பல மடங்கு குறைவு
“பல மடங்கு குறைவு” (pala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivu) — many times less in Tamil. Phrase, level B1. Kuraivu, 'less', is already in the course as an adverb; multiplicity is added to it, and out comes a phrase, not a degree of comparison. In a live sentence: “இஞ்ச விலை பல மடங்கு குறைவு” — Here the price is many times less. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ப, ல, ம, ட, ங, ், க, ு, க, ு, ற, ை.
In short
| Written in Tamil | பல மடங்கு குறைவு |
| Read in Latin letters | pala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivu |
| Translation | many times less |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- பல மடங்கு குறைவுpala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivumany times less
Why it looks that way
Kuraivu, 'less', is already in the course as an adverb; multiplicity is added to it, and out comes a phrase, not a degree of comparison
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.
- இஞ்ச விலை பல மடங்கு குறைவுiñca vilai pala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivuHere the price is many times less
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 “many times less” in Tamil?
«பல மடங்கு குறைவு», read “pala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivu”. In a live sentence: “இஞ்ச விலை பல மடங்கு குறைவு” — Here the price is many times less. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters ப, ல, ம, ட, ங, ், க, ு, க, ு, ற, ை.
How is “பல மடங்கு குறைவு” written in Latin letters?
pala maḍaṅgu kuṟaivu. 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?
Kuraivu, 'less', is already in the course as an adverb; multiplicity is added to it, and out comes a phrase, not a degree of comparison. 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.