எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல
“எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல” (eṉakku uḍambu sariyilla) — I am not feeling well in Tamil. Phrase, level A1. Literally 'to me the body is not in order': the one in the state goes in the dative, while the body stands as the subject. In a live sentence: “இண்டைக்கு எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல, வேலைக்கு வரல” — Today I am not feeling well, I will not come to work. You can hear how it sounds right here. A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A1.
In short
| Written in Tamil | எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல |
| Read in Latin letters | eṉakku uḍambu sariyilla |
| Translation | I am not feeling well |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்லeṉakku uḍambu sariyillaI am not feeling well
Why it looks that way
Literally 'to me the body is not in order': the one in the state goes in the dative, while the body stands as the subject
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.
- இண்டைக்கு எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல, வேலைக்கு வரலiṇḍaikku eṉakku uḍambu sariyillai vēlaikku varalaiToday I am not feeling well, I will not come to work
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 “I am not feeling well” in Tamil?
«எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல», read “eṉakku uḍambu sariyilla”. In a live sentence: “இண்டைக்கு எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல, வேலைக்கு வரல” — Today I am not feeling well, I will not come to work. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1; written with the characters எ, ன, க, ், க, ு, உ, ட, ம, ், ப, ு.
How is “எனக்கு உடம்பு சரியில்ல” written in Latin letters?
eṉakku uḍambu sariyilla. 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 'to me the body is not in order': the one in the state goes in the dative, while the body stands as the subject. 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.