நீளம்
“நீளம்” (nīḷam) — long in Tamil. Adjective, level A1, topic — basic words. nee-lam; the l is retroflex — do not confuse with 'blue', where the l is plain. In a live sentence: “இந்த வழி ரொம்ப நீளம்” — This road is very long. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ந, ீ, ள, ம, ். One of 315 words in the set “basic words” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | நீளம் |
| Read in Latin letters | nīḷam |
| Translation | long |
| Part of speech | adjective |
| Level | A1 |
- நீளம்nīḷamlong
How to pronounce it
nee-lam; the l is retroflex — do not confuse with 'blue', where the l is plain
Why it looks that way
Also 'length'. Before a verb it takes the adverb tail: 'the queue is long'
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.
- இந்த வழி ரொம்ப நீளம்inda vaḻi romba nīḷamThis road is very long
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- நல்லnallagoodStands only in front of a noun: nalla aḷ, a good person. To say 'he is good' you need a different form, nallavar
- ஆமாம்āmāmyesIn conversation people often skip it and repeat the verb instead: 'Are you going?' — 'Going'
- இல்லைillainoAlso the all-purpose negator: after a verb it stands last — Tamil says 'I come not' for 'I am not coming'
- பெரியperiyabigOnly before a noun. 'It is big' switches to perisu: itu perisu. The same word names the elder of a family: periyappā, 'father's elder brother'
- சின்னsiṉṉasmallThe partner of periya, with the same rule: before a noun ciṉṉa, on its own ciṉṉatu. Also 'younger': ciṉṉammā, 'mother's younger sister'
- அழகுaḻagubeautifulThe noun 'beauty' working as a verdict: 'this is beauty' means 'this is beautiful'. Before a noun it becomes aḻagāṉa
- அரைaraihalfStands before the word: 'half kilo', 'half hour'
- இன்னொண்ணுiṉṉoṇṇuone more'Still' plus 'one'. The bookish form is 'one more' with a different spine
- போதும்pōdumenoughThis is what stops the pouring or the serving: 'enough, enough'
- மொத்தம்mottamin totalAltogether, as the sum: 'how much in total?'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “long” in Tamil?
Also 'length'. Before a verb it takes the adverb tail: 'the queue is long'
- How do you say “half” in Tamil?
Stands before the word: 'half kilo', 'half hour'
- How do you say “no” in Tamil?
Also the all-purpose negator: after a verb it stands last — Tamil says 'I come not' for 'I am not coming'
- How do you say “in total” in Tamil?
Altogether, as the sum: 'how much in total?'
- How do you say “beautiful” in Tamil?
The noun 'beauty' working as a verdict: 'this is beauty' means 'this is beautiful'. Before a noun it becomes aḻagāṉa
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 “long” in Tamil?
«நீளம்», read “nīḷam”. nee-lam; the l is retroflex — do not confuse with 'blue', where the l is plain. In a live sentence: “இந்த வழி ரொம்ப நீளம்” — This road is very long. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adjective, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ந, ீ, ள, ம, ்.
How is “நீளம்” written in Latin letters?
nīḷam. 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?
Also 'length'. Before a verb it takes the adverb tail: 'the queue is long'. 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.