நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்
“நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்” (naḍandu pattu nimiṣam) — about ten minutes on foot in Tamil. Phrase, level B1. Approximation is shown not by a word for 'about' but by the order: 'ten minutes' with a falling intonation already means 'about ten'. In a live sentence: “இங்கிருந்து நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்” — It is about ten minutes on foot from here. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ட, ந, ், த, ு, ப, த, ், த, ு, ந.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம் |
| Read in Latin letters | naḍandu pattu nimiṣam |
| Translation | about ten minutes on foot |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்naḍandu pattu nimiṣamabout ten minutes on foot
Why it looks that way
Approximation is shown not by a word for 'about' but by the order: 'ten minutes' with a falling intonation already means 'about ten'
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.
- இங்கிருந்து நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்iṅgirundu naḍandu pattu nimiṣamIt is about ten minutes on foot from here
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 “about ten minutes on foot” in Tamil?
«நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்», read “naḍandu pattu nimiṣam”. In a live sentence: “இங்கிருந்து நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்” — It is about ten minutes on foot from here. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters ந, ட, ந, ், த, ு, ப, த, ், த, ு, ந.
How is “நடந்து பத்து நிமிஷம்” written in Latin letters?
naḍandu pattu nimiṣam. 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?
Approximation is shown not by a word for 'about' but by the order: 'ten minutes' with a falling intonation already means 'about ten'. 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.