Lingoflyகரண்ட் போயிட்டுது
- கரண்ட் போயிட்டுதுkaraṇṭ pōyiṭṭuduthe lights went out
“கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது” (karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu) — the lights went out in Tamil. Phrase, level A1. 'Current' is the English current, and on the island it is the first word about the light in a house. It does not 'switch off' but 'goes away'; when it returns, they say 'the current has come'. 'To switch off the light' is about the switch, not about the darkness of the whole block. In a live sentence: “திடீரெண்டு கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது” (tiḍīreṇḍu karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu) — Suddenly the lights went out.
In short
| Written in Tamil | கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது (karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu) |
| Read in Latin letters | karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu |
| Translation | the lights went out |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
'Current' is the English current, and on the island it is the first word about the light in a house. It does not 'switch off' but 'goes away'; when it returns, they say 'the current has come'. 'To switch off the light' is about the switch, not about the darkness of the whole block
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.
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 “the lights went out” in Tamil?
«கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது» (karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu), read “karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu”. In a live sentence: “திடீரெண்டு கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது” (tiḍīreṇḍu karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu) — Suddenly the lights went out. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1; written with the characters க, ர, ண, ், ட, ், ப, ோ, ய, ி, ட, ்…
How is “கரண்ட் போயிட்டுது” (karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu) written in Latin letters?
karaṇṭ pōyiṭṭudu. 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?
'Current' is the English current, and on the island it is the first word about the light in a house. It does not 'switch off' but 'goes away'; when it returns, they say 'the current has come'. 'To switch off the light' is about the switch, not about the darkness of the whole block. 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.