Tamil Letters Chart

Tap a Tamil letter to copy it: vowels, consonants and every compound letter, each with its sound in Latin letters.

Tamil Letters Chart

அaU+0B85Ready to copy

275 letters. Tap one to copy it.

Vowels and aytham 13

Consonants 18

Compound letters 216

Grantha letters 7

Numerals 13

Signs 8

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How it works

A Tamil letters chart to copy from: the 12 vowels and the aytham, the 18 consonants, then all 216 letters that a consonant and a vowel make together. The Latin spellings under the letters follow ISO 15919.

Read the full guide

How a consonant and a vowel join

A consonant written alone already carries the vowel a: க is ka. A dot on top, the pulli, takes the vowel away and leaves க், k. Any other vowel is added as a sign: கா is kā, கி is ki, கை is kai. A sign can stand right of its consonant, left of it or on both sides; the copied letter always holds the consonant first.

Three kinds of consonant

Tamil sorts its 18 consonants into three groups of six: hard, soft, which holds the nasals, and medium. The Grantha letters, such as ஜ ja and ஹ ha, stand outside that count: they are supplementary letters for sounds Tamil took in later.

  • ஃ, the aytham, written before ப gives the f of English words: ஃப.
  • Tamil has one sign each for 10, 100 and 1000: ௰, ௱ and ௲.

Questions and answers

How many letters are in the Tamil alphabet?

247 when every compound letter is counted: 12 vowels, 18 consonants, the aytham ஃ, and 216 compound letters, one for every consonant with every vowel. Grantha letters and numerals are not in that count.

What are the 12 vowels in Tamil?

அ a, ஆ ā, இ i, ஈ ī, உ u, ஊ ū, எ e, ஏ ē, ஐ ai, ஒ o, ஓ ō and ஔ au: five short vowels, five long ones and two diphthongs.

What are the 18 consonants in Tamil?

க் ங் ச் ஞ் ட் ண் த் ந் ப் ம் ய் ர் ல் வ் ழ் ள் ற் ன், which ISO 15919 spells k, ṅ, c, ñ, ṭ, ṇ, t, n, p, m, y, r, l, v, ḻ, ḷ, ṟ and ṉ.

Is Tamil written left to right?

Yes, Tamil runs left to right. Three vowel signs are drawn to the left of their consonant, those of e, ē and ai, but each is still read after it.

All 275 letters

Vowels and aytham 13

  • a U+0B85 Tamil letter a. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A short vowel, IPA /ɐ/; vowel 1 of 12. It has no sign: a consonant with no mark is already read with it, as in க ka.
  • ā U+0B86 Tamil letter aa. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A long vowel, IPA /aː/; vowel 2 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ா, as in கா kā.
  • ai U+0B90 Tamil letter ai. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A diphthong, IPA /ɐi̯/; vowel 9 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ை, as in கை kai.
  • au U+0B94 Tamil letter au. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A diphthong, IPA /ɐu̯/; vowel 12 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ௌ, as in கௌ kau.
  • Aytham U+0B83 Tamil sign visarga, also named aytham. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. Three dots, listed at the end of the vowels and counted as neither a vowel nor a consonant. Today it also marks a foreign sound: ஃப is written for the English f.
Show all 275 letters (270 more)

Vowels and aytham, continued

  • e U+0B8E Tamil letter e. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A short vowel, IPA /e/; vowel 7 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ெ, as in கெ ke.
  • ē U+0B8F Tamil letter ee. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A long vowel, IPA /eː/; vowel 8 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ே, as in கே kē.
  • i U+0B87 Tamil letter i. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A short vowel, IPA /i/; vowel 3 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ி, as in கி ki.
  • ī U+0B88 Tamil letter ii. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A long vowel, IPA /iː/; vowel 4 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ீ, as in கீ kī.
  • o U+0B92 Tamil letter o. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A short vowel, IPA /o/; vowel 10 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ொ, as in கொ ko.
  • ō U+0B93 Tamil letter oo. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A long vowel, IPA /oː/; vowel 11 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ோ, as in கோ kō.
  • u U+0B89 Tamil letter u. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A short vowel, IPA /u/; vowel 5 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ு, as in கு ku.
  • ū U+0B8A Tamil letter uu. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A long vowel, IPA /uː/; vowel 6 of 12. After a consonant it is written as the sign ூ, as in கூ kū.

