Tamil Transliteration, Both Ways
A two-way Tamil transliteration tool: turn Tanglish into Tamil script, or Tamil into English letters. Swap direction with one button.
Tryvanakkamவணக்கம்then press Swap to get vanakkam back
Short answer
What Is Tamil Transliteration?
Tamil transliteration is writing Tamil in another alphabet, or another alphabet in Tamil, without changing the words. It runs in two directions. Tanglish to Tamil turns vanakkam into வணக்கம், so you can type Tamil on an English keyboard. Tamil to English letters turns வணக்கம் into vanakkam, so you can read Tamil without knowing the script. This tool does both.
English to Tamil Transliteration (Tanglish to Tamil Script)
vanakkamவணக்கம்romba nanriரொம்ப நன்றிenga irukkeenga?எங்க இருக்கீங்க?
For whole messages, with help on hard letters: Thanglish to Tamil typing.
Tamil Script to English Letters
- தமிழ்
thamizhISOtamiḻ - நன்றி
nandriISOnaṉṟi - பள்ளி
palliISOpaḷḷi
The full letter table and worked verses: Tamil transliteration in English.
The difference
Transliteration Is Not Translation
Transliteration changes the alphabet and keeps the words. Translation changes the words into another language. This tool transliterates.
| Tamil script | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| வணக்கம் | vanakkam | hello |
| நன்றி | nandri | thank you |
| தமிழ் | thamizh | the Tamil language |
When you type nandri on your phone and want நன்றி, you need transliteration. If you want the English meaning of நன்றி, you need translation.
Standards
Three Ways to Write Tamil in English Letters
Everyday Tanglish
No committee wrote it down, but it is how Tamil is usually typed in messages: zh for ழ, th for த, double letters for double sounds. It is easy to type and read, but it loses detail, because ந, ண and ன all become n.
ISO 15919
The international standard, published in 2001, for writing Indian scripts in Latin letters. Each Tamil letter has exactly one spelling, so the original can always be rebuilt. Long vowels get a line on top (ā ī ū ē ō) and the sounds English lacks get a dot or line underneath.
Tamil Lexicon (Madras)
The University of Madras Tamil Lexicon, published from 1924 to 1936, gives every headword in Latin letters too. For Tamil's own letters its spellings match ISO 15919, as the table shows, so if you can read one you can read the other.
| Tamil | Everyday | ISO 15919 | Tamil Lexicon |
|---|---|---|---|
| தமிழ் | thamizh | tamiḻ | tamiḻ |
| குறிஞ்சி | kurinji | kuṟiñci | kuṟiñci |
| தமிழ்வேதம் | thamizhvetham | tamiḻvētam | tamiḻvētam |
This tool writes everyday spelling and ISO 15919. There is no separate Lexicon option, because for these letters it would give the same result as ISO 15919. Everyday spelling is the one that converts back to Tamil, so Swap always uses it.
Compared
Paste and Convert, or Type Word by Word?
There are two ways to get Tamil from English letters. Input tools such as Google Input Tools and Gboard convert each word as you type it. This page converts a whole text at once. Both read Tamil spelled in English letters, such as vanakkam.
| Feature | This page: paste and convert | Word-by-word input tools |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Paste or type a whole text. All of it converts at once, and you fix words afterwards. | Each word turns into Tamil when you press Space, inside the box you are typing in. |
| Best for | Text you already have: a long message, lyrics, notes, a draft to check. | Writing new Tamil as you go. |
| Fixing a word | Tap it, or press Check to go through every unsure word in turn. | Pick from the suggestions while you type that word. |
| Directions | Both: Tanglish to Tamil, and Tamil to English letters (everyday or ISO 15919). | English letters to Tamil. |
| Line breaks, links, emoji | Kept exactly as pasted. | Depends on the app you type in. |
| Where it runs | Any browser, phone or computer. Nothing to install. | Google Input Tools: a Chrome extension for computers, a try-it web page and Google Docs. Gboard: phones. |
Prefer to type word by word? The Tamil typing editor works that way in your browser, and our guide to Google Tamil Input Tools covers what Google still offers.
Pick a tool
Which One Do You Need?
- Tanglish to TamilYou have a message or paragraph in English letters and want it in Tamil script.
romba nanriரொம்ப நன்றி - Tamil to English lettersYou have Tamil text, such as lyrics, a name or a verse, and want to read it in English letters.தமிழ்
thamizh - English to Tamil typingYou want to learn what to type for each Tamil letter, with a chart beside the editor.
zhழ - Tamil typing editorYou want to write in Tamil word by word, with suggestions as you type.
vanakkamவணக்கம்
Questions People Ask
Is this like Google’s Tamil transliteration?
This tool converts Tamil words written in English letters, supports both directions and lets you review uncertain spellings after pasting a passage. For questions about Google’s separate products, see our Google Tamil Input Tools guide. Use this page when you want to compare source text and converted output in one place.
How do I switch between Tanglish to Tamil and Tamil to English?
Press Swap above the left box. The text in the right box moves to the left and the direction flips. When you swap from Tamil to Tanglish, the everyday spelling is used, because it converts back to Tamil far better than ISO accents.
Why do some letters change when I convert back and forth?
Everyday English spelling has fewer letters than Tamil. ந, ண and ன are all written n, so going back to Tamil means guessing. The tool picks the most likely word and underlines the ones it is not sure of. Tap a word to fix it.
Which transliteration scheme should I use?
Use everyday spelling for messages, lyrics and anything people will read casually. Use ISO 15919 for study, references and anything where the exact Tamil spelling matters. See both for every letter. Keep the source alongside the output whenever a reader needs to check the original letters.
Can I transliterate a whole paragraph at once?
Yes. Paste as much text as you like, even several thousand words. Punctuation, numbers, emoji and line breaks are kept, and links, e-mail addresses and @names stay in English letters. Line by line shows each converted line under its original.
Is it free, and is my text private?
It is free with no account. The conversion runs in your browser, so your text is not uploaded anywhere. You can paste a paragraph and review its output without signing in. Keep a separate copy of important writing before clearing site data or replacing the input with a different passage.
Does Swap keep a separate copy of my original paragraph?
No. Swap puts the current converted output into the input and reverses the direction. Copy your original paragraph somewhere safe before swapping if you want to compare both versions later. Repeated swapping is not a reliable spelling check because the everyday English form can lose distinctions between Tamil letters.
Why is the spelling-style selector missing in one direction?
Everyday and ISO 15919 are output choices for Tamil to English letters. They appear when that direction is selected. In the other direction, the tool reads phonetic English spellings to make Tamil. Use Swap to change direction; changing an output style does not turn this into an ISO-to-Tamil parser.
Can this transliteration tool convert a scanned Tamil page?
No. The input needs editable text, not a photograph or a scanned page. First extract the words with Tamil OCR, proofread that Tamil, then paste it here. Transliteration will also reproduce recognition mistakes, so check the extracted source before using its English-letter version as a reading aid.
Can I use this page to build a transliteration API?
This page is an interactive browser tool, not a documented hosted API endpoint. Its controls let you paste, review, copy and download text. For adding phonetic typing to a website form, use the Tamil typing widget instructions instead; that integration has a specific script and supported field types.