Writing Tamil with Chinese Characters
By: Yukna on ( Updated: )
Before you begin…
自他之犬同唗屋向走已自
What!? Hint: It’s in Tamil!
Tamil Script
Tamil is written with an Abugida where consonants represent syllables with vowels appearing as modifications to the base consonant glyph. It is an evolution to the old Tamil Brahmi and Pallava Script which gave rise to the Balinese, Baybayin, Javanese, Kawi, Khmer, Lanna, Lao, Mon-Burmese, New Tai Lue, Sundanese, and Thai scripts! However, I always felt that the modern Tamil Script evolved to be not as nice and uniform as its cousin scripts (controversial take!!!! Don’t tell anyone I said this).
If Tamil Used Chinese Characters…
Absurd! This is what Japan did, and Kanji is often regarded as the pain point for learning Japanese. Like Japanese, Tamil is very agglutinative - verbs and nouns change and grow in suffixes when it assumes different grammatical functions like tense and mood. This is in contrast to Chinese, which is analytical across all its dialects - separate distinct morphemes and word order denote grammatical functions.
However, both Japanese and Korean managed to wrestle the Chinese characters to suit their agglutinative structures. Today, Japanese adopts a mix of Kanji characters and two syllabaries, while Korean has a revolutionary alphabet system that describes the consonants and vowel sounds.
I am going to undo this, and strictly force every morpheme of every tamil word into an appropriate Chinese character.
Root Nouns and Verbs
These words directly get assigned to a single character that will correspond to what they mean
Numbers
The easiest? Not really! Tamil numbers can come as its own word, or as a prefix. Also, nine and nineteen are what would be expected. However, ninety onwards, Tamil encodes these as 1-less-than-. So 1999 is Thousand less-thousand, less-hundred, nine. Being the crazy person I am, I encoded ninety not as nine-ten (九十) but as down-hundred (下百).
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | ஒரு / ஓர் / ஓ- | 一 | oɾɯ / oːɾ / oː- |
| Two | இரண்டு / ஈர் / இரு- | 二 | iɾɜɳɖɯ / iːɾ- / iɾu- |
| Three | மூன்று / மூ- | 三 | muːndrɯ / muː- |
| Four | நாங்கு / நா- | 四 | n̪aːŋgɯ / n̪aː- |
| Five | ஐந்து / ஐ- | 五 | aɪn̪dɯ / aɪ- |
| Six | ஆறு | 六 | aːrɯ |
| Seven | ஏழு | 七 | eːɻɯ |
| Eight | எட்டு / எம்- | 八 | eʈːɯ / em- |
| Nine | ஒன்பது / தொம்- | 九 | ombɜdɯ / t̪om- |
| Ten | பத்து / -பது / பதி- | 十 | pat̪ːɯ / -padɯ / padi- |
| Eleven | பதினொரு | 十一 | padinoɾɯ |
| Twelve | பதிரண்டு / பணண்து | 十二 | padiɾɜɳɖɯ / paɳaɳdɯ |
| Thirteen | பதிமூன்று | 十三 | padimuːndrɯ |
| Fourteen | பதினாங்கு | 十四 | padi̪naːŋgɯ |
| Fifteen | பதினைந்து | 十五 | padinaɪn̪dɯ |
| Sixteen | பதினாறு | 十六 | padinaːrɯ |
| Seventeen | பதினேழு | 十七 | padineːɻɯ |
| Eighteen | பதினெட்டு | 十八 | padineʈːɯ |
| Nineteen | பத்தோம்பது | 十九 | padːoːmbadɯ |
| Twenty | இருபது | 二十 | iɾubadɯ |
| Thirty | முப்பது | 三十 | muːpːdɯ |
| Eighty | எண்பது | 八十 | embadɯ |
| Ninety | தொன்னுறு | 下百 | t̪onːnːɯ |
| Hundred | நூறு | 百 | nːɯ |
| Two hundred | இருனுறு | 二百 | iɾunːɯ |
| Nine hundred | தொல்லாயிரம் | 下千 | t̪olːaːjiɾɜm |
| Thousand | ஆயிரம் | 千 | aːjiɾɜm |
Nouns
These are some simple nouns. These words also provide the basis of syllable characters. The sound for ஆ (aa) can be derived from ஆடு (aadu, goat) by adding a 口 (vaai, mouth) to 羊 (aadu, goat) to get 咩 (aa).
