Tamil vowels
12 vowel letters from the Tamil course, with sound spellings and available recordings. Learn to recognise the shapes before moving to attached vowel signs.
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12 Tamil vowel letters
Compare the independent letters, English sound spellings, and course hints. The English labels are approximate reading aids.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| அ | a | Short open a; keep it brief. அம்மா — ammaa · mother | Listen |
| ஆ | aa | Hold the open a, roughly the vowel in father. ஆண்டு — aaṇṭu · year | Listen |
| இ | i | Short i, roughly the vowel in sit. இது — ithu · this | Listen |
| ஈ | ee | Long ee, roughly the vowel in see. ஈ — ee · fly (insect) | Listen |
| உ | u | Short rounded u; keep it shorter than oo. | Listen |
| ஊ | oo | Long rounded oo, roughly the vowel in moon. ஊது — oothu · blow | Listen |
| எ | e | Short e; keep the sound steady. எண் — eṇ · number | Listen |
| ஏ | ae | Long e: hold e without the English ay glide. | Listen |
| ஐ | ai | Glide from a toward i, roughly the vowel in eye. | Listen |
| ஒ | o | Short rounded o; keep the sound steady. | Listen |
| ஓ | oh | Long o: hold o without an English ow glide. ஓடு — ohṭu · run | Listen |
| ஔ | au | Glide from a toward u, roughly the vowel in how. | Listen |
Compare the letters and hints
Use the course’s hints for these vowel letters. Similar English spellings do not necessarily represent the same sound.
- அ — Short open a; keep it brief.
- ஆ — Hold the open a, roughly the vowel in father.
- இ — Short i, roughly the vowel in sit.
Move to attached vowel signs
- Choose a few written forms and compare their English hints.
- Cover the hints and identify the letters in a different order.
- Practise with matching, mixing, flashcards, or a visual quiz.
Compare each independent vowel with its attached form in the vowel-sign chart.
Prepared by Learn Akshara from our beginner Tamil curriculum. English spellings are approximate learning aids. Writing-system reference: The Unicode Standard, South Asian Scripts. AI-generated pronunciation is a learning aid, not a guarantee of accuracy. See our audio sources and credits.