Tamil is spoken by 77 million people in the world, including 68 million people who speak it as a first language and 9 million people who speak it as a second language.
In the U.S., 250,000 people speak this language. There are pockets of Tamil speakers in California, Texas, and New Jersey.
How to Say Good Morning in Tamil
Across the globe, people say good morning when they want to greet someone first thing in the morning (and sometimes it can be used anytime before evening!), to say hello, or to acknowledge a passerby.
To say good morning in Tamil, you’d say, “Kālai vaṇakkam!”
The English-to-Tamil translation of kālai is morning, and vaṇakkam means greetings; so, the literal translation of kālai vaṇakkam is morning greetings!
If you wanted to write this phrase, you’d do so like this: காலை வணக்கம்.
You can also just use vaṇakkam as a greeting — without even bringing kālai into the sentence! In India, people don’t really say good morning; they simply say, “Greetings.”
Kālai Vaṇakkam Pronunciation
Want to learn how to pronounce kālai vaṇakkam? Just say, “Kah-lee vah-nah-kum.”
If you want to hear someone speak this greeting, you might want to download a language translation app that offers speech-to-text translation.
Vocre offers text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and even voice-to-voice translation. The best part is that you can download the app on your phone when you have wifi or cell service and continue to use it even if your signal is lost.
Vocre is one of the best language translation apps available in the Apple Store for iOS or the Google Play Store for Android.
Tamil Language: A History
The Tamil language comes from the Dravidian family of languages (70 languages spoken mostly in Southeast Indian and Sri Lanka)
You’ll find the largest populations of Tamil speakers in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. It is the official language of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Puducherry (an Indian union).
Tamil is an Indian classical language and a scheduled language of the Indian Consitution and is one of the oldest languages in the world!
The language is also spoken in the following countries around the world:
- Fiji
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Puducherry (Pondicherry)
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Tamil Nadu
Tamil Dialects
The dialects of Tamil include:
- Batticaloa Tamil
- Central Tamil
- Jaffna Tamil
- Kongu Tamil
- Kumari Tamil
- Madras Bashai
- Madurai Tamil
- Negombo Tamil
- Nellai Tamil
- Sankethi
Check out our online translation tool that can help you learn basic words and phrases, such as hello in other languages.
Need the best language translation app for education translation, school, or business Englishing phrases? We recommend using machine translation software that has a Tamil translation tool and can easily translate text to speech, such as the Vocre app, available on Google Play for Android or the Apple Store for iOS.
