How to Combine Vowels and Consonants in Tamil for English Speakers

Understanding Tamil Vowels and Consonants

Tamil script consists of vowels (உயிரெழுத்துக்கள்) and consonants (மெய்யெழுத்துக்கள்). Learning how these combine is essential for reading and writing Tamil effectively.

Tamil Vowels (Uyirezhuthukal)

There are 12 vowels in Tamil, each with a unique sound. They can stand alone or combine with consonants to form new letters.

• அ (a)
• ஆ (aa)
• இ (i)
• ஈ (ii)
• உ (u)
• ஊ (uu)
• எ (e)
• ஏ (ee)
• ஐ (ai)
• ஒ (o)
• ஓ (oo)
• ஔ (au)

Tamil Consonants (Meyyezhuthukal)

Tamil has 18 consonants. Each consonant has a base form and combines with vowels to create compound letters.

• க் (k)
• ச் (ch)
• ட் (ṭ)
• த் (t)
• ப் (p)
• ற் (ṟ)
• ஞ் (ñ)
• ண் (ṇ)
• ந் (n)
• ம் (m)
• ய் (y)
• ர் (r)
• ல் (l)
• வ் (v)
• ழ் (ḻ)
• ள் (ḷ)
• ற் (ṟ)
• ன் (ṉ)

Combining Vowels and Consonants to Form Letters

When a vowel combines with a consonant, the consonant's base form changes by adding a vowel marker. This creates a new letter representing the consonant-vowel sound.

Example: Combining க (k) with vowels

• க (ka)
• கா (kaa)
• கி (ki)
• கீ (kii)
• கு (ku)
• கூ (kuu)
• கெ (ke)
• கே (kee)
• கை (kai)
• கொ (ko)
• கோ (koo)
• கௌ (kau)

Notice how the base consonant க changes with different vowel markers to represent different sounds.

Tips for English Speakers Learning Tamil Letter Formation

• Start by memorizing vowels and consonants separately.
• Practice writing each consonant combined with all vowels.
• Use flashcards to recognize compound letters quickly.
• Listen to Tamil pronunciation to associate sounds with letters.
• Practice reading simple Tamil words to reinforce learning.