நன்றி
“நன்றி” (naṉṟi) — thank you in Tamil. Interjection, level A0, topic — polite words. The letters ṉṟ sound as 'ndr', so the word runs nan-dri, not na-ri. You will hear it a dozen times a day. In a live sentence: “உதவிக்கு நன்றி” — Thank you for the help. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ன, ், ற, ி. One of 11 words in the set “polite words” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நன்றி |
| Read in Latin letters | naṉṟi |
| Translation | thank you |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A0 |
- நன்றிnaṉṟithank you
Why it looks that way
The letters ṉṟ sound as 'ndr', so the word runs nan-dri, not na-ri. You will hear it a dozen times a day
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.
- உதவிக்கு நன்றிudavikku naṉṟiThank you for the help
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- மன்னிக்கவும்maṉṉikkavumexcuse meBoth an apology and the polite way to open a talk with a stranger — the word you reach for before any question
- தயவுசெய்துtayavuseyduplease (when asking)Opens a request: tayavuseydu, give me tea. Never used as a reply to thank you — that slot stays empty in Tamil
- நீங்கnīṅgayou (polite)The polite you: for strangers, elders and everyone you are not on first-name terms with. Its verbs take the ending -īṅga
- எனக்கு வேண்டாம்eṉakku vēṇḍāmI don't need itThe negation of 'want; need'. At the market the polite refusal is exactly this word
- ஒரு நிமிஷம் இருங்கoru nimiṣam iruṅgawait a minuteLiterally 'be a minute'. 'Minute' is a Sanskrit loan; the bookish form has a d
- மரியாதையாmariyādaiyāpoliteThe root is 'respect' — the very thing for which an elder is spoken of with the plural you
- லேட்டா வந்ததுக்கு மன்னிக்கவும்lēṭṭā vandadukku maṉṉikkavumsorry for being lateLiterally 'for having come late, forgive'. The tail on the verbal noun means 'for the fact that'
- பரவாயில்லைparavāyillaino problemThe universal reply to an apology. With it one also answers 'it will do, not bad' when asked about quality
- பரவாயில்லைparavāyillaidon't mention itThe same word you know as 'no problem': one reply covers both thank you and the apology. Literally 'it will not spread', that is, no consequences will follow
- சந்திச்சது சந்தோஷம்sandiccadu sandōṣamnice to meet youThe same pattern as 'it was pleasant to talk': a verbal noun plus sandōṣam, 'joy'. Bookishly: sandittatil magizcci
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “thank you” in Tamil?
The letters ṉṟ sound as 'ndr', so the word runs nan-dri, not na-ri. You will hear it a dozen times a day
- How do you say “sorry for being late” in Tamil?
Literally 'for having come late, forgive'. The tail on the verbal noun means 'for the fact that'
- How do you say “you (polite)” in Tamil?
The polite you: for strangers, elders and everyone you are not on first-name terms with. Its verbs take the ending -īṅga
- How do you say “nice to meet you” in Tamil?
The same pattern as 'it was pleasant to talk': a verbal noun plus sandōṣam, 'joy'. Bookishly: sandittatil magizcci
- How do you say “polite” in Tamil?
The root is 'respect' — the very thing for which an elder is spoken of with the plural you
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 “thank you” in Tamil?
«நன்றி», read “naṉṟi”. In a live sentence: “உதவிக்கு நன்றி” — Thank you for the help. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters ந, ன, ், ற, ி.
How is “நன்றி” written in Latin letters?
naṉṟi. 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 letters ṉṟ sound as 'ndr', so the word runs nan-dri, not na-ri. You will hear it a dozen times a day. 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.