LingoflyThe city and its places in Tamil
94 words in Tamil on the topic “the city and its places”: கடை (kaḍai) — shop, சந்தை (sandai) — market, மருந்துக்கடை (marundukkaḍai) — pharmacy, வங்கி (vaṅgi) — bank. 94 words can be played from recordings.
94 words on the topic
- கடைkaḍaishopHere the position rule is audible: ḍ between vowels stays soft d — kaḍay, not kaṭay
- சந்தைsandaimarketA relative of candi, 'meeting, crossroads': a market is the place where people come together. Don't mix them up: the market ends in ஐ
- மருந்துக்கடைmarundukkaḍaipharmacyMarundu is 'medicine', kaḍai is 'shop'. Compound words in Tamil assemble exactly like this, edge to edge
- வங்கிvaṅgibankThe English bank written in Tamil script. In live speech people more often just say 'bank'
- சாலைsālaistreetA road you drive on. The way in general and the lane are vaḻi; a small side street is 'the inner road'
- மளிகைக் கடைmaḷigaik kaḍaigrocery storema-li-gay ka-day; the ḷ is made with the tongue curled back — not the plain l
- வரிசைvarisaiqueueAlso 'a row'. 'Stand in the queue' is 'stand in the row'. People often say the English 'queue' too
- திறந்திருக்குtiṟandirukkuis openLiterally 'stands opened'. On the door they write the longer bookish form
- மூடியிருக்குmūḍiyirukkuis closedThe partner of 'is open'. If it is locked with a key, a third form appears: 'is locked'
- மாடிmāḍifloor (storey)Also 'the top of a house': a house of two māḍi is a two-storey house
- லிப்ட்lifṭliftThe English lift. The bookish word for it is never met in speech
- படிக்கட்டுpaḍikkaṭṭustaircasepa-di-kat-tu; a single ṭ between vowels sounds like d, the doubled ṭṭ is voiceless and long
- ஆஸ்பத்திரிāspattirihospitalA remade English hospital. The bookish word is 'the house of medicine'
- அலுவலகம்aluvalagamoffice'Business' plus 'house'. The door will bear this word, in speech people say the English 'office'
- தபால் நிலையம்tabāl nilaiyampost office'Mail' plus 'station'. The same 'station' word names the bus station
- கூட்டம்kūṭṭamcrowdThe very word that meant 'a gathering': one word for the people in a hall and the people on a square. The place tells them apart, not the form
- போக்குவரத்து விளக்குpōkkuvarattu viḷakkutraffic lightpook-ku-va-rat-tu vi-lak-ku; the l is retroflex
- சைக்கிள்saikkiḷbicycleThe English cycle. 'I go by bicycle' is 'I go on the cycle'
- பஸ் நிறுத்தம்bas niṟuttambus stopbas ni-rut-tam; the r is rolled, the tt long
- சீசன் டிக்கட்sīsaṉ ṭikkaṭseason ticketThe Lankan season ticket — a monthly travel pass for schoolchildren and workers
- வழித்தடம்vaḻittaḍambus routeva-lit-ta-dam; the zh is curled back, the th after t sounds like d
- சீப்ரா கிராஸிங்sībrā krāsiṅzebra crossingThe English zebra crossing, and that is what it is called aloud
- வாகன நெரிசல்vāgaṉa nerisaltraffic jamThe root is 'a crush, a squeeze' — about the crowd and about cars alike. In speech people say the English 'traffic'
- வாகனத் தரிப்பிடம்vāgaṉat tarippiḍamcar park'To halt' plus 'place'. The sign says exactly this; aloud people say the English 'parking'
- எரிபொருள் நிலையம்eriporuḷ nilaiyampetrol statione-ri-po-rul ni-lay-yam; the l is retroflex
- பூங்காpūṅgāparkpoon-gaa; the ng is the nasal n before g, as in English 'sing'
- நூலகம்nūlagamlibrary'Book, thread' plus 'house'. The house ending builds buildings: the library, and the hotel too, but differently
- அருங்காட்சியகம்aruṅgāṭciyagammuseuma-run-gaat-chi-ya-gam; the tc reads as 'tch'
- நாடக அரங்கம்nāḍaga araṅgamtheatre'Play' plus 'hall'. The hall word on its own is any hall with a stage
- திரையரங்கம்tiraiyaraṅgamcinemaBuilt on 'screen'. In speech people say the English 'cinema hall' or simply 'theatre'
