Lingoflyகத்துக்கிறன்
- கத்துக்கிறன்kattukkiṟaṉto study
“கத்துக்கிறன்” (kattukkiṟaṉ) — to study in Tamil. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. 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'. In a live sentence: “நான் தமிழ் கத்துக்கிறன்” (nāṉ tamiḻ kattukkiṟaṉ) — I study Tamil. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters க, த, ், த, ு, க, ், க, ி, ற, ன, ்.
In short
| Written in Tamil | கத்துக்கிறன் (kattukkiṟaṉ) |
| Read in Latin letters | kattukkiṟaṉ |
| Translation | to study |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
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'
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.
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
- வேணும்vēṇumwant; needBuilt like 'to me ... is wanted': eṉakku ṭī vēṇum, 'I need tea'. The wanting one stands in the 'to whom' form
- போறன்pōṟaṉto goTamil has no dictionary form at all: the lexicon holds the stem, and the verb is named in the first person, 'I go'. The ending -ēṉ is the 'I'. On foot or by bus — the verb is one
- சாப்பிடுறன்sāppiḍuṟaṉto eatFirst person, 'I eat'; the lexicon stem is sāppiṭu-. Nothing to do with 'there is, to have': existence is a different verb
- குடிக்கிறன்kuḍikkiṟaṉto drinkFirst person, 'I drink'. The same verb smokes: 'I drink a cigarette', literally
- பேசுறன்pēsuṟaṉto speakFirst person, 'I speak'. On the island the livelier verb is 'to chat', but this one is understood everywhere
- இருக்கிறன்irukkiṟaṉto beFirst person, 'I am'. Also 'I am located' and 'I live': 'I am in Jaffna' is how one says 'I live in Jaffna'
- தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறன்tērndeḍukkiṟaṉto chooseThe verb is given in the 'I do' form — here 'I choose'. In the shop people say it simpler: 'I will look and take'
- படிக்கிறன்paḍikkiṟaṉto be a studentIt also means 'I read': the root serves both studying and reading. The other verb is about mastering a skill
- ஞாபகம் வைக்கிறன்ñābagam vaikkiṟaṉto memorizeLiterally 'I place into memory': 'memory' is the first word. 'I forgot' is another verb
- பாக்கிறன்pākkiṟaṉto seepaak-ki-ran; 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 “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 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 eat” in Tamil?
First person, 'I eat'; the lexicon stem is sāppiṭu-. Nothing to do with 'there is, to have': existence is a different verb
- 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 be” in Tamil?
First person, 'I am'. Also 'I am located' and 'I live': 'I am in Jaffna' is how one says 'I live in Jaffna'
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 study” in Tamil?
«கத்துக்கிறன்» (kattukkiṟaṉ), read “kattukkiṟaṉ”. In a live sentence: “நான் தமிழ் கத்துக்கிறன்” (nāṉ tamiḻ kattukkiṟaṉ) — I study Tamil. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters க, த, ், த, ு, க, ், க, ி, ற, ன, ்.
How is “கத்துக்கிறன்” (kattukkiṟaṉ) written in Latin letters?
kattukkiṟaṉ. 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?
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'. 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.