Reference
120+ Common Tanglish Words and Their Tamil Meanings
A working reference for the words that show up in almost every Tamil chat message — organized by category, with the Tamil script and English meaning next to each one. Spellings shown are the most common; see the typing guide for why the same word can look different.
Greetings and politeness
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vanakkam | வணக்கம் | hello / greetings |
| eppadi irukinga | எப்படி இருக்கீங்க | how are you (respectful) |
| eppadi irukka | எப்படி இருக்க | how are you (casual) |
| nalla irukken | நல்லா இருக்கேன் | I'm doing well |
| nandri | நன்றி | thank you |
| romba nandri | ரொம்ப நன்றி | thank you very much |
| sari | சரி | okay / alright |
| please | தயவு செய்து | please |
| mannikavum | மன்னிக்கவும் | sorry / excuse me |
| poitu varen | போயிட்டு வரேன் | bye (literally "I'll go and come back") |
Family and people
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| amma | அம்மா | mother |
| appa | அப்பா | father |
| anna | அண்ணா | elder brother |
| akka | அக்கா | elder sister |
| thambi | தம்பி | younger brother |
| tangachi | தங்கச்சி | younger sister |
| nanba / nanban | நண்பா / நண்பன் | friend |
| machan | மச்சான் | buddy / brother-in-law (casual) |
| ungal | உங்கள் | your (respectful) |
| unga | உங்க | your (casual) |
Question words
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| enna | என்ன | what |
| yaaru | யாரு | who |
| eppo | எப்போ | when |
| enga / engeya | எங்க / எங்கேய | where |
| yaen | ஏன் | why |
| eppadi | எப்படி | how |
| evlo | எவ்ளோ | how much |
| ethana | எத்தனை | how many |
| etho | ஏதோ | something / some |
| illa | இல்ல | no / not |
Common verbs and actions
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| poren / poringa | போறேன் / போறீங்க | going (I / you, respectful) |
| varen / varel | வரேன் / வரல | coming / not coming |
| panren / pannunga | பண்றேன் / பண்ணுங்க | doing / please do |
| solli | சொல்லி | having said / telling |
| paaru / paarunga | பாரு / பாருங்க | look / please look |
| kudu / kudunga | குடு / குடுங்க | give / please give |
| vandu | வந்து | having come |
| irukku | இருக்கு | is there / it is |
| venum | வேணும் | want / need |
| venaam | வேணாம் | don't want |
| theriyum | தெரியும் | know / knows |
| puriyala | புரியல | don't understand |
Time and everyday words
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ippo | இப்போ | now |
| appo | அப்போ | then |
| naalaikku | நாளைக்கு | tomorrow |
| nethu | நேத்து | yesterday |
| inaikku | இன்னைக்கு | today |
| konjam | கொஞ்சம் | a little / a bit |
| romba | ரொம்ப | very / a lot |
| seekiram | சீக்கிரம் | quickly / soon |
| late aayiduchu | லேட் ஆயிடுச்சு | it's gotten late |
| waiting pannunga | வெயிட்டிங் பண்ணுங்க | please wait |
Chat and casual expressions
| Thanglish | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| semma | செம்ம | awesome / excellent |
| mass | மாஸ் | cool / impressive (slang) |
| appadiya | அப்படியா | is that so / really |
| seri seri | சரி சரி | okay okay |
| enna panra | என்ன பண்ற | what are you doing |
| kavalaipadathae | கவலைப்படாதே | don't worry |
| correct-a | கரெக்ட்-ஆ | correctly / exactly |
| sonnute | சொன்னுட்டே | just tell (me) |
| vidamudiyathu | விட முடியாது | can't let go / can't skip |
| parava illa | பரவாயில்ல | it's okay / no problem |
Longer messages? Rather than looking words up one at a time, type the full sentence into the Thanglish to Tamil converter — it handles whole phrases, including English words mixed in.
A note on spelling variation
Every word above has other valid spellings — irukku is also written irukkuu or irukk, and venum shows up as vaenum or venam. None of these are wrong. Thanglish was never standardized, so a good converter needs to accept the variation rather than expect one "correct" spelling. See the full typing guide for the letter-level mapping behind these words.