Ask for more புலி in your rasam and you have asked for a tiger. What you wanted was புளி, tamarind.
The only difference is one letter, and it changes the whole meaning. Tamil has several letters that sound almost alike, and words that differ only by one of them are called ஒலி வேறுபாடு (oli verupaadu). They trip up many children in spelling, dictation and PSLE Tamil Paper 2.
The good news is that there are only three groups to learn.
ல, ள, ழ
Three “l” sounds. The difference is where the tongue goes.
- ல The tongue tip touches just behind the upper teeth.
- ள The tongue curls back and touches the roof of the mouth.
- ழ The tongue curls back but does not touch the roof. This is the famous “zh” sound of தமிழ்.
ந, ன, ண
Three “n” sounds.
- ந ன They sound nearly the same, but they sit in different places. ந begins a word, while ன comes in the middle or at the end. You can see both in நான்.
- ண The tongue curls back, like ள.
ர, ற
Two “r” sounds.
- ர A light, single tap of the tongue.
- ற Stronger and sharper.
A spelling shortcut
These six letters do not begin a Tamil word:
So if a word starts with an “l”, “n” or “r” sound, it is spelt with ல, ந or ர. That rules out half the choices before your child even starts.
How to practise
- Look at the letter that changes first. That one sound carries the meaning.
- Say both words aloud, slowly, and notice where the tongue goes.
- Cover the English and test yourself, then check.
- Use each word in a sentence of your own, in speech and in composition.
Free printable oli verupaadu list
133 sound-alike sets on 10 A4 pages, in four groups: general, ல/ள/ழ, ன/ண and ர/ற. In every set the letter that differs is coloured, and the English meaning is printed beneath each word. Free with a free Raffles Guru account.
Download the free list →You’ll find four more free PSLE Tamil printables in 5 Free PSLE Tamil PDFs to Download and Print.
At Tamilcube Learning Centre, we teach the difference one pair at a time. Book a free trial lesson →