The Tamil transliterator is a tool I developed to enable me to convert Tamil written in the Roman alphabet into Tamil script.

Some understanding of the Tamil sound system will help you to use the tool. It is important to note that, although you are using the Roman alphabet, you must use the letters in accordance with the pronunciation key provided with the tool – which largely corresponds with international phonetic rules.

Type the word, sentence or block of text into the input field in the Roman alphabet and the equivalent Tamil script will appear in the panel below.

Additionally – the HTML unicode will appear in another panel below the Tamil script panel.

For example, if you wanted to write “Chennai”, you would write it in the following way:

cennai – which would be rendered as: சென்னை

For “vanakkam”, you need to use an uppercase “N” to represent the retroflex nasal sound (see key):

vaNakkam – renders as: வணக்கம்

Please have a go and see what you think – I hope it is useful!

Click here for the Tamil transliterator.