நண்பன்
“நண்பன்” (naṇbaṉ) — friend in Tamil. Noun, level A1, topic — people and family. A male friend; a female one is thoḻi or naṇbi. About an older friend one says the respectful form with -r. In a live sentence: “என்ர நண்பன் கொழும்பில இருக்கிறான்” — My friend lives in Colombo. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ண, ், ப, ன, ். One of 143 words in the set “people and family” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நண்பன் |
| Read in Latin letters | naṇbaṉ |
| Translation | friend |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- நண்பன்naṇbaṉfriend
Why it looks that way
A male friend; a female one is thoḻi or naṇbi. About an older friend one says the respectful form with -r
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.
- என்ர நண்பன் கொழும்பில இருக்கிறான்eṉra naṇbaṉ koḻumbila irukkiṟāṉMy friend lives in Colombo
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- குடும்பம்kuḍumbamfamilyFamily in the wide sense — with grandparents, aunts and cousins. From it also 'family man'
- அம்மாammāmomThe way to address any woman older than yourself — a shopkeeper, an official too. It is polite address, not baby talk
- அப்பாappādadThe partner of 'mom', with the same rule for addressing elders. Also a cry of surprise: 'appa!'
- குழந்தைkuḻandaichildA small child, before school age. Son and daughter as kin are separate words; a boy and a girl a bit older get two more
- கடைக்காரர்kaḍaikkārarvendorThe suffix means 'the one at the trade': shop gives shopkeeper. The form with -r is already polite
- வாங்குறவர்vāṅguṟavarbuyerLiterally 'the buying one': the ending turns a verb into a person. 'To buy' becomes 'the buying one'
- பக்கத்து வீட்டுக்காரர்pakkattu vīṭṭukkārarneighbourLiterally 'the person of the neighbouring house': 'side' plus 'house' plus the trade suffix
- வீட்டு உரிமையாளர்vīṭṭu urimaiyāḷarlandlord'Right' plus 'holder'. In speech it shortens to 'the house person' — but that same word means 'husband', hence the muddles
- ஓய்வு பெற்றவர்ōyvu peṟṟavarretireeLiterally 'the one who has received rest': 'rest, repose' is the first word
- முதலாளிmudalāḷibossmu-da-laa-li; the l is retroflex, the tongue curled back
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “friend” in Tamil?
A male friend; a female one is thoḻi or naṇbi. About an older friend one says the respectful form with -r
- How do you say “neighbour” in Tamil?
Literally 'the person of the neighbouring house': 'side' plus 'house' plus the trade suffix
- How do you say “dad” in Tamil?
The partner of 'mom', with the same rule for addressing elders. Also a cry of surprise: 'appa!'
- How do you say “boss” in Tamil?
Literally 'the first one' — the owner of the business. About a superior in an office people say the English 'boss' or another word
- How do you say “buyer” in Tamil?
Literally 'the buying one': the ending turns a verb into a person. 'To buy' becomes 'the buying one'
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 “friend” in Tamil?
«நண்பன்», read “naṇbaṉ”. In a live sentence: “என்ர நண்பன் கொழும்பில இருக்கிறான்” — My friend lives in Colombo. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters ந, ண, ், ப, ன, ்.
How is “நண்பன்” written in Latin letters?
naṇbaṉ. 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?
A male friend; a female one is thoḻi or naṇbi. About an older friend one says the respectful form with -r. 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.