வணக்கம்
“வணக்கம்” (vaṇakkam) — hello in Tamil. Interjection, level A0, topic — greetings and goodbyes. va-NAK-kam; hold the double kk about twice as long as a single k — length changes words in Tamil. In a live sentence: “வணக்கம், நான் இவான்” — Hello, I am Ivan. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters வ, ண, க, ், க, ம, ். One of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | வணக்கம் |
| Read in Latin letters | vaṇakkam |
| Translation | hello |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A0 |
- வணக்கம்vaṇakkamhello
How to pronounce it
va-NAK-kam; hold the double kk about twice as long as a single k — length changes words in Tamil
Why it looks that way
Literally 'a bowing', said with palms together before the chest, at any hour of the day. Tamil keeps no separate casual greeting: vaṇakkam serves the elder and the friend alike
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.
- வணக்கம், நான் இவான்vaṇakkam, nāṉ ivāṉHello, I am Ivan
Nearby words: greetings and goodbyes
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
- எப்படி இருக்க?eppaḍi irukka?how are you (informal)?The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?eppaḍi irukkīṅga?how are you?Literally 'how are you keeping?' The ending -īṅga is the polite you — the same one you meet all over the course
- நல்லா இருக்கேன்nallā irukkēṉI am doing wellThe standard answer to eppadi. Literally 'I am being well': Tamil states a condition where English reaches for a verb
- போயிட்டு வாறேன்pōyiṭṭu vāṟēṉgoodbyeLiterally 'I will go and come back'. Saying a plain 'I am leaving' is bad luck, so you always promise to return
- காலை வணக்கம்kālai vaṇakkamgood morningYou know vaṇakkam, the greeting for all day, and kālai, 'morning'. The island keeps no separate morning ritual: the compound sounds on the radio, while in the yard neighbours say plain vaṇakkam — and immediately ask whether you have eaten
- மதிய வணக்கம்madiya vaṇakkamgood afternoonAssembled like kālai vaṇakkam, which you know: only the first word changes. Madhiyam is noon
- மாலை வணக்கம்mālai vaṇakkamgood eveningMālai is 'evening' — you know this word separately. Before sleep one says iṉiya iravu, and that is no longer a greeting
- இனிய இரவுiṉiya iravugood nightLiterally 'a sweet night'. Said when parting for bed, never on meeting — in the evening the greeting is mālai vaṇakkam
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “greetings and goodbyes”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hello” in Tamil?
Literally 'a bowing', said with palms together before the chest, at any hour of the day. Tamil keeps no separate casual greeting: vaṇakkam serves the elder and the friend alike
- How do you say “good evening” in Tamil?
Mālai is 'evening' — you know this word separately. Before sleep one says iṉiya iravu, and that is no longer a greeting
- How do you say “good morning” in Tamil?
You know vaṇakkam, the greeting for all day, and kālai, 'morning'. The island keeps no separate morning ritual: the compound sounds on the radio, while in the yard neighbours say plain vaṇakkam — and immediately ask whether you have eaten
- How do you say “I am doing well” in Tamil?
The standard answer to eppadi. Literally 'I am being well': Tamil states a condition where English reaches for a verb
- How do you say “how are you (informal)?” in Tamil?
The same question with the polite -ṅga taken off: for a peer, someone younger, a close friend. To an elder or a stranger only the full form eppaḍi irukkīṅga will do
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 “hello” in Tamil?
«வணக்கம்», read “vaṇakkam”. va-NAK-kam; hold the double kk about twice as long as a single k — length changes words in Tamil. In a live sentence: “வணக்கம், நான் இவான்” — Hello, I am Ivan. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A0, from the set “greetings and goodbyes”; written with the characters வ, ண, க, ், க, ம, ்.
How is “வணக்கம்” written in Latin letters?
vaṇakkam. 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 'a bowing', said with palms together before the chest, at any hour of the day. Tamil keeps no separate casual greeting: vaṇakkam serves the elder and the friend alike. 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.