Tamil Alphabet | தமிழ் எழுத்துக்கள்
The Tamil alphabet consists of 12 vowels and 18 consonants. It is one of the oldest writing systems still in use today.
அ
A
a
ஆ
Ā
ā
இ
I
i
ஈ
Ī
ī
உ
U
u
ஊ
Ū
ū
எ
E
e
ஏ
Ē
ē
ஐ
Ai
ai
ஒ
O
o
ஓ
Ō
ō
ஔ
Au
au
க
Ka
ka
ங
Nga
ṅa
ச
Cha
cha
ஞ
Nya
ña
ட
Ṭa
ṭa
ண
Ṇa
ṇa
த
Ta
ta
ந
Na
na
ப
Pa
pa
ம
Ma
ma
ய
Ya
ya
ர
Ra
ra
ல
La
la
வ
Va
va
ழ
Zha
ḻa
ள
Ḷa
ḷa
ற
Ṟa
ṟa
ன
Ṉa
ṉa
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About the Tamil Alphabet
The Tamil script is an abugida used to write the Tamil language. It is one of the oldest continuously used writing systems in the world, with origins dating back over 2,000 years. The script consists of 12 vowels, 18 consonants, and one special character (ஃ).
History
Tamil script evolved from the Brahmi script around the 3rd century BCE. The modern Tamil script developed during the Pallava and Chola periods (6th-13th centuries CE). It has remained relatively unchanged since the medieval period, making ancient Tamil texts still readable today.
Key Features
- Written from left to right
- 12 vowels and 18 consonants
- Abugida script with inherent vowels
- One of the oldest living scripts
- Rounded letter shapes
- No distinction between upper and lower case