நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்
“நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்” (nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉ) — to repair a chair in Tamil. Phrase, level A1. You know the chair and 'to fix' — literally 'to make right'. In Jaffna a chair has another name too, but the course has kept this one since unit one. In a live sentence: “உடைஞ்ச நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்” — I am repairing the broken chair. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ா, ற, ், க, ா, ல, ி, ய, ை, ச, ்.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன் |
| Read in Latin letters | nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉ |
| Translation | to repair a chair |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉto repair a chair
Why it looks that way
You know the chair and 'to fix' — literally 'to make right'. In Jaffna a chair has another name too, but the course has kept this one since unit one
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.
- உடைஞ்ச நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்uḍaiñca nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉI am repairing the broken chair
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 repair a chair” in Tamil?
«நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்», read “nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉ”. In a live sentence: “உடைஞ்ச நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்” — I am repairing the broken chair. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1; written with the characters ந, ா, ற, ், க, ா, ல, ி, ய, ை, ச, ்.
How is “நாற்காலியைச் சரி பண்ணுறேன்” written in Latin letters?
nāṟkāliyaic sari paṇṇuṟēṉ. 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?
You know the chair and 'to fix' — literally 'to make right'. In Jaffna a chair has another name too, but the course has kept this one since unit one. 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.