Lingoflyஎனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு
- எனக்கு பயமா இருக்குeṉakku bayamā irukkuI am scared
“எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு” (eṉakku bayamā irukku) — I am scared in Tamil. Phrase, level A2. The same scheme: the receiver in the 'to whom' form plus the feeling with -ā plus 'to be'. In a live sentence: “இருட்டில எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு” (iruṭṭila eṉakku bayamā irukku) — In the darkness I am scared. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters எ, ன, க, ், க, ு, ப, ய, ம, ா, இ, ர… A word from the everyday Tamil course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Tamil | எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு (eṉakku bayamā irukku) |
| Read in Latin letters | eṉakku bayamā irukku |
| Translation | I am scared |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
The same scheme: the receiver in the 'to whom' form plus the feeling with -ā plus 'to be'
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.
- இருட்டில எனக்கு பயமா இருக்குiruṭṭila eṉakku bayamā irukkuIn the darkness I am scared
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 scared” in Tamil?
«எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு» (eṉakku bayamā irukku), read “eṉakku bayamā irukku”. In a live sentence: “இருட்டில எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு” (iruṭṭila eṉakku bayamā irukku) — In the darkness I am scared. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2; written with the characters எ, ன, க, ், க, ு, ப, ய, ம, ா, இ, ர…
How is “எனக்கு பயமா இருக்கு” (eṉakku bayamā irukku) written in Latin letters?
eṉakku bayamā irukku. 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?
The same scheme: the receiver in the 'to whom' form plus the feeling with -ā plus 'to be'. 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.