ஒம்பது
“ஒம்பது” (ombadu) — nine in Tamil. Numeral, level A1, topic — numbers and counting. The spoken form of the bookish oṉbadu. Yet 'nine hundred' is not built from it but from the thousand: toḷḷāyiram. In a live sentence: “கடை ஒம்பது மணிக்கு திறக்கும்” — The shop opens at nine. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ஒ, ம, ், ப, த, ு. One of 59 words in the set “numbers and counting” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | ஒம்பது |
| Read in Latin letters | ombadu |
| Translation | nine |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A1 |
- ஒம்பதுombadunine
Why it looks that way
The spoken form of the bookish oṉbadu. Yet 'nine hundred' is not built from it but from the thousand: toḷḷāyiram
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.
- கடை ஒம்பது மணிக்கு திறக்கும்kaḍai ombadu maṇikku tiṟakkumThe shop opens at nine
Nearby words: numbers and counting
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
- ஒண்ணுoṇṇuoneThe spoken form of the bookish oṉṛu
- ரெண்டுreṇḍutwoThe spoken form of the bookish iraṇḍu. Before a hundred the bookish stem returns: irunūṟu, 'two hundred'
- மூணுmūṇuthreeThe spoken form of the bookish mūnṛu. In the hundreds the bookish stem is back: munnūṟu, 'three hundred'
- நாலுnālufourThe spoken form of the bookish nānku. The ordinal is built from the spoken one: nālāvadu, 'fourth'
- அஞ்சுañcufiveThe spoken form of the bookish aintu. The hundred takes the bookish stem, aiṉṉūṟu, while the ordinal takes the spoken one, añcāvadu
- ஆறுāṟusixThe word also means 'river': āṟu is both the number and the thing that flows
- ஏழுēḻusevenStarts with the long ē and carries the ḻ. Before a hundred and a ten the stem shortens: eḻunūṟu, eḻubadu
- எட்டுeṭṭueightHold the doubled ṭṭ long. In the hundreds it vanishes entirely: eṇṇūṟu, 'eight hundred'
- பத்துpattutenBefore another number it turns into pathi-: pathinoṇḍu, 'eleven'; pathaiñcu, 'fifteen'
- கிலோkilōkilogramIn the shop one simply says 'a kilo'. Half a kilo is 'half kilo', a quarter is 'quarter kilo'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “numbers and counting”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “nine” in Tamil?
The spoken form of the bookish oṉbadu. Yet 'nine hundred' is not built from it but from the thousand: toḷḷāyiram
- How do you say “seven” in Tamil?
Starts with the long ē and carries the ḻ. Before a hundred and a ten the stem shortens: eḻunūṟu, eḻubadu
- How do you say “three” in Tamil?
The spoken form of the bookish mūnṛu. In the hundreds the bookish stem is back: munnūṟu, 'three hundred'
- How do you say “kilogram” in Tamil?
In the shop one simply says 'a kilo'. Half a kilo is 'half kilo', a quarter is 'quarter kilo'
- How do you say “six” in Tamil?
The word also means 'river': āṟu is both the number and the thing that flows
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 “nine” in Tamil?
«ஒம்பது», read “ombadu”. In a live sentence: “கடை ஒம்பது மணிக்கு திறக்கும்” — The shop opens at nine. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Numeral, level A1, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters ஒ, ம, ், ப, த, ு.
How is “ஒம்பது” written in Latin letters?
ombadu. 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 spoken form of the bookish oṉbadu. Yet 'nine hundred' is not built from it but from the thousand: toḷḷāyiram. 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.