Zha, La, Ra and Na: Tamil's Tricky Sounds

Tamil has several sounds with no English equivalent. Four letters cause most trouble: ழ, ள, ற and ன.

ழ: the famous zha

ழ (zha) is unique to Tamil and a few related languages. It is made with the tongue curled back and the sound produced in the back of the mouth. It is a sound all its own, and it appears in the very name of the language, தமிழ் (thamizh).

Three l sounds

Letter	Sound	Example
ல	a regular l	மலை (malai), mountain
ள	a retroflex l, with the tongue curled back	வெள்ளை (vellai), white
ழ	the zha	மழை (mazhai), rain

Words can differ by only one of these:

• மலை is mountain.
• மழை is rain.

Two r sounds

Letter	Sound	Example
ர	a light, tapped r	ரயில் (rayil), train
ற	a stronger, trilled r	ஆறு (aaru), river, six

In modern speech, a double ற்ற is clearly stronger, as in வெற்றி (vetri), victory.

Two n sounds

• ந is a dental n, used at the start of words: நாடு (naadu), country.
• ன is used in other positions: மனம் (manam), mind.
• ண is a retroflex n: கண் (kann), eye.

How to practise

• Listen first. These sounds are best learned by ear.
• Say pairs like மலை and மழை aloud.
• Watch your tongue position. The retroflex sounds curl back.

Don't worry

Native speakers will understand you even if the sounds are not perfect. Practice improves them over time.

Tips

1. Learn ழ first, as it is the most distinctive.
2. Practise minimal pairs.
3. Use the dictionary to check spelling of look-alike words.

Look up any Tamil word with English Tamil Dictionary →