துண்டுக் கணக்கா
“துண்டுக் கணக்கா” (tuṇḍuk kaṇakkā) — by the piece in Tamil. Adverb, level B1. Literally 'by the count of pieces'. There is no adverb of its own — this is a phrase. In a live sentence: “முட்டையை துண்டுக் கணக்கா விக்கிறாங்க” — Eggs are sold by the piece. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters த, ு, ண, ், ட, ு, க, ், க, ண, க, ். A word from the everyday Tamil course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | துண்டுக் கணக்கா |
| Read in Latin letters | tuṇḍuk kaṇakkā |
| Translation | by the piece |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | B1 |
- துண்டுக் கணக்காtuṇḍuk kaṇakkāby the piece
Why it looks that way
Literally 'by the count of pieces'. There is no adverb of its own — this is a phrase
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.
- முட்டையை துண்டுக் கணக்கா விக்கிறாங்கmuṭṭaiyai tuṇḍuk kaṇakkā vikkiṟāṅgaEggs are sold by the piece
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 “by the piece” in Tamil?
«துண்டுக் கணக்கா», read “tuṇḍuk kaṇakkā”. In a live sentence: “முட்டையை துண்டுக் கணக்கா விக்கிறாங்க” — Eggs are sold by the piece. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level B1; written with the characters த, ு, ண, ், ட, ு, க, ், க, ண, க, ்.
How is “துண்டுக் கணக்கா” written in Latin letters?
tuṇḍuk kaṇakkā. 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?
Literally 'by the count of pieces'. There is no adverb of its own — this is a phrase. 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.