Paste Tamil script and read it in English letters, in everyday spelling or the ISO 15919 standard. Going the other way, from English letters to Tamil? Press Swap. Both directions are explained under Tamil transliteration.
Tryவணக்கம்vanakkamதமிழ்thamizh
Short answer
Tamil transliteration in English means writing Tamil words in the English alphabet, letter by letter, so you can read them without knowing Tamil script. வணக்கம் becomes vanakkam in everyday spelling and vaṇakkam in ISO 15919. The words and their meaning stay the same; only the alphabet changes. Translation is different: it turns வணக்கம் into “hello”.
Want Tamil script from English letters instead? Press Swap on the tool above, or use Tanglish to Tamil. For how both directions and the standards fit together, see Tamil transliteration.
How to
Paste the Tamil text into the Tamil box. A word, a name, a whole song: line breaks, numbers and emoji are kept.
Choose the spelling. Everyday gives what people type in messages (thamizh). ISO 15919 gives the exact form with accents (tamiḻ).
Turn on Line by line (under More on a phone) to see each English line under its Tamil line. It is the easiest way to follow lyrics or check a verse.
Copy. Copy takes the English letters. More also copies the Tamil, or both sides line by line, or downloads a .txt file.
Two spellings
The spelling Tamil speakers use in messages, captions and song lyrics: vanakkam, nandri, thamizh. No special characters, so anyone can read it and type it.
Use it for messages, sing-along lyrics, captions, and reading Tamil aloud.
The international standard for Indian scripts. Every Tamil letter has exactly one spelling, marked with accents: vaṇakkam, naṉṟi, tamiḻ.
Use it for study, dictionaries, academic writing, and whenever someone must be able to rebuild the exact Tamil spelling.
| Tamil | Everyday | ISO 15919 |
|---|---|---|
| வணக்கம் | vanakkam | vaṇakkam |
| தமிழ் | thamizh | tamiḻ |
| நன்றி | nandri | naṉṟi |
| வீடு | veedu | vīṭu |
| காற்று | kaatru | kāṟṟu |
Everyday spelling loses information. ந, ண and ன are all written n, and ல and ள are both l, so you cannot always get the original Tamil back. ISO 15919 keeps every distinction, which is why scholars use it.
Reference
Each Tamil letter, its ISO 15919 spelling, and the everyday spelling this tool uses. A line over a vowel (ā) means it is long. A dot under a letter (ṭ ṇ ḷ) means the tongue curls back. A line under it (ṟ ṉ ḻ) marks sounds found in Tamil and Malayalam.
| Letter | With க | ISO 15919 | Everyday |
|---|---|---|---|
| அ | க | a ka | a |
| ஆ | கா | ā kā | aa |
| இ | கி | i ki | i |
| ஈ | கீ | ī kī | ee |
| உ | கு | u ku | u |
| ஊ | கூ | ū kū | oo |
| எ | கெ | e ke | e |
| ஏ | கே | ē kē | e |
| ஐ | கை | ai kai | ai |
| ஒ | கொ | o ko | o |
| ஓ | கோ | ō kō | o |
| ஔ | கௌ | au kau | au |
| Letter | ISO 15919 | Everyday |
|---|---|---|
| க | k | k; g between vowels or after ங |
| ங | ṅ | ng |
| ச | c | s; ch when doubled; j after ஞ |
| ஞ | ñ | nj |
| ட | ṭ | t; d between vowels or after n |
| ண | ṇ | n |
| த | t | th; dh after n |
| ந | n | n |
| ப | p | p; b after m or n |
| ம | m | m |
| ய | y | y |
| ர | r | r |
| ல | l | l |
| வ | v | v |
| ழ | ḻ | zh |
| ள | ḷ | l |
| ற | ṟ | r; tr when doubled (ற்ற) |
| ன | ṉ | n; ndr before ற (ன்ற) |
| Letter | ISO 15919 | Everyday |
|---|---|---|
| ஜ | j | j |
| ஶ | ś | sh |
| ஷ | ṣ | sh |
| ஸ | s | s |
| ஹ | h | h |
| க்ஷ | kṣ | ksh |
| ஸ்ரீ | srī | sree |
| ஃ | ḵ | h |
A consonant with a dot on top (க்) has no vowel, so it is written as the bare letter: k. Without the dot it carries a short a: க is ka.