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inch | அலங்கு | 寸 | alɜŋgɯ |
| Goat | ஆடு | 羊 | aːɖɯ |
| Dog | நாய் | 犬 | n̪aːj |
| Fire | தீ | 火 | t̪iː |
| Water | நீர் | 水 | n̪iːɾ |
| Mouth | வாய் | 口 | ʋaːj |
| Person | ஆல் | 人 | aːl |
| Hand | கை | 手 | kaɪ |
Verbs
These are the infinitive root words. I only have two here. I am lazy.
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Come | வா | 来 | ʋaː |
| Run | ஓடு | 走 | oːɖɯ |
Pronouns
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / me | நான் | 自 | n̪aːn |
| You | நீ | 尔 | n̪iː |
| He | அவன் | 他 | aʋɜn |
| She | அவள் | 她 | aʋɜl |
| He (Respectful) | அவர் | 贵 | aʋɜɾ |
| That | அது | 物 | adɯ |
| We (exclusive) | நாங்கள் | 自众 | n̪aːŋgɜl |
| We (inclusive) | நாம் | 咱 | n̪aːm |
| You (Plural / Respectful) | நீங்கள் | 君 | n̪iːŋgɜl |
| They | அவ்ர்கள் | 众 | aʋɜɾkɜl |
| Those | அவை | 些 | aʋɜɪ |
Noun conjugations
Unlike Chinese and English, word positions do not matter as much in Tamil. Instead, the “who” and “what” in “who does what” is marked by suffixes. The default “who does” agent is unmarked, and verbs will also get suffixes to agree with this word. The rest are marked according to what they do. In Japanese, these are reduced from Kanji to hiragana, like “-o” and “-no”. This will be a future extension where I will reduce certain characters down to simple strokes to create a brand new writing system.
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | -ஐ | 受 | -ɜɪ |
| INS | -ஆல் | 以 | -aːl |
| SOC1 | -உடன் | 同 | -uɖɜn |
| SOC2 | -ஓடு | 同唗 | ɯ |
| DAT | -கு | 向 | -kɯ |
| BEN | -காக | 利 | -kaːgɜ |
| ABL irrational | -இலிருந்து | 里从 | -iliɾɯndɯ |
| ABL rational | -இடமிருந்து | 于从 | -iɖɜmiɾɯndɯ |
| GEN | -அது | 之寸 | ɯ |
| GEN | -உடைய | 之 | -ɯɖɜɪ |
| LOC irrational | -இல் | 里 | -il |
| LOC rational | -இடம் | 于 | -iɖɜm |
| VOC | -ஆ | 咩 | -aː |
| VOC | -ஏ | 叱 | -eː |
| VOC | -ஓ | 唗 | -oː |
| CONJ | -உம் | 与 | -ɯm |
The interesting ones are:
- 咩 uses the goat character like mentioned above for the aː sound.
- Likewise 叱 uses seven for the eː initial sound.
- And 唗 uses run for the oː initial sound.
- We see “唗” for the suffix “同唗” because of how the suffix -ஓடு sounds exactly like the verb “run” ஓடு.
This plays on the tendency of Chinese character evolution to use phonetic radicals as clues to pronunciation.
Verb conjugations
This is the crazy part. There are multiple parts to a verb, and they can address the mood, modality, tense, and even reflect on who is doing the action!
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1SG | -ஏன் | 自 | -eːn |
| 2SG | -ஆய் | 尔 | -aːj |
| 3SG(M) | -ஆன் | 他 | -aːn |
| 3SG(F) | -ஆள் | 她 | -aːl |
| 3SG(H) | -ஆர் | 贵 | -aːɾ |
| 3SG(I) | -அது | 物 | -adɯ |
| 1PL | -ஓம் | 咱 | -oːm |
| 2PL | -ஈர்கள் | 君 | -iːɾgɜl |
| 3PL | -ஆர்கள் | 众 | -aːɾgɜl |
| 3PL(I) | -அன | 些 | -ɜn |
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRESENT | -உகிற- | 今 | -ukirɜ- |
| PAST | -இன- | 已 | -inɜ- |
| FUTURE | -உவ- | 将 | -uʋɜ- |
| FUTURE NEG | -மாட்ட- | 非 | -maːɖːɜ- |
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFFECTIVE | -ப்படு- | 被 | -pːɜɖɯ- |
| PROG | -க்கொண்டிரு- | 正 | -kːoɳɖiɾɯ- |
| Meaning | Tamil | Character | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEG | -இல்லை | 无 | -ilːɜi |
| IMP SG | -உ | 𠲖 | -ɯ |
| IMP PL | -உங்கள் | 君 | -uŋgɜl |
| IMP NEG SG | -ஆது | 不叱 | -aːdɯ |
| POTENTIAL | -அலாம் | 可 | -ɜlaːm |
| COHORTATIVE | -அட்டும் | 准 | -ɜɖːɯm |
| CAUSAL COND | -உவதால் | 因 | -uʋɜdaːl |
| COND | -இனால் | 若 | -inaːl |
Cursed table of conjugations for 走 (ஓடு)
This table dictates most of the possible conjugations for the verb run (
| root verb: 走 | present 今 | past 已 | future 将 | future neg 非 | neg 无 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1SG 自 | | | | | |
