தமிழ் எழுத்துக்கள் — Tamil Alphabet

தமிழ் எழுத்துக்களைக் கற்றுக்கொள்வோம்.

Tamil Alphabet: Quick Chart

Looking for ழ், checking the difference between இ and ஈ, or trying to remember how கொ is formed? This page puts the Tamil letters and examples together for quick lookup.

உயிரெழுத்துக்கள்: 12 vowels

அ ஆ இ ஈ உ ஊ எ ஏ ஐ ஒ ஓ ஔ

மெய்யெழுத்துக்கள்: 18 pure consonants

க் ங் ச் ஞ் ட் ண் த் ந் ப் ம் ய் ர் ல் வ் ழ் ள் ற் ன்

ஆய்தம்: the special character

ஃ

The traditional count is 12 + 18 + 216 + 1 = 247. The 216 are consonant-vowel combinations: 18 consonants joined with 12 vowels. You are not looking at 247 unrelated base shapes.

This page is a reference. For learning to decode a whole word, begin with a consonant, identify its vowel or pulli, and then join the reading units. The detailed Tamil reading guide takes you through that process with exercises.

1. Vowels and Example Words

உயிரெழுத்து என்பது மெய்யெழுத்தின் உதவியின்றி ஒலிக்கும் எழுத்து. A vowel is a sound you can say without a consonant’s help.

The short vowels are அ இ உ எ ஒ. Their long partners are ஆ ஈ ஊ ஏ ஓ. ஐ and ஔ complete the set of 12. ஔவை is a proper name; common beginner words starting with ஔ are limited.

Reading the Roman aids

The Roman spellings are small reading aids, not exact sound recordings. aa, ee and oo mark long vowels. We use e / ay for short / long e and o / oh for short / long o. With ay and oh, hold one steady vowel: do not add the English glide you might use in “day” or “go”. ai and au are different from those long vowels.

th here is a t made with the tongue at the upper teeth, not the English sound in “thin”. dh is its softer, voiced counterpart, not the English sound in “this”. zh stands for the Tamil sound in தமிழ்; it is not z followed by h. ny is a joined sound like the middle of “canyon”. Some Tamil distinctions share a simple spelling here. Read the Tamil letter and the sound note together.

2. Consonants and Example Words

The dot in க் removes the inherent short a found in க. In this chart the first column is the pure consonant; the second shows it with a. Examples may contain the letter in the middle or at the end, rather than at the beginning.

The three groups at a glance

The groups organise the letters; they do not remove the need to learn pronunciation in words. For instance, கல் starts with k, while the க in தங்கம் is normally voiced after ங்.

3. All 216 Consonant-Vowel Combinations

Find the consonant in the first column, then the vowel across the top. The table is split into two halves so it is easier to use on a small screen. Forms without a separate vowel sign, such as க, already contain short a.

அ through ஊ

எ through ஔ

How to look up a form

For மீ, choose ம் and ஈ: mee. For பூ, choose ப் and ஊ: poo. For கே, choose க் and ஏ: kay, our steady long-e aid.

In கெ, the sign appears before the consonant, but the sound is ke. In கொ and கோ, the sign has parts around the consonant. Read the whole unit before moving to the next letter.

4. Similar Letters, Different Sounds

The common spelling Tamil does not show the sound of ழ். Our aid thamizh reminds you that it is a distinct Tamil sound, but audio is still the best guide to its exact pronunciation.

5. Pulli and Double Consonants

புள்ளி is the dot in forms such as க், ம் and ன். It removes the vowel.

• ம is ma; ம் is m.
• பால் is paa + l, milk.
• அம்மா is a + m + maa, mother.
• அப்பா is a + p + paa, father.

Hold a doubled consonant a little longer. Do not insert an extra vowel between the two parts. Tamil spelling often shows these combinations openly, rather than requiring a new basic alphabet letter for each cluster.

6. Aytham and Borrowed Forms

ஃ is aytham, the special item counted in the traditional 247. It is not another independent vowel. Its uses include older words such as அஃது and modern spellings such as ஃபோன் (phone), where ஃப stands for f. Do not automatically add an “h” syllable whenever you see it.

You may also meet ஜ, ஷ, ஸ, ஹ, ஶ and the joined form க்ஷ, especially in names, loanwords and specialised vocabulary. These are not all additional members of the native 18-consonant chart. For example, ஜன்னல் means window, and பஸ் is a common spelling for bus.

Different teaching charts include different supplementary forms. Check what is being counted before deciding that one total contradicts another.

7. Why a Letter May Sound Different in a Word

The chart helps you find a written form, but it is not a list of one-to-one English sound substitutions. Tamil consonants may change in voicing or strength depending on their surroundings. Compare the firm doubled consonant in பக்கம் (pakkam, side) with the voiced sound in தங்கம் (thangam, gold).

Standard written Tamil and everyday speech also differ. Keep the printed word intact, learn its meaning, and listen to it in context rather than rewriting every spoken variation into the chart.

A One-Minute Check

1. What does the dot in ம் do?
2. Which form combines ப் with ஊ?
3. Are கல் and கால் the same word?
4. Does 247 mean 247 unrelated base letters?

Answers: It removes the vowel; பூ; no, kal means stone and kaal means leg or foot; no, the total includes 216 consonant-vowel combinations.

Compare the vowel-sign system with these published references:

Sources and Listening Practice

For audio and additional reading, see Tamil Virtual Academy’s beginner course, Michigan State University’s Basic Tamil consonant lesson, and the University of Chicago Tamil alphabet course. Letter shapes and vowel signs can also be checked in the Unicode Tamil chart. This lesson’s explanations and exercises are written for LangFastPro.