Consonants 18

  • c U+0B9A U+0BCD Tamil letter ca with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant c, IPA /t͡ʃ, s/; consonant 3 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • k U+0B95 U+0BCD Tamil letter ka with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant k, IPA /k/; consonant 1 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • l U+0BB2 U+0BCD Tamil letter la with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant l, IPA /l̪/; consonant 13 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).
  • ḷ U+0BB3 U+0BCD Tamil letter lla with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ḷ, IPA /ɭ/; consonant 16 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).
  • ḻ U+0BB4 U+0BCD Tamil letter llla with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ḻ, IPA /ɻ/; consonant 15 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).
  • m U+0BAE U+0BCD Tamil letter ma with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant m, IPA /m/; consonant 10 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • n U+0BA8 U+0BCD Tamil letter na with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant n, IPA /n̪/; consonant 8 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • ñ U+0B9E U+0BCD Tamil letter nya with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ñ, IPA /ɲ/; consonant 4 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • ṅ U+0B99 U+0BCD Tamil letter nga with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ṅ, IPA /ŋ/; consonant 2 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • ṇ U+0BA3 U+0BCD Tamil letter nna with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ṇ, IPA /ɳ/; consonant 6 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • ṉ U+0BA9 U+0BCD Tamil letter nnna with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ṉ, IPA /n/; consonant 18 of 18 and one of the six soft consonants (mellinam).
  • p U+0BAA U+0BCD Tamil letter pa with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant p, IPA /p/; consonant 9 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • r U+0BB0 U+0BCD Tamil letter ra with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant r, IPA /ɾ/; consonant 12 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).
  • ṟ U+0BB1 U+0BCD Tamil letter rra with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ṟ, IPA /r/; consonant 17 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • t U+0BA4 U+0BCD Tamil letter ta with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant t, IPA /t̪/; consonant 7 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • ṭ U+0B9F U+0BCD Tamil letter tta with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant ṭ, IPA /ʈ/; consonant 5 of 18 and one of the six hard consonants (vallinam).
  • v U+0BB5 U+0BCD Tamil letter va with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant v, IPA /v/; consonant 14 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).
  • y U+0BAF U+0BCD Tamil letter ya with the pulli, Tamil sign virama. The bare consonant y, IPA /j/; consonant 11 of 18 and one of the six medium consonants (idaiyinam).

