Tamil subject pronouns

[dEhiN]

Hi I'm learning the Tamil subject pronouns, and I've seen நீ, நீர், and நீங்கள் used for the singular you. My understanding is that, typically, in Sri Lanka நீ is used for the casual form of singular you, and நீஙகள் is used for the formal form of singular you. What about in India? I'm assuming நீ is used for the casual form of singular you as well. But is நீர் the formal form? If so, is the verb suffix used the same as for நீ - ஆய்? Thank you.

[Meera]

In Indian Tamil, நீங்க or நீங்கள் is used for both polite and plural you. So if you want to show politeness to someone you use it even if you aren't speaking to more than one person. I think this may be why you are confusing it. Because it is used as singular when you want to be polite. For example if you were talking to a teacher you would say நீங்க. I've never seen நீர் used for formal, but the dialect I'm most familiar with is in Chennai. Also try to take the context of where you are hearing it, in songs நீர் and நீங்கள் are sometimes used differently. To be on the safe side you should keep the verb endings the same, so you won't offend anyone. And also always use நீங்க when talking to strangers.

[dEhiN]

Thanks Meera!

[Meera]

மிகவு நன்றி

[Meikal]

மிகவு நன்றி

வன்னகம் Meera . 'மிகவு - என்ன...?' I've started to go for/learn Tamil and remember that this was something I heard in Sri Lanka... Only it was shortened as மிக நன்றி. Have you heard this...?

PS I'm glad to have found this forum recently... From reading there seems to be quite some insight and community. This can help augment and or sustain motivation I think...

[dEhiN]

மிகவு நன்றி

வன்னகம் Meera . 'மிகவு - என்ன...?' I've started to go for/learn Tamil and remember that this was something I heard in Sri Lanka... Only it was shortened as மிக நன்றி. Have you heard this...?

PS I'm glad to have found this forum recently... From reading there seems to be quite some insight and community. This can help augment and or sustain motivation I think...

வணக்கம் Meikal! I'm glad you're learning Tamil. As far as I know, மிகவும் means "very", but when combined with நன்றி it means "thank you very much". I'm not sure the difference between மிகவு நன்றி and ரொம்ப நன்றி. For me, they both mean "thank you very much".

According to TamilDict.com மிக means "very" and மிக நன்றி means "very good".

Note: vanakkam uses the big na - ண - although I'm not sure if it's spelled with one or two (வண்ணக்கம் or வணக்கம்). Also மிகவும் when followed by another word drops the ம்

PS. Which variety of Tamil are you focusing on? There are quite a few differences between SLT (Sri Lankan Tamil) and IT (Indian Tamil). Of course, even within each variety there are dialects. In SLT, I think the 3 main dialects are Jaffna, Colombo, and Trinco. I also know that in general SLT uses older classical forms of vocabulary. I'm not sure whether the grammar is any different, but there are definitely pronunciation and vocabulary differences.

[asura]

Hi dEhin,
Vanakkam should come with only one na (வணக்கம்)
Also, you must not drop the ம் alone from மிகவும் when it is followed by other words. if you drop it, you should drop both ம் and வு. So, you can right "very good" as "மிக நன்று"

[dEhiN]

Hi dEhin,
Vanakkam should come with only one na (வணக்கம்)
Also, you must not drop the ம் alone from மிகவும் when it is followed by other words. if you drop it, you should drop both ம் and வு. So, you can rightwrite "very good" as "மிக நன்று"

ரொம்ப நன்றி!

Is there a difference between மிகவும் and ரொம்ப?

[asura]

Hi dEhin,
Vanakkam should come with only one na (வணக்கம்)
Also, you must not drop the ம் alone from மிகவும் when it is followed by other words. if you drop it, you should drop both ம் and வு. So, you can rightwrite "very good" as "மிக நன்று"

ரொம்ப நன்றி!

Is there a difference between மிகவும் and ரொம்ப?

Not much, மிகவும் is formal... and ரொம்ப is informal..
Like "What are you up to?" and "whats up?"

[dEhiN]

இப்போது விளங்குது!