LingoflyTransliteration of Tamil
A correspondence table between the Tamil script and Latin letters: 31 letters, with names and sounds. The rendering is practical — it exists so you can read aloud and be understood, not to meet a scholarly standard.
Tamil character → Latin
| Character | Name | In Latin | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| அ | a | a | Short 'a', as in 'cup' |
| ஆ | long a | aa | Long 'a' — held about twice as long as the short one |
| இ | i | i | The usual short 'i' as in 'bit' |
| ஈ | long i | ii | Long 'i' as in 'see' |
| உ | u | u | The usual short 'u' as in 'put' |
| ஊ | long u | uu | Long 'u' as in 'food' |
| எ | e | e | Short 'e', between the 'e' of 'bet' and the 'a' of 'bat' |
| ஏ | long e | ee | Long close 'e', like the 'ay' of 'pay' said without the glide |
| ஐ | ai | ai | The diphthong 'ai' as in 'ice' |
| ஒ | o | o | Short 'o', as in 'more' but shorter |
| ஓ | long o | oo | Long 'o' as in 'store' |
| ஔ | au | au | The diphthong 'au' as in 'how', in everyday speech 'av': ஔவை is read 'avvai'. It occurs in only a handful of words |
| க | ka | ka | 'K' at the start of a word and next to a consonant, 'g' between vowels, sometimes a light 'h' |
| ச | cha | cha | 'Ch' or 's' at the start of a word, 's' between vowels (பசி (pasi) is 'pasi'), 'j' after the nasal ஞ் |
| ட | hard ta | tta | Hard 't' with the tongue curled back; between vowels it softens to 'd' |
| த | soft ta | tha | Soft dental 't', the tongue at the upper teeth; between vowels it softens to 'd' |
| ப | pa | pa | 'P' at the start, 'b' between vowels |
| ற | hard ra | rra | A tapped 'r' with the tip of the tongue; in the cluster ன்ற it reads 'ndr', and the doubled ற்ற is 'tr' in the literary norm and 'tt' in colloquial speech |
| ங | nga | nga | Back 'ng', like the 'ng' of English 'sing' |
| ஞ | nya | nya | Soft nasal 'ny', as in the middle of 'canyon' |
| ண | hard na | nna | Hard 'n' with the tongue curled back |
| ந | soft na | na | Soft dental 'n'; words begin with it |
| ம | ma | ma | The usual 'm' |
| ன | final na | nn | The same 'n' to the ear, but written only in the middle and at the end of a word |
| ய | ya | ya | Like English 'y' |
| ர | ra | ra | A single-tap 'r' — the tt of American 'butter', never the curled r of English 'red' |
| ல | la | la | The usual 'l' |
| வ | va | va | Between 'v' and the English 'w' |
| ழ | zha | zha | A sound typical of Tamil (among its neighbours only Malayalam has it): the tongue is curled back and never touches the palate — something between 'zh', 'l' and an American 'r' |
| ள | hard la | lla | Hard 'l' with the tongue curled back |
| ஃ | aytham | h | A breath after a vowel; in modern words it serves the sound 'f' in the combination ஃப |
| ஜ | ja | ja | Like the 'j' of 'jam' |
| ஷ | sha | sha | Hard 'sh' with the tongue curled back |
| ஸ | sa | sa | The usual 's' — in purely Tamil words its place is taken by ச |
| ஹ | ha | ha | A breath, like English 'h' |
| ஶ | soft sha | sh (soft) | Soft 'sh'; it occurs almost only in the word ஶ்ரீ — 'shri' |
| க்ஷ | ksha | ksha | The cluster 'ksh' in one sign — from Sanskrit |
| ா | sign 'aa' | -aa | Long 'a': க — 'ka', கா — 'kaa'. A stick to the right of the letter |
| ி | sign 'i' | -i | Short 'i': கி — 'ki'. A hook above |
| ீ | sign 'ii' | -ii | Long 'i': கீ — 'kii'. The same hook with a loop |
| ு | sign 'u' | -u | Short 'u': கு — 'ku' |
| ூ | sign 'uu' | -uu | Long 'u': கூ — 'kuu'. It too attaches below |
| ெ | sign 'e' | -e | Short 'e': கெ — 'ke' |
| ே | sign 'ee' | -ee | Long 'e': கே — 'kee'. Also to the left |
| ை | sign 'ai' | -ai | The diphthong 'ai': கை — 'kai'. On the left, a double loop |
| ொ | sign 'o' | -o | Short 'o': கொ — 'ko'. The letter is taken into brackets from both sides |
| ோ | sign 'oo' | -oo | Long 'o': கோ — 'koo' |
| ௌ | sign 'au' | -au | The diphthong 'au': கௌ — 'kau', in everyday speech 'kav' |
| ் | pulli | - (pulli) | No vowel at all: க் — just 'k' |
How practical transliteration differs from the scholarly kind
Any script has several Latin renderings, and they solve different problems. The scholarly one (ISO, GOST) is reversible: the original spelling can be restored character for character — which is why it is full of marks that are not on any keyboard and that nobody ever reads aloud correctly.
The practical one solves the reverse problem: a person reads it aloud and is understood. That is what the table above uses, and that is what our courses use.
What to watch out for
Uyir — the twelve vowels. 'Uyir' means 'soul': Tamil grammar counts the vowel the soul of the syllable and the consonant its body. A vowel is written as a separate letter only at the beginning of a word.
Vallinam — the six hard ones. The row for the sake of which the Tamil classification is worth memorizing. Exactly these six letters change their sound by position in the word. At the start they are voiceless ('ka', 'pa'), between vowels voiced ('ga', 'ba'). There are no separate letters for the voiced ones in Tamil at all.
Mellinam — the six nasals. One nasal for each hard one: ங with க, ஞ with ச, ண with ட, ந with த, ம with ப, ன with ற. The pair always goes together, and the nasal lets one guess which consonant will come next.
Idaiyinam — the six middles. Semivowels and liquids. Here lives ழ — the sound typical of Tamil, after which the language names itself: தமிழ் (tamiḻ).
Aytham — the third class. One letter, neither a vowel nor a consonant. In old texts a breathing; in modern ones the combination ஃப renders 'f' in borrowings.
Grantha — letters for foreign sounds. Six signs taken from the grantha script for Sanskrit and English words. The Tamil classification does not count them: thirty-one letters means 12 vowels, 18 consonants and the aytham.
The vowel signs and the pulli. Shown on க (ka): a vowel sign is not written on its own. From கா the 'k' must be subtracted in one's head — and the very vowel the sign means remains. The signs 'e', 'ee' and 'ai' are written to the left of the letter although they sound after it. The signs 'u' and 'uu' fuse with the letter into a new sign.
Frequently asked
How to write Tamil text in Latin letters?
Using the table above, character by character. The practical rendering records sound, not spelling, so the original text cannot always be restored from it backwards.
Why do transliterations differ across sources?
Because they solve different problems: the scholarly one is reversible and precise, the practical one is readable, the passport one is fixed by the country's rules. They are not required to agree.