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Tamil in Latin letters: ISO 15919
Tiṇṇai Learn writes Tamil in Latin letters with ISO 15919, an international standard that gives every Tamil letter exactly one spelling, so nothing is ambiguous. Tap any letter to hear it. More about ISO 15919 (Wikipedia)
Try it: type or paste Tamil
vaṇakkam, tamiḻ kaṟpōm!
Vowels
| Letter | Sign | ISO | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | a | a as in about | |
| ◌ா | ā | a as in father | |
| ◌ி | i | i as in sit | |
| ◌ீ | ī | ee as in see | |
| ◌ு | u | u as in put | |
| ◌ூ | ū | oo as in food | |
| ◌ெ | e | e as in pet | |
| ◌ே | ē | a as in they, held longer | |
| ◌ை | ai | ai as in aisle | |
| ◌ொ | o | o as in obey, short | |
| ◌ோ | ō | o as in go, held longer | |
| ◌ௌ | au | ou as in out | |
| — | ḵ | ஃ (āytam) is neither vowel nor consonant. It is rare today and appears between a short vowel and a hard consonant, as in எஃகு (steel). It counts half a beat. |
Consonants
| Letter | ISO | Family, where it's made | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| k | Hard Back of the tongue + soft palate | k at the start or doubled; g or h between vowels | |
| c | Hard Middle of the tongue + hard palate | ch or s; j after ஞ் | |
| ṭ | Hard Tongue tip curled back to the roof | t with the tongue tip curled back (the dot means curled back) | |
| t | Hard Tongue tip + upper teeth | t with the tongue on the teeth; d or th as in this | |
| p | Hard Both lips | p; b after ம் or between vowels | |
| ṟ | Hard Tongue tip + ridge behind the teeth | a strong, trilled r; ற்ற is ttr | |
| ṅ | Soft Back of the tongue + soft palate | ng as in sing | |
| ñ | Soft Middle of the tongue + hard palate | ny as in canyon | |
| ṇ | Soft Tongue tip curled back to the roof | n with the tongue tip curled back | |
| n | Soft Tongue tip + upper teeth | n with the tongue on the teeth | |
| m | Soft Both lips | m | |
| ṉ | Soft Tongue tip + ridge behind the teeth | n with the tongue on the ridge behind the teeth, as in ten | |
| y | In-between Middle of the tongue + hard palate | y as in yes | |
| r | In-between Tongue tip + ridge behind the teeth | a light, tapped r | |
| l | In-between Tongue tip + ridge behind the teeth | l | |
| v | In-between Lower lip + upper teeth | a soft v, between v and w | |
| ḻ | In-between Tongue tip curled back to the roof | the Tamil zh: tongue curled back without touching (தமிழ்) | |
| ḷ | In-between Tongue tip curled back to the roof | l with the tongue tip curled back |
Borrowed (Grantha) letters
Every letter
| அ a | ஆ ā | இ i | ஈ ī | உ u | ஊ ū | எ e | ஏ ē | ஐ ai | ஒ o | ஓ ō | ஔ au | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| க் k | ||||||||||||
| ச் c | ||||||||||||
| ட் ṭ | ||||||||||||
| த் t | ||||||||||||
| ப் p | ||||||||||||
| ற் ṟ | ||||||||||||
| ங் ṅ | ||||||||||||
| ஞ் ñ | ||||||||||||
| ண் ṇ | ||||||||||||
| ந் n | ||||||||||||
| ம் m | ||||||||||||
| ன் ṉ | ||||||||||||
| ய் y | ||||||||||||
| ர் r | ||||||||||||
| ல் l | ||||||||||||
| வ் v | ||||||||||||
| ழ் ḻ | ||||||||||||
| ள் ḷ | ||||||||||||
| ஜ் j | ||||||||||||
| ஷ் ṣ | ||||||||||||
| ஸ் s | ||||||||||||
| ஹ் h |
Tamil digits and signs
௦0௧1௨2௩3௪4௫5௬6௭7௮8௯9௰ten௱hundred௲thousand௳day௴month௵year௶debit௷credit௸as above௹rupee௺number
How to read the marks
- A line on top means long: a / ā, i / ī, u / ū, e / ē, o / ō. Tamil keeps short and long e and o apart, so ISO does too.
- A dot underneath means the tongue tip curls back: ṭ ṇ ḷ. A line underneath sets four letters apart from their look-alikes: ṟ (ற, a strong r), ṉ (ன, n on the ridge behind the teeth), ḻ (ழ, the Tamil “zh”) and ḵ (ஃ).
- Tamil has three n's: n (ந, teeth), ṉ (ன, ridge) and ṇ (ண, curled). Three l-like sounds: l (ல), ḷ (ள) and ḻ (ழ). Two r's: r (ர) and ṟ (ற).
- ISO writes letters, not sounds: க is always k, even where it is said g (சிங்கம், siṅkam). See the lesson “One letter, three sounds”.
- ச is c (said ch or s). ஞ is ñ, ங is ṅ. ஃ (āytam) is ḵ.
- Popular spellings differ: தமிழ் is often written “Tamizh” or “Tamil”, but in ISO 15919 it is tamiḻ.