Lingoflyஎல்லையை கடக்கிறன்
- எல்லையை கடக்கிறன்ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉto cross the border
“எல்லையை கடக்கிறன்” (ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ) — to cross the border in Tamil. Phrase, level B1. Kada, 'to step across, to ford', the same verb as about crossing a street and a river. The ellai here is the same as in the speed limit. In a live sentence: “ஆவணம் இல்லாம எல்லையை கடக்க ஏலாது” (āvaṇam illāma ellaiyai kaḍakka ēlādu) — Without documents one cannot cross the border. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters எ, ல, ், ல, ை, ய, ை, க, ட, க, ், க…
In short
| Written in Tamil | எல்லையை கடக்கிறன் (ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ) |
| Read in Latin letters | ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ |
| Translation | to cross the border |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
kada, 'to step across, to ford', the same verb as about crossing a street and a river. The ellai here is the same as in the speed limit
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.
- ஆவணம் இல்லாம எல்லையை கடக்க ஏலாதுāvaṇam illāma ellaiyai kaḍakka ēlāduWithout documents one cannot cross the border
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 “to cross the border” in Tamil?
«எல்லையை கடக்கிறன்» (ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ), read “ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ”. In a live sentence: “ஆவணம் இல்லாம எல்லையை கடக்க ஏலாது” (āvaṇam illāma ellaiyai kaḍakka ēlādu) — Without documents one cannot cross the border. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters எ, ல, ், ல, ை, ய, ை, க, ட, க, ், க…
How is “எல்லையை கடக்கிறன்” (ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ) written in Latin letters?
ellaiyai kaḍakkiṟaṉ. 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?
Kada, 'to step across, to ford', the same verb as about crossing a street and a river. The ellai here is the same as in the speed limit. 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 this 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.