Full Tamil Alphabet - With Sinhala Letters ((exclusive))

The Sinhala alphabet, also known as the Sinhalese script, is used to write the Sinhala language, which is spoken in Sri Lanka. The Sinhala alphabet consists of 36 letters, including 12 vowels and 24 consonants. The Sinhala script is also an abugida script and is written from left to right.

In Tamil, if a consonant like ப comes at the start of a word, it sounds like 'Pa' ( ප ). If it comes in the middle after a vowel, it sounds like 'Ba' ( බ ).

Learning a new script can feel like decoding a secret message. But for those of us familiar with Sinhala, learning Tamil is much easier than it looks! Both languages share deep historical roots in the Brahmi script family , meaning many sounds and letter structures are cousins. In this post, we’ll break down the 247 characters

Though the scripts look different, they are mirrors of one another. The Tamil (the dot above a consonant to mute the vowel) serves the exact same purpose as the Sinhala "Hal Kirima" . Understanding this mapping is not just a linguistic exercise; it is a bridge between two rich cultures that have coexisted for millennia. full tamil alphabet with sinhala letters

| Tamil Letter | Sinhala Letter | English Equivalent | | --- | --- | --- | | க | ක | k | | ங | ඞ | ṅ | | ச | ස | c | | ஞ | ඟ | ñ | | ட | ට | ṭ | | ண | ණ | ṇ | | த | ත | t | | ந | න | n | | ப | ප | p | | ம | ම | m | | ய | ය | y | | ர | ර | r | | ல | ල | l | | வ | ව | v | | ழ | ස‍ | ḻ | | ள | ල් | ḷ | | ற | ර‍ | ṛ | | ன | න් | ṉ |

| Tamil Grantha | Sound | Sinhala Equivalent | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | ஜ | Ja | ජ | | ஷ | Sha (retroflex) | ෂ | | ஸ | Sa | ස | | ஹ | Ha | හ | | க்ஷ | Ksha | ක්ෂ |

| Tamil | Sinhala | Sound | |-------|---------|-------| | க் | ක් | k | | ங் | ඞ් | ng | | ச் | ච් | ch / s | | ஞ் | ඤ් | nj | | ட் | ට් | ṭ (retroflex t) | | ண் | ණ් | ṇ (retroflex n) | | த் | ත් | t (dental) | | ந் | න් | n (dental) | | ப் | ප් | p | | ம் | ම් | m | | ய் | ය් | y | | ர் | ර් | r | | ல் | ල් | l | | வ் | ව් | v | | ழ் | ළ් | ḻ (Tamil retroflex l – no exact Sinhala match) | | ள் | ළ් | ḷ (retroflex l) – same as above | | ற் | ර් | ṟ (hard r – close to Sinhala ra) | | ன் | න් | ṉ (alveolar n – mapped to dental n in Sinhala) | The Sinhala alphabet, also known as the Sinhalese

Unlocking Tamil: A Guide to the Tamil Alphabet Using Sinhala Letters

side-by-side, you can bridge the gap between these two beautiful scripts in no time.

For those interested in learning more about the Tamil language and its script, here are some additional resources: In Tamil, if a consonant like ப comes

While Tamil uses the and later the Grantha -influenced Tamil script, Sinhala evolved from the Sinhala Prakrit script. Despite their distinct visual appearances—Tamil being more angular and Sinhala being famously curvilinear—they share a logical phonetic structure. In the modern context, mapping Tamil letters to Sinhala equivalents is a vital tool for bilingualism in Sri Lanka, helping speakers of one language phonetically navigate the other. The Vowels (Uyir Eluttu / Pana)

Sinhala has more letters (including aspirated & voiced sounds not native to Tamil). The match is approximate, based on sound.