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Kannada
Kannada

Tamil
Tamil



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Kannada
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Tamil

Kannada vs Tamil

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Countries

Countries

India, Karnataka, India
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu

Total No. Of Countries

16
0 46
👆🏻

National Language

Karnataka, India
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu

Second Language

Goa
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry

Speaking Continents

Asia
Asia

Minority Language

Andra Pradesh, Goa, kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles

Regulated By

Various academies and the Government of Karnataka
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University

Interesting Facts

  • Kannada is the third oldest language after Sanskrit and Tamil of India
  • Kannada language is only Indian language which got maximum i.e. 8 GyanaPeetha Awards.
  • Tamil is the oldest language in the world. Tamil was spoken in South India more than 5000 years ago.
  • The first legally recognized Classical Language of India is Tamil.

Similar To

Telugu
Malayalam

Derived From

Sanskrit Language
-

Alphabets

Alphabets in

Alphabets

49247
18 247
👆🏻

Phonology

How Many Vowels

1412
0 32
👆🏻

How Many Consonants

3518
9 60
👆🏻

Scripts

Kannada Script
Tamil

Writing Direction

Left-To-Right, Horizontal
Left-To-Right, Horizontal

Hard to Learn

Language Levels

53
2 12
👆🏻

Time Taken to Learn

44 weeks44 weeks
3 88
👆🏻

Greetings

Hello

ಹಲೋ (Halō)
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)

Thank You

ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು (Dhan'yavādagaḷu)
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)

How Are You?

ನೀವು ಹೇಗಿದ್ದೀರಿ? (Nīvu hēgiddīri?)
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)

Good Night

ಶುಭ ರಾತ್ರಿ (Śubha rātri)
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)

Good Evening

ಶುಭ ಸಂಜೆ (Śubha san̄je)
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)

Good Afternoon

ಉತ್ತಮ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ (Uttama madhyāhna)
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)

Good Morning

ಶುಭೋದಯ (Śubhōdaya)
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)

Please

ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು (Dayaviṭṭu)
தயவு (Tayavu)

Sorry

ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ (Kṣamisi)
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)

Bye

ಬೈ (Bai)
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)

I Love You

ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ (Nānu ninna prītisuttēne)
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)

Excuse Me

ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ (kshamisi)
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)

Dialects

Dialect 1

Badaga
Kongu

Where They Speak

Tamil Nadu, The Nilgiris
Kongu

How Many People Speak

540,000.0077,000,000.00
1.5 960000000
👆🏻

Dialect 2

Urali
Madurai Tamil

Where They Speak

kerala
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu

How Many People Speak

6,440.0077,000,000.00
700 274000000
👆🏻

Dialect 3

Kurumba
Tirunelveli Tamil

Where They Speak

Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli

How Many People Speak

220,000.0077,000,000.00
2 230000000
👆🏻

Total No. Of Dialects

2010
0 188
👆🏻

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?

49.00 million78.00 million
0 1200
👆🏻

Speaking Population

0.58 %1.06 %
0 89
👆🏻

Native Speakers

38.00 million70.00 million
0 873
👆🏻

Second Language Speakers

11.00 million8.00 million
0.01 400
👆🏻

Native Name

ಕನ್ನಡ (kannaḍa)
தமிழ்

Alternative Names

Banglori, Canarese, Havyaka, Kanarese, Madrassi
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili

French Name

kannada
tamoul

German Name

Kannada
Tamil

Pronunciation

[ˈkʌnnəɖɑː]
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]

Ethnicity

Kannadiga
Tamil people or Tamilans

History

Origin

c. 450
300 BC

Language Family

Dravidian Family
Dravidian Family

Subgroup

-
-

Branch

-
-

Language Forms

Early Forms

Old Kannada, Kannada
Old Tamil and Middle Tamil

Standard Forms

Modern Kannada
Modern Tamil

Language Position

3118
1 120
👆🏻

Signed Forms

Indian Signing System (ISS)
Signed Tamil

Scope

Individual
Individual

Code

ISO 639 1

kn
ta

ISO 639 2

ISO 639 2/T

kan
tam

ISO 639 2/B

kan
tam

ISO 639 3

kan
tam

ISO 639 6

kan
tam

Glottocode

nucl1305
tami1289, oldt1248

Linguasphere

No data available
tami1289

Types of Language

Language Type

Living
Living

Language Linguistic Typology

-
Subject-Object-Verb

Language Morphological Typology

-
-

Kannada vs Tamil Speaking Countries

There are plenty of languages spoken around the world. Every country has its own official language. Compare Kannada vs Tamil speaking countries, so that you will have total count of countries that speak Kannada or Tamil language.

  • Kannada is spoken as a national language in: Karnataka, India.
  • Tamil is spoken as a national language in: Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu.

You will also get to know the continents where Kannada and Tamil speaking countries lie. Based on the number of people that speak these languages, the position of Kannada language is 31 and position of Tamil language is 18. Find all the information about these languages on Kannada and Tamil.

Kannada and Tamil Language History

Comparison of Kannada vs Tamil language history gives us differences between origin of Kannada and Tamil language. History of Kannada language states that this language originated in c. 450 whereas history of Tamil language states that this language originated in 300 BC. Family of the language also forms a part of history of that language. More on language families of these languages can be found out on Kannada and Tamil Language History.

Kannada and Tamil Greetings

People around the world use different languages to interact with each other. Even if we cannot communicate fluently in any language, it will always be beneficial to know about some of the common greetings or phrases from that language. This is where Kannada and Tamil greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Kannada and Tamil language. Kannada word for "Hello" is ಹಲೋ (Halō) or Tamil word for "Thank You" is நன்றி (Naṉṟi). Find more of such common Kannada Greetings and Tamil Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.

Kannada vs Tamil Difficulty

The Kannada vs Tamil difficulty level basically depends on the number of Kannada Alphabets and Tamil Alphabets. Also the number of vowels and consonants in the language plays an important role in deciding the difficulty level of that language. The important points to be considered when we compare Kannada and Tamil are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Kannada and Tamil, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Kannada is 44 weeks while to learn Tamil time required is 44 weeks.