- தேவாலயம்tēvālayamchurch'Divine' plus 'sanctuary'. The Catholic north of Lanka also says the temple word about a church
- விளையாட்டரங்குviḷaiyāṭṭaraṅgustadiumvi-lay-yaat-ta-ran-gu; the l is retroflex, the tt long
- சந்திsandicrossroadsFrom sandhi, 'to meet': the place where streets meet. Do not mix up with the market word — that one ends in a different vowel
- நடைபாதைnaḍaipādaipavementnadai 'walking' + paadhai 'a path'. In the northern towns there is often no pavement at all, so the word is heard more in the news
- பெரிய வீதிperiya vīdiboulevardTamil keeps no separate word for a boulevard: a wide street is called 'the big street'. The bookish form adds 'great'
- ஒழுங்கைoḻuṅgaialleyo-lun-gai; the zh is the tongue-curled-back sound of the word Tamil
- கடற்கரை வீதிkaḍaṟkarai vīdiseafrontLiterally 'the street by the sea shore': kadarkarai, 'beach', plus the street word. Tamil never grew a separate name for it
- பாலம்pālambridgeBoth the bridge over a river and the figurative 'a bridge between people'. A footbridge takes the walking word in front
- சுரங்கப் பாதைsuraṅgap pādaitunnelsurangam, 'an underground passage, a mine', + paadhai. The underpass beneath a street is called the same
- தெரு விளக்குteru viḷakkulamp postvilakku is any lamp, from a room light to the temple flame; the street kind is pinned down by the 'street' word
- வாங்குvāṅgubenchWritten like 'buy!' and sounding the same — only the place in the sentence tells them apart. The bookish word for a seat is another one
- குப்பைக் கூடைkuppaik kūḍaistreet binkoodai is 'a basket' — the street kind; the big vat in the yard is called by the garbage-vat phrase
- பஸ் சாரதிbas sāradibus driversaaradhi is the bookish 'charioteer', and on the island it names any driver; in conversation the English 'driver' lives too
- கடைசி நிறுத்தம்kaḍaisi niṟuttamlast stopkadai means 'last' — the same word as in 'the last day'. The whole bus station is another phrase
- வழி இலக்கம்vaḻi ilakkamroute numberilakkam is the island word for a number; Tamil Nadu puts the other one in its place. vazhi here is 'a way, a route'
- நெரிசல் நேரம்nerisal nēramrush hourNerisal, 'a crush, a jam', is the same word as in a traffic jam. Literally 'the crush time'
- பஸ் நேர அட்டவணைbas nēra aṭṭavaṇaibus timetableattavanai is any table: a schedule and a school report card alike. At the stop people more often simply ask when the bus goes
- கட்டணம் கட்டுறன்kaṭṭaṇam kaṭṭuṟaṉto pay the farekattanam, 'the fare', and katturan, 'I pay', are of one root — hence the doubling. On the bus the conductor will just say 'money'
- இடம் பிடிக்கிறன்iḍam piḍikkiṟaṉto take a seatThe same pidikkiran verb as in 'I like it', but here it means 'I grab, I catch': I catch a place
- டாக்ஸி கூப்பிடுறன்ṭāksi kūppiḍuṟaṉto call a taxikooppiduran is 'I call' — a taxi or a person alike. Through an app people say 'I book it on the app'
- அடுத்த நிறுத்தத்தில இறங்குறன்aḍutta niṟuttattila iṟaṅguṟaṉto get off at the next stopiranguran is 'I go down' — from the bus, the train, the hill. Getting in is the opposite: 'I climb up'
- பகுதிpagudineighbourhoodBoth a district of the city and a part of anything: 'the first part'. The administrative county takes another word
- நகர மையம்nagara maiyamtown centremaiyam, 'the middle, the centre'. In live speech people more often just say the English 'down' — into town, that is, to the centre
- புறநகர்puṟanagaroutskirtspuram 'the outer side' + nagar 'the city'. The same puram sits in the gossip word — 'talking behind one's back'
- கட்டுமானம்kaṭṭumāṉamconstruction siteFrom kattu, 'to build, to tie'. The word covers both the site and construction as an industry
- வீதி திருத்தம்vīdi tiruttamroad worksthiruththam is 'a correction': both the mending of a road and an amendment in a text. Repairing devices is a different word
