Days in Tamil: The 7 Days of the Week With Pronunciation

Days in Tamil: the table

Tamil is spoken by around 80 million people in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia, and the day names are the same everywhere. Each day has a short name (the planet) and a full name ending in கிழமை (kiḻamai), "weekday". The table gives both, starting from Sunday, which is where the Tamil week starts.

The romanization column uses the standard ISO scheme for Tamil, where c is pronounced "s" at the start of a word, ḻ is the special Tamil "zh" sound, and ṉ and ṟ are the alveolar n and r. The "sounds like" column is what an English speaker should aim for.

Short form vs -kizhamai form

The short form (ஞாயிறு, திங்கள், செவ்வாய் and so on) is the name of the planet. On its own it can mean the heavenly body: ஞாயிறு is the Sun, திங்கள் is the Moon, வெள்ளி is Venus and also the metal silver. Adding கிழமை (kiḻamai) turns it into the weekday. In careful writing, on calendars and in the news you will always see the full form. In conversation people use both, and context makes it clear.

The join is not always a plain addition, because Tamil changes sounds where words meet (sandhi):

• திங்கள் + கிழமை becomes திங்கட்கிழமை: the final ள் turns into ட்.
• வியாழன் + கிழமை becomes வியாழக்கிழமை: the final ன் drops and the க் doubles.
• ஞாயிறு + கிழமை becomes ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை: the று becomes ற்று and a க் is added.
• செவ்வாய், வெள்ளி and சனி simply double the க்: செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை, வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, சனிக்கிழமை.
• புதன் + கிழமை is the one with no change: புதன்கிழமை.

You do not need to understand the rules to use the words, but knowing they exist stops you from "correcting" a spelling that is actually right.

How to pronounce them

• ழ (ḻ, written "zh") in வியாழன் and கிழமை is the sound Tamil is famous for. Curl the tip of your tongue back toward the roof of the mouth and say an English "r" as in "girl" without letting the tongue touch anything. It is not "z" and not "l". If you cannot manage it yet, an American "r" is the closest substitute and will be understood.
• ஞ (ñ) at the start of ஞாயிறு is "ny", as in the middle of "canyon".
• ற்று in ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை is pronounced "ttr" or "tr", not "rr". This surprises everyone.
• ச at the start of a word is "s": செவ்வாய் is "sevvaai", சனி is "sani".
• த in திங்கள் is a soft dental "th", closer to "the" than to "tin".
• ப in புதன் is technically "p", but at the start of a word most speakers say something between p and b, which is why you see "Budhan" in casual romanization.
• ள் (ḷ) in திங்கள் and வெள்ளி is a retroflex l, tongue curled back.
• The final -மை is "mai" in reading pronunciation and usually "me" in everyday speech.

The planet behind each day

Like Latin and most Indian languages, Tamil names the days after the seven classical planets, and the order is the same as in the Western week. What is different is that Tamil uses its own native words for the planets rather than Sanskrit ones, which is why Tamil days sound nothing like Hindi ravivar, somvar, mangalvar.

These seven planets are also the seven weekday members of the navagraha, the nine celestial bodies of Indian astronomy, which is why the days matter in traditional Tamil calendars. Many families avoid starting new ventures on சனிக்கிழமை (Saturday) and treat வெள்ளிக்கிழமை (Friday) as a good day for temple visits and new purchases.

Today, tomorrow, yesterday and other day words

Example sentences

• இன்று என்ன கிழமை? (Iṉṟu eṉṉa kiḻamai?) What day is it today?
• இன்று திங்கட்கிழமை. (Iṉṟu tiṅkaṭkiḻamai.) Today is Monday.
• நாளை செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை. (Nāḷai cevvāykkiḻamai.) Tomorrow is Tuesday.
• நேற்று ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை. (Nēṟṟu ñāyiṟṟukkiḻamai.) Yesterday was Sunday.
• வெள்ளிக்கிழமை சந்திப்போம். (Veḷḷikkiḻamai cantippōm.) Let's meet on Friday.
• சனிக்கிழமை விடுமுறை. (Caṉikkiḻamai viṭumuṟai.) Saturday is a holiday.
• ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை கடை மூடியிருக்கும். (Ñāyiṟṟukkiḻamai kaṭai mūṭiyirukkum.) The shop will be closed on Sunday.
• புதன்கிழமை எனக்கு வேலை இல்லை. (Putaṉkiḻamai eṉakku vēlai illai.) I don't have work on Wednesday.

Notice that Tamil does not need a word for "on" before a day. The day name sits at the start of the sentence and does the job by itself. If you want to be explicit, add அன்று (aṉṟu): வெள்ளிக்கிழமையன்று, "on Friday".

Written Tamil vs spoken Tamil

Tamil has a formal written register and a colloquial spoken one, and the days show the gap clearly. The spellings above are the written standard, which is what you see on calendars, timetables and in school. In speech the ending softens and syllables blur: திங்கட்கிழமை comes out as "thingakkizhame", செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை as "sevvaakkizhame", ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை as "nyaayitthukkizhame". Sri Lankan Tamil keeps the same words and tends to pronounce them a little more conservatively, closer to the spelling. If you learn the written forms and let native speakers soften them for you, you will be understood everywhere Tamil is spoken.

Mistakes learners make

• Misspelling Tuesday. It is செவ்வாய் (cevvāy), with a doubled வ். Forms with extra letters tacked on the end are wrong.
• Saying "z" for ழ. வியாழன் is not "viyazan". The ழ is a retroflex approximant; see the pronunciation section.
• Using Hindi day names. Somvar and Ravivar are not Tamil. Tamil has its own native planet names, and using the Sanskrit-based ones marks you as a Hindi speaker rather than a Tamil learner.
• Mixing up நாள் and கிழமை. நாள் (nāḷ) is a day as a unit of time (three days, a good day). கிழமை (kiḻamai) is a day of the week. "What day is it?" asks for a கிழமை.
• Reading ற்று as "rru". In ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை and நேற்று the doubled ற is pronounced "ttr" or "tr".
• Adding a preposition for "on". Tamil does not need one; the bare day name is enough.

How to remember them

Learn the seven short forms first, in order, as a chant: ஞாயிறு, திங்கள், செவ்வாய், புதன், வியாழன், வெள்ளி, சனி (ñāyiṟu, tiṅkaḷ, cevvāy, putaṉ, viyāḻaṉ, veḷḷi, caṉi). Then attach கிழமை to each one. Three anchors help: Sunday starts with the Sun (ñāyiṟu), Friday is silver (veḷḷi, the metal and the planet Venus), and Saturday is Saturn (caṉi, which sounds a little like Saturn). Once those three are fixed, the other four fall into the gaps between them.

Also useful

• Basic Tamil words: the first 100 words to learn.
• Tamil numbers 1 to 10: you will need them to say dates.
• Common Tamil phrases: full sentences for everyday situations.
• Tamil greetings: vanakkam and what comes after it.