தும்முறேன்
“தும்முறேன்” (tummuṟēṉ) — to sneeze in Tamil. Verb, level A2. tum-mu-ren; the mm is long, the r is rolled. In a live sentence: “சளி பிடிச்சு நான் தும்முறேன்” — I sneeze because of the runny nose. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters த, ு, ம, ், ம, ு, ற, ே, ன, ். A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | தும்முறேன் |
| Read in Latin letters | tummuṟēṉ |
| Translation | to sneeze |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A2 |
- தும்முறேன்tummuṟēṉto sneeze
How to pronounce it
tum-mu-ren; the mm is long, the r is rolled
Why it looks that way
Coughing is another verb; the two sound close, and even children mix them up
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.
- சளி பிடிச்சு நான் தும்முறேன்saḷi piḍiccu nāṉ tummuṟēṉI sneeze because of the runny nose
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 sneeze” in Tamil?
«தும்முறேன்», read “tummuṟēṉ”. tum-mu-ren; the mm is long, the r is rolled. In a live sentence: “சளி பிடிச்சு நான் தும்முறேன்” — I sneeze because of the runny nose. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A2; written with the characters த, ு, ம, ், ம, ு, ற, ே, ன, ்.
How is “தும்முறேன்” written in Latin letters?
tummuṟēṉ. 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?
Coughing is another verb; the two sound close, and even children mix them up. 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.