Compound letters 216

  • ca ச் c + அ a. No sign is written.
  • cā ச் c + ஆ ā.
  • cai ச் c + ஐ ai.
  • cau ச் c + ஔ au.
  • ce ச் c + எ e.
  • cē ச் c + ஏ ē.
  • ci ச் c + இ i.
  • cī ச் c + ஈ ī.
  • co ச் c + ஒ o.
  • cō ச் c + ஓ ō.
  • cu ச் c + உ u.
  • cū ச் c + ஊ ū.
  • ka க் k + அ a. No sign is written.
  • kā க் k + ஆ ā.
  • kai க் k + ஐ ai.
  • kau க் k + ஔ au.
  • ke க் k + எ e.
  • kē க் k + ஏ ē.
  • ki க் k + இ i.
  • kī க் k + ஈ ī.
  • ko க் k + ஒ o.
  • kō க் k + ஓ ō.
  • ku க் k + உ u.
  • kū க் k + ஊ ū.
  • la ல் l + அ a. No sign is written.
  • lā ல் l + ஆ ā.
  • ḷa ள் ḷ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ḷā ள் ḷ + ஆ ā.
  • ḻa ழ் ḻ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ḻā ழ் ḻ + ஆ ā.
  • lai ல் l + ஐ ai.
  • ḷai ள் ḷ + ஐ ai.
  • ḻai ழ் ḻ + ஐ ai.
  • lau ல் l + ஔ au.
  • ḷau ள் ḷ + ஔ au.
  • ḻau ழ் ḻ + ஔ au.
  • le ல் l + எ e.
  • lē ல் l + ஏ ē.
  • ḷe ள் ḷ + எ e.
  • ḷē ள் ḷ + ஏ ē.
  • ḻe ழ் ḻ + எ e.
  • ḻē ழ் ḻ + ஏ ē.
  • li ல் l + இ i.
  • lī ல் l + ஈ ī.
  • ḷi ள் ḷ + இ i.
  • ḷī ள் ḷ + ஈ ī.
  • ḻi ழ் ḻ + இ i.
  • ḻī ழ் ḻ + ஈ ī.
  • lo ல் l + ஒ o.
  • lō ல் l + ஓ ō.
  • ḷo ள் ḷ + ஒ o.
  • ḷō ள் ḷ + ஓ ō.
  • ḻo ழ் ḻ + ஒ o.
  • ḻō ழ் ḻ + ஓ ō.
  • lu ல் l + உ u.
  • lū ல் l + ஊ ū.
  • ḷu ள் ḷ + உ u.
  • ḷū ள் ḷ + ஊ ū.
  • ḻu ழ் ḻ + உ u.
  • ḻū ழ் ḻ + ஊ ū.
  • ma ம் m + அ a. No sign is written.
  • mā ம் m + ஆ ā.
  • mai ம் m + ஐ ai.
  • mau ம் m + ஔ au.
  • me ம் m + எ e.
  • mē ம் m + ஏ ē.
  • mi ம் m + இ i.
  • mī ம் m + ஈ ī.
  • mo ம் m + ஒ o.
  • mō ம் m + ஓ ō.
  • mu ம் m + உ u.
  • mū ம் m + ஊ ū.
  • na ந் n + அ a. No sign is written.
  • nā ந் n + ஆ ā.
  • ña ஞ் ñ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ñā ஞ் ñ + ஆ ā.
  • ṅa ங் ṅ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ṅā ங் ṅ + ஆ ā.
  • ṇa ண் ṇ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ṇā ண் ṇ + ஆ ā.
  • ṉa ன் ṉ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ṉā ன் ṉ + ஆ ā.
  • nai ந் n + ஐ ai.
  • ñai ஞ் ñ + ஐ ai.
  • ṅai ங் ṅ + ஐ ai.
  • ṇai ண் ṇ + ஐ ai.
  • ṉai ன் ṉ + ஐ ai.
  • nau ந் n + ஔ au.
  • ñau ஞ் ñ + ஔ au.
  • ṅau ங் ṅ + ஔ au.
  • ṇau ண் ṇ + ஔ au.
  • ṉau ன் ṉ + ஔ au.
  • ne ந் n + எ e.
  • nē ந் n + ஏ ē.
  • ñe ஞ் ñ + எ e.
  • ñē ஞ் ñ + ஏ ē.
  • ṅe ங் ṅ + எ e.
  • ṅē ங் ṅ + ஏ ē.
  • ṇe ண் ṇ + எ e.
  • ṇē ண் ṇ + ஏ ē.
  • ṉe ன் ṉ + எ e.
  • ṉē ன் ṉ + ஏ ē.
