This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in Tamil.
There are at least 2 i sounds in Tamil. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| i | i | Like "ee" sound. | i |
| i% | i_ | Long "ee" sound. | iː |
There are at least 2 e sounds in Tamil. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| e | e | Like "day" sound. | e |
| e% | e_ | Long "day" sound. | eː |
There is at least 1 a sound in Tamil. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| a | a | Like "ah" in father sound. | a ɑ ä |
There are at least 3 o sounds in Tamil. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| o | o | Like "oh" sound. | o |
| O | O | Like "uuh" in "book" sound. | ʊ ɯ |
| o% | o_ | Long "oh" sound. | oː |
There are at least 2 u sounds in Tamil. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| u | u | Like "oo" in "you" sound. | u |
| u% | u_ | Long "oo" sound. | uː |
There is at least 1 m sound in Tamil. Notice the English m and mm have a similar shape.
| m | m | Regular m | m |
There are at least 2 n sounds in Tamil. Notice the English n and nn have a similar shape.
| n | n | Regular n | n |
| n6 | N | Retroflex n | ɳ |
There is at least 1 q sound in Tamil.
| q | q | Regular ng | ŋ ɴ |
There is at least 1 g sound in Tamil.
| g | g | Regular g | ɡ ɢ |
There are at least 2 d sounds in Tamil. Notice the English d and dd have a similar shape.
| d | d | Regular d | d |
| d4 | D | Retroflex d | ɖ |
There is at least 1 b sound in Tamil. Notice the English b and bb have a similar shape.
| b | b | Regular b | b |
There is at least 1 p sound in Tamil.
| p | p | Regular p | p |
There are at least 2 t sounds in Tamil.
| t | t | Regular t | t |
| t4 | T | Retroflex t (used a lot in Indian languages) | ʈ |
There is at least 1 k sound in Tamil.
| k | k | Regular k | k |
There is at least 1 h sound in Tamil.
| h | h | Regular h | h |
There is at least 1 y sound in Tamil. Notice the English y and yy have a similar shape, although the Tone yy is like a Tone OO with a tail.
| y | y | Regular y | j |
There are at least 2 sh sounds in Tamil.
| x4 | X | Retroflex sh | ʂ |
| x5 | xy~ | Palatalized sh | ʃʲ ɕ |
There is at least 1 v sound in Tamil.
| v3 | V | Soft v (pressing just your lips softly together, or lips and teeth) | β |
There is at least 1 f sound in Tamil.
| f | f | Regular f | f |
There are at least 2 l sounds in Tamil.
| l | l | Regular l | l |
| l3 | L | Retroflex l (used a lot in Indian languages) | ɭ |
There is at least 1 s sound in Tamil.
| s | s | Regular s | s |
There is at least 1 z sound in Tamil.
| z | z | Regular z | z |
There are at least 3 r sounds in Tamil.
| r | r | Regular r (trilled or flap) | ɾ |
| r5 | R | Retroflex r (used in some Indian languages) | ɽ |
| G | G | Velar r like the French r sound | ɣ ʁ |
There is at least 1 th sound in Tamil.
| C | C | Voiced th (like English "the") | ð |
There is at least 1 dj sound in Tamil.
| dj | dj | Regular dj (as in "judge") | dʒ |
There are at least 2 ch sounds in Tamil.
| tx | tx | Regular ch sound (like English "chip") | tʃ |
| tx5 | txy~ | Palatalized ch sound (Used in Chinese, for example) | tɕ |