The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Tamil pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. See Tamil phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Tamil.
Consonants |
IPA |
Tamil |
English equivalent |
b |
ப |
abash |
β |
வ |
van to water |
d̪ |
த |
ado (closer to French d) |
ɖ |
ட |
guard |
dʒ |
ஜ[1] |
hedge |
ð |
த |
other |
ɡ |
க |
agate |
h |
க |
head (final only) |
j |
ய |
yak |
k |
க |
scan |
l̪ |
ல |
leaf |
ɭ |
ள |
curl |
m |
ம |
much |
n̪ |
ந |
tenth |
n |
ன |
not |
ɳ |
ண |
burner |
ɲ |
ஞ |
canyon |
ŋ |
ங |
bank |
p |
ப |
span |
r |
ற |
trilled r |
ɾ̪ |
ர |
(US) ladder |
ɽ |
ட |
(US) larder |
ɻ |
ழ |
morrow |
s |
ச |
sue |
t̪ |
த, ற |
stable (closer to French t) |
ʈ |
ட |
art |
tʃ |
ச |
catch |
ʋ |
வ |
between w and v |
x |
ஃ |
loch |
|
Vowels |
IPA |
Tamil |
English equivalent |
aː |
ஆ |
Spanish or French a to English bra |
eː |
ஏ |
between yell and Yale |
ɛ |
எ |
yell |
ə |
அ |
nut |
əj |
ஐ |
kite |
əʋ |
ஔ |
house (Canada) |
iː |
ஈ |
feet |
ɪ |
இ |
dill |
oː |
ஓ |
old |
ɔ |
ஒ |
law |
uː |
ஊ |
loot |
ʊ |
உ |
look |
ɯ |
உ |
pencil |
̃ |
-ம, -ன |
nasal vowel
([ãː], [õː], etc.) |
|
- ^ This letter does not belong to Tamil script. But widely accepted as an ad-hoc from Grantha script ( See Usage of other lingual consonants in Tamil script). This sound may be replaced by ச (as in s) in pure Tamil, which is not an accurate phonetic representation.
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