வேணும்
“வேணும்” (vēṇum) — want; need in Tamil. Verb, level A0, topic — verbs. Built like 'to me ... is wanted': eṉakku ṭī vēṇum, 'I need tea'. The wanting one stands in the dative. In a live sentence: “எனக்கு டீ வேணும்” — I need tea. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters வ, ே, ண, ு, ம, ். One of 27 words in the set “verbs” in the Tamil course.
In short
| Written in Tamil | வேணும் |
| Read in Latin letters | vēṇum |
| Translation | want; need |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A0 |
- வேணும்vēṇumwant; need
Why it looks that way
Built like 'to me ... is wanted': eṉakku ṭī vēṇum, 'I need tea'. The wanting one stands in the dative
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.
- எனக்கு டீ வேணும்eṉakku ṭī vēṇumI need tea
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- போறேன்pōṟēṉto goThe course gives the first-person form, 'I go': Tamil has no dictionary form at all, the stem stands in the lexicon. The ending -ēṉ is the 'I'. On foot or by bus — the verb is one
- சாப்பிடறேன்sāppiḍaṟēṉto eatFirst person, 'I eat'; the lexicon stem is sāppiṭu-. Nothing to do with 'there is, to have': existence is a different verb
- குடிக்கிறேன்kuḍikkiṟēṉto drinkFirst person, 'I drink'. The same verb smokes: 'I drink a cigarette', literally
- பேசுறேன்pēsuṟēṉto speakFirst person, 'I speak'. On the island the livelier verb is 'to chat', but this one is understood everywhere
- இருக்கேன்irukkēṉto beFirst person, 'I am'. Also 'I am located' and 'I live': 'I am in Jaffna' is how one says 'I live in Jaffna'
- கத்துக்கிறேன்kattukkiṟēṉto studyFirst person, 'I learn, I study'. One word for both 'to study something' and 'to be a student'. Teaching someone is a different verb — literally 'to give learning'
- தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறேன்tērndeḍukkiṟēṉto chooseThe verb is given in the 'I do' form — here 'I choose'. In the shop people say it simpler: 'I will look and take'
- படிக்கிறேன்paḍikkiṟēṉto be a studentIt also means 'I read': the root serves both studying and reading. The verb you know is about mastering a skill
- ஞாபகம் வைக்கிறேன்ñābagam vaikkiṟēṉto memorizeLiterally 'I place into memory': 'memory' is the first word. 'I forgot' is another verb
- பாக்கிறேன்pākkiṟēṉto seepaak-ki-ren; the ṟ is a rolled r, crisper than the soft r of maram
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “want; need” in Tamil?
Built like 'to me ... is wanted': eṉakku ṭī vēṇum, 'I need tea'. The wanting one stands in the dative
- How do you say “to choose” in Tamil?
The verb is given in the 'I do' form — here 'I choose'. In the shop people say it simpler: 'I will look and take'
- How do you say “to drink” in Tamil?
First person, 'I drink'. The same verb smokes: 'I drink a cigarette', literally
- How do you say “to see” in Tamil?
The spoken form of the bookish verb. It also means 'to look': there is no separate word, and 'I am watching a film' is 'I see a picture'. The negation is 'I don't see'
- How do you say “to study” in Tamil?
First person, 'I learn, I study'. One word for both 'to study something' and 'to be a student'. Teaching someone is a different verb — literally 'to give learning'
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 “want; need” in Tamil?
«வேணும்», read “vēṇum”. In a live sentence: “எனக்கு டீ வேணும்” — I need tea. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A0, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters வ, ே, ண, ு, ம, ்.
How is “வேணும்” written in Latin letters?
vēṇum. 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?
Built like 'to me ... is wanted': eṉakku ṭī vēṇum, 'I need tea'. The wanting one stands in the dative. 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.