| 2SG 尔 | | | | | |
| 3SG(M) 他 | | | | | |
| 3SG(F) 她 | | | | | |
| 3SG(H) 贵 | | | | | |
| 3SG(I) 物 | | | | | |
| 1PL 咱 | | | | | |
| 2PL 君 | | | | | |
| 3PL 众 | | | | | |
| 3PL(I) 些 | | | | | |
| root verb: 走 | present 今 | past 已 | future 将 | future neg 非 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| imperative SG | | | ||
| imperative PL | | | ||
| infinitive | | | ||
| potential 可 | | | ||
| cohortative 准 | | | ||
| casual cond. 因 | | | ||
| cond. 若 | | | ||
| adverbial participle | | | ||
| adjectival participle 形 | | | | |
| V. noun 3SG(M) 者他 | | | | |
| V. noun 3SG(F) 者她 | | | | |
| V. noun 3SG(H) 者贵 | | | | |
| V. noun 3SG(I) 者物 | | | | |
| V. noun 3PL 者众 | | | | |
| V. noun 3PL(I) 者些 | | | | |
| Gerund I | | |||
| Gerund II | | |||
| Gerund III | |
Putting it all together
Let’s try to analyze what I said at the start:
自他之犬同唗屋向走已自
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| | I |
| | He-GEN (His) |
| | Dog-SOC2 (with dog) |
| | House-DAT (to house) |
| | Run-PAST-1SG (I ran) |
In other words:
I ran home with his dog.
There’s two things here I want to add:
- I did not run home with anyone’s dog.
- House is represented with ‘屋’.
More complex words can be used to demonstrate the cursed nature of this orthography:
ஓடாதவர்களுக்காகவே - oːɖaːdɜʋɜɾgɜlukːaːgɜʋeː
Google translator says it means “For those who don’t run” but I think a better translations is:
Indeed for those who do not run
and in our orthography it is:
走不者众利叱
In Tamil it is one word, a noun. It can be broken nicely according to each character:
| Character | Tamil | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 走 | ஓட் | oːɖ | Run |
| 不 | ஆட் | aːd | Negation |
| 者 | அவ் | ɜʋ | Verb-to-noun |
| 众 | அர்கள் | ɜɾgɜl | Third person plural |
| 利 | உக்காக | ukːaːgɜ | Beneficial |
| 叱 | வே | ʋeː | Vocative |
An interesting observation is that elements like உக் (uk) are not explicitly listed in the tables above, yet they appear due to Tamil phonotactic constraints. This nuance is not currently captured in our new orthography, which could pose challenges for literacy acquisition.
This touches on the often-debated topic of whole-word vs. phonetic reading. Ideally, encountering a phrase like 走不者众利叱 would instantly evoke the meaning “Indeed, for those who do not run,” akin to whole-word recognition. This ability explains why many readers can effortlessly skim familiar words or even decipher jumbled texts like those viral Facebook memes where the internal letters of words are scrambled but still legible.
English, by and large, is not very phonetic - take the classic example of ghoti, which humorously spells “fish.” (Fun fact: Kiribati is pronounced Kiribaz.) Despite this, humans primarily acquire language through listening and speaking, making the sight-to-sound pathway critical in early reading development. Only later does the sight-to-meaning pathway become dominant.
This is why phonetic transparency matters: studies show that Italian speakers, whose language is more phonetically regular, are less likely to develop dyslexia compared to English speakers. Dyslexia is believed to stem from difficulties in the sight-to-sound mapping process; thus, a phonetic language can mitigate these issues. With practice, readers of phonetic scripts can also transition into whole-word recognition—just like in logographic systems.
(Source is Google ehehe nice thing about blog is I don’t need to explicitly cite sources, but feel free to raise an issue via my contact-me)
Conclusion
I want to work further on this, maybe next time work on reinventing a new syllabary based on this! There’s still a lot of words I did not translate, having only worked on the grammar. Maybe writing out a song in Chinese Characters would be crazy!