படுக்கிறேன்
“படுக்கிறேன்” (paḍukkiṟēṉ) — to lie in Tamil. Verb, level A1. Also 'to go to bed'. The bed is padukkai, hence padukkai arai, the bedroom. In a live sentence: “நான் பத்து மணிக்கு படுக்கிறேன்” — I go to bed at ten. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ப, ட, ு, க, ், க, ி, ற, ே, ன, ். A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | படுக்கிறேன் |
| Read in Latin letters | paḍukkiṟēṉ |
| Translation | to lie |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- படுக்கிறேன்paḍukkiṟēṉto lie
Why it looks that way
Also 'to go to bed'. The bed is padukkai, hence padukkai arai, the bedroom
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.
- நான் பத்து மணிக்கு படுக்கிறேன்nāṉ pattu maṇikku paḍukkiṟēṉI go to bed at ten
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 “to lie” in Tamil?
«படுக்கிறேன்», read “paḍukkiṟēṉ”. In a live sentence: “நான் பத்து மணிக்கு படுக்கிறேன்” — I go to bed at ten. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1; written with the characters ப, ட, ு, க, ், க, ி, ற, ே, ன, ்.
How is “படுக்கிறேன்” written in Latin letters?
paḍukkiṟēṉ. 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 'to go to bed'. The bed is padukkai, hence padukkai arai, the bedroom. 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.