ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்
- ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉto ice-skate
“ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்” (skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ) — to ice-skate in Tamil. Phrase, level A1. No ice on the island, so the word arrived whole with television: the English 'skating' with sey, 'do', on the tail. For the diaspora in Canada it is already everyday. In a live sentence: “குளிர்காலத்தில ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்” (kuḷirkālattila skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ) — In winter I ice-skate. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ஸ, ், க, ே, ட, ், ட, ி, ங, ், ச, ெ…
In short
| Written in Tamil | ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன் (skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ) |
| Read in Latin letters | skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ |
| Translation | to ice-skate |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
No ice on the island, so the word arrived whole with television: the English 'skating' with sey, 'do', on the tail. For the diaspora in Canada it is already everyday
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.
- குளிர்காலத்தில ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்kuḷirkālattila skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉIn winter I ice-skate
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 ice-skate” in Tamil?
«ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்» (skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ), read “skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ”. In a live sentence: “குளிர்காலத்தில ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்” (kuḷirkālattila skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ) — In winter I ice-skate. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1; written with the characters ஸ, ், க, ே, ட, ், ட, ி, ங, ், ச, ெ…
How is “ஸ்கேட்டிங் செய்யிறன்” (skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ) written in Latin letters?
skēṭṭiṅ seyyiṟaṉ. 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?
No ice on the island, so the word arrived whole with television: the English 'skating' with sey, 'do', on the tail. For the diaspora in Canada it is already everyday. 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.