Lesson 3: Combining Vowels and Consonants (உயிர்மெய் எழுத்துக்கள்)

Introduction to Combining Vowels and Consonants

In Tamil, vowels and consonants combine to form syllables called உயிர்மெய் எழுத்துக்கள் (uyirmei ezhuthukkal). This lesson will teach you how to combine vowels with consonants to create these fundamental building blocks of Tamil words.

The Combination Process

When a consonant combines with a vowel, the consonant usually changes its shape. Let's look at how the consonant 'க' (ka) combines with different vowels:

Rules for Combining

• The short vowel 'அ' is inherent in the consonant form. For example, 'க' is pronounced 'ka'.
• For other vowels, the consonant changes its shape or adds a symbol.
• The position of the added symbol can be to the right, left, top, or bottom of the consonant, depending on the vowel.
• Some combinations may look very different from their component parts (e.g., கி for க் + இ).