| Letter | IPA | Sound example | |--------|-----|----------------| | க் | /k/ | ey | | ங் | /ŋ/ | si ng | | ச் | /t͡ʃ/ | ch in | | ஞ் | /ɲ/ | ca ny on | | ட் | /ʈ/ | t op (retroflex) | | ண் | /ɳ/ | retroflex n | | த் | /t̪/ | dental t (like Spanish t ) | | ந் | /n̪/ | dental n | | ப் | /p/ | p in | | ம் | /m/ | m an | | ய் | /j/ | y es | | ர் | /ɾ/ | Spanish pe r o | | ல் | /l/ | l amp | | வ் | /ʋ/ | between v and w | | ழ் | /ɻ/ | retroflex approximant (unique to Tamil/Malayalam) | | ள் | /ɭ/ | retroflex l | | ற் | /r/ | trilled r (Italian r ) | | ன் | /n/ | alveolar n (English n ) | 2.3 Special Character – Āytam (ஃ) Represents a voiced fricative (like /h/ or /f/) used in borrowed words or poetic contexts. Rare. 2.4 Combined Forms (Uyirmey Ezhuththu – 216) Each of the 18 consonants combines with the 12 vowels (minus the inherent a ). Example with க் (k):
| Feature | Tamil | Sinhala | |---------|-------|---------| | Language family | Dravidian | Indo-Aryan (related to Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi) | | Script type | Abugida (vowel diacritics attached to consonants) | Abugida (similar to Brahmic scripts) | | Direction | Left to right | Left to right | | Number of letters | 247 (12 vowels, 18 consonants, 1 special character, plus combined forms) | ~54–60 basic letters (plus many conjuncts and modifiers; total glyphs > 300) | | Notable feature | No aspirated or voiced consonants (e.g., no kha , ga separate from ka ) | Differentiates voiced, unvoiced, aspirated, and nasal sounds | | Official in | India (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry), Sri Lanka, Singapore | Sri Lanka | 2. The Tamil Alphabet (தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி) Tamil is known for its phonetic simplicity and syllabic structure . It avoids many distinctions found in other Indian scripts. 2.1 Vowels (Uyir Ezhuththu – "Soul Letters") – 12 Tamil vowels are independent forms and also appear as diacritics (called uyir kkurukkam or short modifiers) attached to consonants. tamil sinhala alphabet
ஐ and ஔ are diphthongs. 2.2 Consonants (Mey Ezhuththu – "Body Letters") – 18 Tamil consonants are unaspirated and unvoiced (except for the 3 nasal sounds). Each consonant inherently contains the short vowel a (அ). To remove the vowel, use the pulli (dot) above the letter. | Letter | IPA | Sound example |