பெரும்பான்மை
“பெரும்பான்மை” (perumbāṉmai) — majority in Tamil. Noun, level B1. Perum, 'big', plus baanmai, 'share'. Newspapers use it of elections; in speech it is just 'the bigger part'. In a live sentence: “பெரும்பான்மை மக்கள் ஒத்துக்கொண்டாங்க” — The majority of people agreed. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ப, ெ, ர, ு, ம, ், ப, ா, ன, ், ம, ை. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | பெரும்பான்மை |
| Read in Latin letters | perumbāṉmai |
| Translation | majority |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- பெரும்பான்மைperumbāṉmaimajority
Why it looks that way
Perum, 'big', plus baanmai, 'share'. Newspapers use it of elections; in speech it is just 'the bigger part'
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.
- பெரும்பான்மை மக்கள் ஒத்துக்கொண்டாங்கperumbāṉmai makkaḷ ottukkoṇḍāṅgaThe majority of people agreed
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 “majority” in Tamil?
«பெரும்பான்மை», read “perumbāṉmai”. In a live sentence: “பெரும்பான்மை மக்கள் ஒத்துக்கொண்டாங்க” — The majority of people agreed. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1; written with the characters ப, ெ, ர, ு, ம, ், ப, ா, ன, ், ம, ை.
How is “பெரும்பான்மை” written in Latin letters?
perumbāṉmai. 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?
Perum, 'big', plus baanmai, 'share'. Newspapers use it of elections; in speech it is just 'the bigger part'. 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.