  • ni ந் n + இ i.
  • nī ந் n + ஈ ī.
  • ñi ஞ் ñ + இ i.
  • ñī ஞ் ñ + ஈ ī.
  • ṅi ங் ṅ + இ i.
  • ṅī ங் ṅ + ஈ ī.
  • ṇi ண் ṇ + இ i.
  • ṇī ண் ṇ + ஈ ī.
  • ṉi ன் ṉ + இ i.
  • ṉī ன் ṉ + ஈ ī.
  • no ந் n + ஒ o.
  • nō ந் n + ஓ ō.
  • ño ஞ் ñ + ஒ o.
  • ñō ஞ் ñ + ஓ ō.
  • ṅo ங் ṅ + ஒ o.
  • ṅō ங் ṅ + ஓ ō.
  • ṇo ண் ṇ + ஒ o.
  • ṇō ண் ṇ + ஓ ō.
  • ṉo ன் ṉ + ஒ o.
  • ṉō ன் ṉ + ஓ ō.
  • nu ந் n + உ u.
  • nū ந் n + ஊ ū.
  • ñu ஞ் ñ + உ u.
  • ñū ஞ் ñ + ஊ ū.
  • ṅu ங் ṅ + உ u.
  • ṅū ங் ṅ + ஊ ū.
  • ṇu ண் ṇ + உ u.
  • ṇū ண் ṇ + ஊ ū.
  • ṉu ன் ṉ + உ u.
  • ṉū ன் ṉ + ஊ ū.
  • pa ப் p + அ a. No sign is written.
  • pā ப் p + ஆ ā.
  • pai ப் p + ஐ ai.
  • pau ப் p + ஔ au.
  • pe ப் p + எ e.
  • pē ப் p + ஏ ē.
  • pi ப் p + இ i.
  • pī ப் p + ஈ ī.
  • po ப் p + ஒ o.
  • pō ப் p + ஓ ō.
  • pu ப் p + உ u.
  • pū ப் p + ஊ ū.
  • ra ர் r + அ a. No sign is written.
  • rā ர் r + ஆ ā.
  • ṟa ற் ṟ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ṟā ற் ṟ + ஆ ā.
  • rai ர் r + ஐ ai.
  • ṟai ற் ṟ + ஐ ai.
  • rau ர் r + ஔ au.
  • ṟau ற் ṟ + ஔ au.
  • re ர் r + எ e.
  • rē ர் r + ஏ ē.
  • ṟe ற் ṟ + எ e.
  • ṟē ற் ṟ + ஏ ē.
  • ri ர் r + இ i.
  • rī ர் r + ஈ ī.
  • ṟi ற் ṟ + இ i.
  • ṟī ற் ṟ + ஈ ī.
  • ro ர் r + ஒ o.
  • rō ர் r + ஓ ō.
  • ṟo ற் ṟ + ஒ o.
  • ṟō ற் ṟ + ஓ ō.
  • ru ர் r + உ u.
  • rū ர் r + ஊ ū.
  • ṟu ற் ṟ + உ u.
  • ṟū ற் ṟ + ஊ ū.
  • ta த் t + அ a. No sign is written.
  • tā த் t + ஆ ā.
  • ṭa ட் ṭ + அ a. No sign is written.
  • ṭā ட் ṭ + ஆ ā.
  • tai த் t + ஐ ai.
  • ṭai ட் ṭ + ஐ ai.
  • tau த் t + ஔ au.
  • ṭau ட் ṭ + ஔ au.
  • te த் t + எ e.
  • tē த் t + ஏ ē.
  • ṭe ட் ṭ + எ e.
  • ṭē ட் ṭ + ஏ ē.
  • ti த் t + இ i.
  • tī த் t + ஈ ī.
  • ṭi ட் ṭ + இ i.
  • ṭī ட் ṭ + ஈ ī.
  • to த் t + ஒ o.
  • tō த் t + ஓ ō.
  • ṭo ட் ṭ + ஒ o.
  • ṭō ட் ṭ + ஓ ō.
  • tu த் t + உ u.
  • tū த் t + ஊ ū.
  • ṭu ட் ṭ + உ u.
  • ṭū ட் ṭ + ஊ ū.
  • va வ் v + அ a. No sign is written.
  • vā வ் v + ஆ ā.
  • vai வ் v + ஐ ai.
  • vau வ் v + ஔ au.
  • ve வ் v + எ e.
  • vē வ் v + ஏ ē.
  • vi வ் v + இ i.
  • vī வ் v + ஈ ī.
  • vo வ் v + ஒ o.
  • vō வ் v + ஓ ō.
  • vu வ் v + உ u.
  • vū வ் v + ஊ ū.
  • ya ய் y + அ a. No sign is written.
  • yā ய் y + ஆ ā.
  • yai ய் y + ஐ ai.
  • yau ய் y + ஔ au.
  • ye ய் y + எ e.
  • yē ய் y + ஏ ē.
  • yi ய் y + இ i.
  • yī ய் y + ஈ ī.
  • yo ய் y + ஒ o.
  • yō ய் y + ஓ ō.
  • yu ய் y + உ u.
  • yū ய் y + ஊ ū.

