How many letters are there in Tamil?
Tamil has 247 letters. That number sounds large, but you only need to learn 30 of them one by one. The other letters are built from those 30 by a few clear rules.
Where the number 247 comes from
The Tamil script is not an alphabet like the English one. It is an abugida: most letters stand for a consonant and a vowel together. That is why the count is so much higher than in English.
The 247 letters are made of four groups:
| Group | How many | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vowels | 12 | அ, ஆ, இ |
| Consonants | 18 | க், ம், ழ் |
| Compound letters (a consonant with a vowel) | 216 | க, கா, கி |
| The special letter | 1 | ஃ |
| Total | 247 |
The 12 vowels and the 18 consonants are the 30 main letters. Tamil calls them முதலெழுத்து. Every one of the 18 consonants can join with every one of the 12 vowels. That gives 18 times 12, which is 216 compound letters. Add the one special letter, ஃ, and you reach 247.
You learn 30 letters and a few rules
Here is the good news. The compound letters are not 216 new shapes to remember. Each one is the consonant with a small mark added, and the mark is the same for the same vowel. For example, the mark that turns க into கா is the same mark that turns த into தா. For most vowels, once you know the mark for one consonant, you know it for all 18.
A few columns change shape more than the others, mostly the ones with the vowels உ and ஊ. You learn those by practice. But even there, each letter still looks like its consonant, so you can recognise it when you read.
Letters outside the 247
You will also see a few extra letters in Tamil writing. They come from the Grantha script, and they were added to write a few sounds that existed in Sanskrit but not in Tamil. They are not part of the 247. You will not need them often, and you can pick them up later, when you meet them in words. The chapter on the consonants shows them at the end.
Where to start
Begin with the vowels and the consonants. Then learn how they join in the compound letters, and meet the special letter ஃ. The Tamil script table shows all the letters on one page, and the script quiz helps you practise reading them. If you want the bigger picture first, read how the Tamil script works.