ன்னு நான் நினைக்கிறேன்avar varamāṭṭārṉṉu nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉI believe that he will not come
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 “I believe that” in Tamil?
«நான் நினைக்கிறேன்», read “nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉ”. In a live sentence: “அவர் வரமாட்டார்ன்னு நான் நினைக்கிறேன்” — I believe that he will not come. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters ந, ா, ன, ், ந, ி, ன, ை, க, ், க, ி.
How is “நான் நினைக்கிறேன்” written in Latin letters?
nāṉ niṉaikkiṟēṉ. 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 key difference from English: the thought stands in front of these words and ends on -nnu, while the turn itself closes the sentence: 'this is not right, that I believe'. 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.