Grantha letters 7

  • ha U+0BB9 Tamil letter ha. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A Grantha letter, one of the supplementary letters, for the sound h, IPA /h/.
  • ja U+0B9C Tamil letter ja. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A Grantha letter, one of the supplementary letters, for the sound j, IPA /d͡ʒ/.
  • kṣa U+0B95 U+0BCD U+0BB7 Tamil letter ka, the pulli and Tamil letter ssa, joined into one letter. A Grantha letter for the sound kṣ, IPA /kʂ/.
  • sa U+0BB8 Tamil letter sa. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A Grantha letter, one of the supplementary letters, for the sound s, IPA /s/.
  • śa U+0BB6 Tamil letter sha. Tamil block, Unicode 4.1. A Grantha letter, one of the supplementary letters, for the sound ś, IPA /ʃ/.
  • ṣa U+0BB7 Tamil letter ssa. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. A Grantha letter, one of the supplementary letters, for the sound ṣ, IPA /ʂ/.
  • śrī U+0BB6 U+0BCD U+0BB0 U+0BC0 Tamil letter sha, the pulli, Tamil letter ra and Tamil vowel sign ii, drawn as one ligature. Unicode names the sequence Tamil syllable shrii.

Numerals 13

  • 0 U+0BE6 Tamil digit zero. Tamil block, Unicode 4.1.
  • 1 U+0BE7 Tamil digit one. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 2 U+0BE8 Tamil digit two. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 3 U+0BE9 Tamil digit three. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 4 U+0BEA Tamil digit four. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 5 U+0BEB Tamil digit five. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 6 U+0BEC Tamil digit six. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 7 U+0BED Tamil digit seven. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 8 U+0BEE Tamil digit eight. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 9 U+0BEF Tamil digit nine. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1.
  • 10 U+0BF0 Tamil number ten. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. One sign for the whole number, where the digits would need 2.
  • 100 U+0BF1 Tamil number one hundred. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. One sign for the whole number, where the digits would need 3.
  • 1000 U+0BF2 Tamil number one thousand. Tamil block, Unicode 1.1. One sign for the whole number, where the digits would need 4.

Signs 8

  • As above sign U+0BF8 Tamil as above sign, also named merpadi. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Credit sign U+0BF7 Tamil credit sign, also named eduppu. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Day sign U+0BF3 Tamil day sign, also named naal. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Debit sign U+0BF6 Tamil debit sign, also named patru. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Month sign U+0BF4 Tamil month sign, also named maatham. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Number sign U+0BFA Tamil number sign, also named enn. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Rupee sign U+0BF9 Tamil rupee sign, also named rupai. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.
  • Year sign U+0BF5 Tamil year sign, also named varudam. Tamil block, Unicode 4.0.

How this list was compiled: Every character was checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt): the code points and the character names in the notes come from that file, names in sentence case. Block names come from Blocks.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Blocks.txt) and the Unicode version each character arrived in from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt), both version 18.0.0. Other names of a character come from NamesList.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt). Which letters are Tamil's and their order: the main and index exemplar characters of CLDR's Tamil locale (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/main/ta.xml), which list the same 12 vowels, the aytham and 18 consonants in the same order, and four of the Grantha letters. The Latin spelling of each letter (ISO 15919), its sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the three groups of six consonants, the Grantha letters, the numerals and what each sign stands for follow Wikipedia's Tamil script article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_script), restated in this site's own words. Each of the 216 compound letters is put together from a consonant and a vowel sign, and each was found again in that article's compound table. The tile names are the ISO 15919 spellings; the grouping is this site's own. Each tile was drawn on 2026-10-08 before it was kept, and all of them drew. All sources were read on 2026-10-08. Licence: own work

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