EXPLORE · PRACTICE · REPEAT
Tamil Alphabet and Pronunciation
If you're trying to learn the Tamil Alphabet you will find some useful resources including a course about pronunciation, and sound of all letters... to help you with your Tamil grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and memorize the sounds. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Tamil. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Tamil Alphabet
Learning the Tamil alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Tamil language.
Below is a table showing the Tamil alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.
| Tamil Alphabet | English Sound | Pronunciation Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant | ||
| k | as in kit | |
| ṅ | as in noon | |
| c | as in cow | |
| ñ | as in Canyon | |
| ṭ | as in toy | |
| ṇ | as in news | |
| t | as in time | |
| n | as in night | |
| p | as in pool | |
| m | as in man | |
| y | as in you | |
| r | as in rabbit | |
| l | as in lion | |
| v | as in very | |
| ḻ | as in red | |
| ḷ | as in look | |
| ṟ | as in room | |
| ṉ | as in night | |
| ś | as in show | |
| j | as in joke | |
| ṣ | as in smile | |
| s | as in small | |
| h | as in high | |
| kṣ | as in racks | |
| Vowel | as in | |
| a | as in apple | |
| ā | as in father | |
| i | as in tip | |
| ī | as in deep | |
| u | as in ultimate | |
| ū | as in moon | |
| e | as in elephant | |
| ē | as in weed | |
| ai | as in Thai | |
| o | as in opera | |
| ō | as in moon | |
| au | as in bowl | |
| Combined letters | as in | |
| ka | as in cat | |
| kā | as in cow | |
| ki | as in kit | |
| kī | as in kiwi | |
| ku | as in Kung-fu | |
| kū | as in cooler | |
| ke | as in kept | |
| kē | as in keep | |
| kai | as in Cairo | |
| ko | as in Congo | |
| kō | as in cooler | |
| kau | as in coward |
Tamil Pronunciation
You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button:
| Tamil Pronunciation |
|---|
The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Tamil. Once you're done with Tamil alphabet, you might want to check the rest of our Tamil lessons here: Learn Tamil. Don't forget to bookmark this page.