சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம்
“சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம்” (suṟṟulā mugavar nilaiyam) — travel agency in Tamil. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. 'Touring' plus 'agent, middleman'. A signboard word; in speech one says the English 'travels'. In a live sentence: “டிக்கட்டை சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையத்தில எடுத்தேன்” — I bought the ticket at a travel agency. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ச, ு, ற, ், ற, ு, ல, ா, ம, ு, க, வ.
In short
| Written in Tamil | சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம் |
| Read in Latin letters | suṟṟulā mugavar nilaiyam |
| Translation | travel agency |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம்suṟṟulā mugavar nilaiyamtravel agency
Why it looks that way
'Touring' plus 'agent, middleman'. A signboard word; in speech one says the English 'travels'
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.
- டிக்கட்டை சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையத்தில எடுத்தேன்ṭikkaṭṭai suṟṟulā mugavari nilaiyattila eḍuttēṉI bought the ticket at a travel agency
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- இலங்கைilaṅkaiSri LankaThe same word as Sinhala 'Lanka': both peoples call the island by one name
- யாழ்ப்பாணம்yāḻppāṇamJaffnaThe great Tamil city of the island — and its name carries that very ḻ sound
- கடல்kaḍalseaBefore another word it becomes kaḍaṟ-: kaḍaṟkarai, 'the seashore'. The island is ringed by sea on three sides, and the word is heard everywhere
- விமான நிலையம்vimāṉa nilaiyamairport'Station' — the same word as in the post office
- விடுதிviḍudihotelOn the island the English 'hotel' more often means an eatery, while one sleeps in this kind of place — do not mix up the signs
- கடற்கரைkaḍaṟkaraibeachka-dar-kay-ray; the r here is a firm r, not an l
- துறைமுகம்tuṟaimugamporttu-ray-mu-gam; the r is rolled, the g between vowels sounds like g
- காடுkāḍuforestkaa-du; the t between vowels sounds like d, at the start it would be t
- மலைmalaimountainAlso a hill on the larger side. The island's hill country is 'mountain land'
- பஸ் நிலையம்pas nilaiyambus stationNilaiyam is 'station': one stop is a bus stop, but the place all the routes start from is the bus station
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “travel agency” in Tamil?
'Touring' plus 'agent, middleman'. A signboard word; in speech one says the English 'travels'
- How do you say “port” in Tamil?
'Landing, branch' plus 'face, mouth of a river'
- How do you say “sea” in Tamil?
Before another word it becomes kaḍaṟ-: kaḍaṟkarai, 'the seashore'. The island is ringed by sea on three sides, and the word is heard everywhere
- How do you say “bus station” in Tamil?
Nilaiyam is 'station': one stop is a bus stop, but the place all the routes start from is the bus station
- How do you say “beach” in Tamil?
'Sea' plus 'shore'. In the pair the l turns into the rolled r
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 “travel agency” in Tamil?
«சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம்», read “suṟṟulā mugavar nilaiyam”. In a live sentence: “டிக்கட்டை சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையத்தில எடுத்தேன்” — I bought the ticket at a travel agency. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters ச, ு, ற, ், ற, ு, ல, ா, ம, ு, க, வ.
How is “சுற்றுலா முகவர் நிலையம்” written in Latin letters?
suṟṟulā mugavar nilaiyam. 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?
'Touring' plus 'agent, middleman'. A signboard word; in speech one says the English 'travels'. 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.