ஓய்வு நேரம்
“ஓய்வு நேரம்” (ōyvu nēram) — break in Tamil. Noun, level A2. Literally 'rest time'. The school recess and the vacation each keep their own words — Tamil spends three where English spends one. In a live sentence: “ஓய்வு நேரம் அரை மணித்தியாலம்” — The break is half an hour. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ஓ, ய, ், வ, ு, ந, ே, ர, ம, ். A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | ஓய்வு நேரம் |
| Read in Latin letters | ōyvu nēram |
| Translation | break |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
- ஓய்வு நேரம்ōyvu nērambreak
Why it looks that way
Literally 'rest time'. The school recess and the vacation each keep their own words — Tamil spends three where English spends one
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.
- ஓய்வு நேரம் அரை மணித்தியாலம்ōyvu nēram arai maṇittiyālamThe break is half an hour
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 “break” in Tamil?
«ஓய்வு நேரம்», read “ōyvu nēram”. In a live sentence: “ஓய்வு நேரம் அரை மணித்தியாலம்” — The break is half an hour. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A2; written with the characters ஓ, ய, ், வ, ு, ந, ே, ர, ம, ்.
How is “ஓய்வு நேரம்” written in Latin letters?
ōyvu nēram. 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?
Literally 'rest time'. The school recess and the vacation each keep their own words — Tamil spends three where English spends one. 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.