- வழிகாட்டிப் பலகைvaḻikāṭṭip palagaisignpostpalagai is 'a board' — the same as in the chopping board. vazhikaatti means 'the one that shows the way'
- பொது கழிவறைpodu kaḻivaṟaipublic toiletpodhu 'common, public' + the toilet word. At home the same room is called just by its own word or the English 'toilet'
- துப்பரவானtupparavāṉacleanAn island word: everyone in the north knows thupparavu, 'cleanliness'; Tamil Nadu puts another word in its place
- அழுக்கானaḻukkāṉadirtyFrom azhukku, 'dirt'. A muddy road after rain is more likely called by the mire word
- கூட்டமாkūṭṭamācrowdedFrom koottam, which means both 'a crowd' and 'a meeting'. Here it is about the crowd: 'it is crowded' is 'there is a crowd'
- கிராமம்kirāmamvillageA bookish word; in conversation the same oor serves. 'In the village' sounds a shade more official
- தலைநகரம்talainagaramcapitalThalai, 'head', plus nagaram, 'city'
- பொது போக்குவரத்துpodu pōkkuvarattupublic transportPodhu, 'shared', plus pokkuvaraththu, 'coming and going'. The same second word means traffic and a traffic jam
- மழலையர் பாடசாலைmaḻalaiyar pāḍasālaikindergartenma-zha-lai-yar paa-da-saa-lai; the zh and the l side by side are two different l's — the first curled, the second plain
- விளையாட்டு மைதானம்viḷaiyāṭṭu maidāṉamplaygroundMaidhaanam is any open ground, from playground to football field. Vilaiyaattu means 'sport'
- நீரூற்றுnīrūṟṟufountainnee-root-ru; the ṟṟ is 'tr' in the literary norm and 'tt' in colloquial speech
- மயானம்mayāṉamcemeteryOn the island it is both a burial ground and a burning ground: Hindus burn the body, and one word covers both rites
- தீயணைப்பு வண்டிtīyaṇaippu vaṇḍifire engineThe same fire-quenching root as in firefighter, plus vandi. One vandi serves cart, bus and car alike
- வீதித் தொகுதிvīdit togudicity blockTogudi is 'a set, a bundle'; in the news the same word means an electoral district
- சிறு பூங்காsiṟu pūṅgāsmall parkSiru is 'small', the bookish partner of the spoken ciṉṉa. A big park is simply 'a garden'
- டவர்ḍavartowerThe English tower: the native word is taken by the temple gopuram
- உபநகர்upanagarsuburbThe Sanskrit prefix upa-, 'under, near'. The native word means the outskirts
- சிற்றூர்siṟṟūrtown'Small' plus 'place': less than a city, more than a village
- வழிப்போக்கர்vaḻippōkkarpasser-by'Way' plus 'one who goes'. The tail -ar is respectful — the person is addressed by it
- பாதசாரிpādasāripedestrianFrom Sanskrit 'going on foot'. A road-sign word; in speech one says 'the one who walks'
- பெயர்ப் பலகைpeyarp palagaisignboard'Name' plus 'board'. A road direction sign gets a longer name
- வீதிக் குப்பைத் தொட்டிvīdik kuppait toṭṭilitter binThe household bucket gets one name; the street bin is specified through 'street'
- வீதி விளக்குvīdi viḷakkustreet lampVīdi is the island's word for street where Tamil Nadu would say another one
- புல்தரைpultarailawn'Grass' plus 'ground underfoot'. The meadow is a different compound; this is the mown strip by the road
- பூப்பாத்திpūppāttiflower bedPātti is a garden bed, the same as in the vegetable patch: a flower bed is exactly that. The garden as a whole is a different word
- திண்ணைtiṇṇaiporchNot just steps: a raised platform with a bench at the entrance, where one sits with the neighbour. The doorstep itself is a separate word
- படிpaḍistepThe whole staircase is 'step-laid'; one step is padi. The same sound is also the command 'study!' — only the place in the sentence tells them apart
- வீட்டு இலக்கம்vīṭṭu ilakkamhouse numberOn the island a number is ilakkam, in India eṇ. In the address the number comes first, before the street
- வீதிப் பெயர்vīdip peyarstreet nameThe plate for it is the signboard. In the address the name comes after the house number, not before it
