You say காலை வணக்கம் ｢kālai vaṇakkam｣ in Tamil. It follows the English "good morning" word for word, and you hear it more at school, at work and on the radio than at home.
காலை வணக்கம்
kālai vaṇakkam
Good morning
No audio yet
Word by word
In a conversation
- Speaker A
காலை வணக்கம்.
kālai vaṇakkam.
Good morning.
- Speaker B
காலை வணக்கம். எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்?
kālai vaṇakkam. eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?
Good morning. How are you?
- Speaker A
நலமாக இருக்கிறேன், நன்றி.
nalamāka irukkiṟēṉ, naṉṟi.
I am well, thank you.
A greeting copied from English
காலை வணக்கம் copies the English pattern: காலை is "morning" and வணக்கம் is the everyday Tamil greeting. In everyday talk, Tamil speakers do not usually greet each other by the time of day. So this phrase is correct and everyone understands it, but it can sound a little formal.
Where you hear it
You hear காலை வணக்கம் from a teacher at the start of class, a host on the radio, or a colleague at work. It is also common as a morning message to a group.
What people say at home
At home, most families do not say "good morning" at all. A plain வணக்கம் works at any time of day, morning or evening. Between family members, people often just ask a question instead, such as எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? or சாப்பிட்டீர்களா? If you want to sound natural with your relatives, a question like that is a good choice. If you want to be polite and safe with someone new, காலை வணக்கம் is fine.
Related phrases
How are you?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்?
Have you eaten?
சாப்பிட்டீர்களா?
Thank you
நன்றி