Worked examples
Thiruvalluvar · the first verse of the Kural
agara muthala ezhuthellaam aathi
pagavan muthatre ulaguakara mutala eḻuttellām āti
pakavaṉ mutaṟṟē ulakuKaniyan Pungundranar · Sangam poetry
yaathum oore yaavarum keliryātum ūrē yāvarum kēḷirTraditional children’s rhyme, then a line written for this page
nila nila odi vaa
vaanam neelam kadalum neelamnilā nilā ōṭi vā
vāṉam nīlam kaṭalum nīlamEveryday spelling drops the long aa at the end of a longer word, the way people write it: நிலா is nila and அம்மா is amma. Short words such as வா keep it: vaa.
Spelled letter by letter, not as on official documents
| Tamil | Everyday | ISO 15919 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| கண்ணன் | kannan | kaṇṇaṉ | |
| முருகன் | murugan | murukaṉ | |
| செல்வி | selvi | celvi | |
| அருண் | arun | aruṇ | |
| பிரியா | piriya | piriyā | usually written Priya |
| சென்னை | sennai | ceṉṉai | officially Chennai |
| மதுரை | mathurai | maturai | officially Madurai |
Names and cities often have settled English spellings that don't follow any scheme. On forms and tickets, always use the spelling on the official document.
Paste or type Tamil text into the left box. The English-letter version appears on the right straight away. Choose Everyday for the spelling people use in messages, or ISO 15919 for the exact scholarly form, then press Copy. Check your chosen style before copying.
Transliteration changes the alphabet and keeps the words: நன்றி becomes nandri. Translation changes the language: நன்றி becomes “thank you”. This page transliterates. It does not translate. For the meaning in English, use Tamil to English translation. Choose according to whether you need spelling or meaning.
This tool uses zh for ழ in Everyday output, as in thamizh. The detailed output style uses ḻ for the same letter. These are spelling conventions shown by the tool, not a pronunciation recording. Compare the letter table above or switch styles to see the difference in your own text.
Use the spelling on your passport or school certificates, even if it differs from this tool. Names have settled spellings, such as Priya for பிரியா. The tool spells every letter, so it gives piriya. Use the output as a starting point when there is no settled spelling yet.
Yes. Paste the Tamil lyrics and every line comes out in English letters, with line breaks kept. Turn on Line by line to see each English line under its Tamil line, and use Copy both, line by line to share them that way. Everyday spelling is the easiest to read aloud.
Yes. Press Swap and the tool converts English letters to Tamil instead: vanakkam becomes வணக்கம். If you type English letters while it is set to Tamil to English, it offers to switch for you. For long Tanglish messages, Tanglish to Tamil has more help with spellings.
No. The conversion runs in your browser. Your text is saved only on this device so it is still there when you come back. That saved text is not a cross-device backup. Copy or download any important passage before clearing site data or moving to another browser.
No. They show a written rendering of the Tamil source, not an audio pronunciation lesson. Everyday spelling is convenient to read, while the detailed style preserves more letter distinctions. If you cannot read the Tamil, compare a short passage with a speaker or use Tamil text to speech when a suitable voice is available.
Yes. Paste a short Tamil passage, choose Everyday and use Copy both, line by line from the output menu. This keeps each Tamil line beside its English-letter rendering for comparison. Check names and unfamiliar words with a Tamil reader, and keep the Tamil source visible so the sheet supports learning the script.
The Tamil-to-English direction converts Tamil script and leaves existing English text in place. An English name or heading therefore does not need a separate conversion. If your entire input is already English letters, use Swap only when you want Tamil script; for English meanings, follow the translation link rather than this spelling tool.