- கம்பம்kambampostAny planted post; the electric one gets specified. The thin wire is another word, though a close root
- பழைய நகரம்paḻaiya nagaramold townPaḻaiya is 'old' about things; about a person one does not say it — that is 'aged'. The district word is pagudi
- குடியிருப்புக் கட்டிடம்kuḍiyiruppuk kaṭṭiḍamresidential buildingBare 'dwelling' covers housing in general; the building one lives in gets 'structure' added. A village house is simply 'home'
- அமைதிamaidisilenceOne word for the quiet of a street and the calm of a person, with a matching adjective. Total soundlessness gets a stronger word
- நகரம்nagaramcityThe village and the 'place' of compounds name one's home place, whatever its size. Nagaram is precisely a city, with streets and a board; about one's own town people usually say the homelier word
- கட்டிடம்kaṭṭiḍambuildingFrom 'to build, to tie': a building is what is tied and fitted together. 'Home' names the place one lives; this is any structure — a school, a bank
- மண்டபம்maṇḍabamhallA roomy roofed space for gatherings: weddings, wakes, concerts. An old temple word too — the pillared hall before the sanctuary is called the same. The living-room hall and the auditorium are other words
- பக்கத்துpakkattuneighbouringBuilt from the neighbour and 'near'. Pakkam is 'side'; in the form pakkattu the word stands right before a noun and never on its own
- நான் வழி தவறிட்டன்nāṉ vaḻi tavaṟiṭṭaṉI am lostIn Tamil it is not the person that gets lost but the way: 'path' plus 'to err'. The Jaffna ending marks a completed action in the 'I' form. A lost thing takes a different verb — 'it got lost and went'
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
கடை (kaḍai) — shop. Here the position rule is audible: ḍ between vowels stays soft d — kaḍay, not kaṭay.
சந்தை (sandai) — market. A relative of candi, 'meeting, crossroads': a market is the place where people come together. Don't mix them up: the market ends in ஐ.
மருந்துக்கடை (marundukkaḍai) — pharmacy. Marundu is 'medicine', kaḍai is 'shop'. Compound words in Tamil assemble exactly like this, edge to edge.
வங்கி (vaṅgi) — bank. The English bank written in Tamil script. In live speech people more often just say 'bank'.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is கடை (kaḍai) — shop.
- What is this word?
It is திறந்திருக்கு (tiṟandirukku) — is open.
- What is this word?
It is தபால் நிலையம் (tabāl nilaiyam) — post office.
- What is this word?
It is சீப்ரா கிராஸிங் (sībrā krāsiṅ) — zebra crossing.
- What is this word?
It is நாடக அரங்கம் (nāḍaga araṅgam) — theatre.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “shop” in Tamil?
Here the position rule is audible: ḍ between vowels stays soft d — kaḍay, not kaṭay
- How do you say “is open” in Tamil?
Literally 'stands opened'. On the door they write the longer bookish form
- How do you say “post office” in Tamil?
'Mail' plus 'station'. The same 'station' word names the bus station
- How do you say “zebra crossing” in Tamil?
The English zebra crossing, and that is what it is called aloud
- How do you say “theatre” in Tamil?
'Play' plus 'hall'. The hall word on its own is any hall with a stage
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “shop” in Tamil?
«கடை» (kaḍai), read “kaḍai”. Here the position rule is audible: ḍ between vowels stays soft d — kaḍay, not kaṭay. It is one of 94 words in the set “the city and its places” — the rest are in the table above.
How many street and place words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 94 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 94 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.