தொண்டை வலிக்குது
“தொண்டை வலிக்குது” (toṇḍai valikkudu) — a sore throat in Tamil. Phrase, level A2. thon-dai va-lik-ku-du; the nd is nasal with a retroflex d. In a live sentence: “நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு தொண்டை வலிக்குது” — I have had a sore throat since yesterday. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters த, ொ, ண, ், ட, ை, வ, ல, ி, க, ், க. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | தொண்டை வலிக்குது |
| Read in Latin letters | toṇḍai valikkudu |
| Translation | a sore throat |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- தொண்டை வலிக்குதுtoṇḍai valikkudua sore throat
How to pronounce it
thon-dai va-lik-ku-du; the nd is nasal with a retroflex d
Why it looks that way
The same pattern as the head-hurts phrase: first the place, then 'it hurts'
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.
- நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு தொண்டை வலிக்குதுnēṟṟila irundu eṉakku toṇḍai valikkuduI have had a sore throat since yesterday
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 “a sore throat” in Tamil?
«தொண்டை வலிக்குது», read “toṇḍai valikkudu”. thon-dai va-lik-ku-du; the nd is nasal with a retroflex d. In a live sentence: “நேற்றில இருந்து எனக்கு தொண்டை வலிக்குது” — I have had a sore throat since yesterday. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2; written with the characters த, ொ, ண, ், ட, ை, வ, ல, ி, க, ், க.
How is “தொண்டை வலிக்குது” written in Latin letters?
toṇḍai valikkudu. 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?
The same pattern as the head-hurts phrase: first the place, then 'it hurts'. 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.