Tamil Language & Literature Quiz – With Answers
Tamil: one of the world's great classical languages
Tamil is one of the oldest living languages in the world, with a written literature that stretches back more than two thousand years. In 2004 the Government of India declared Tamil a classical language. Today it is spoken by millions of people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and is an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore. This quiz tests what you know about the language and its literature – from grammar and the Tamil alphabet to the Thirukkural, the Sangam poems and the great epics. Each answer comes with a short explanation, so the quiz doubles as a quick lesson.
What the quiz covers
- Grammar and letters – Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil grammar, and how the 247 letters of the Tamil alphabet are formed.
- Thirukkural – its three parts, 133 chapters and 1330 couplets.
- Sangam literature – the Ettuthogai (Eight Anthologies), Pathupattu (Ten Idylls) and the Eighteen Minor Works.
- Epics and poets – Silappatikaram, Manimekalai, Civaka Cintamani, Kamba Ramayanam, Avvaiyar, Bharati and Bharathidasan.
- Everyday words – simple Tamil words and their meanings.
Fascinating facts about Tamil
The Tamil alphabet is a neat piece of design. There are 12 vowels (uyir ezhuthukkal) and 18 consonants (mei ezhuthukkal). Each consonant combines with each vowel to give 216 vowel-consonants (uyirmei), and there is one special letter, the aaytham (ஃ). Add them up – 12 + 18 + 216 + 1 – and you get 247.
The Thirukkural by Thiruvalluvar is divided into three parts: Aram (virtue), Porul (wealth) and Inbam (love). It has 133 chapters of 10 couplets each, and every kural has just two lines. Because its teachings speak to everyone, it is often called Ulaga Pothumarai, the universal Veda.
Tamil literature also has its Five Great Epics. Silappatikaram by Ilango Adigal tells the story of Kannagi and Kovalan, and its companion, Manimekalai by Seethalai Saathanar, follows their daughter. Civaka Cintamani, Valayapathi and Kundalakesi complete the five. Later, Kambar retold the Ramayana in Tamil as the Kamba Ramayanam.
Avvaiyar's Aathichoodi opens with "Aram seyya virumbu" – desire to do good. Many Tamil children learn it as their first poem.
Learning tips
- Pair works with authors. Most literature questions ask "who wrote it?" – make a small list and revise it.
- Remember the numbers. 12, 18, 216, 1 and 247 for letters; 3, 133, 10 and 1330 for the Thirukkural.
- Read a kural a day. It takes less than a minute and builds both vocabulary and understanding.
- Use Tamil in chat. Practising simple words with friends is the easiest way to remember them.
Explore more
Try the famous Tamils quiz to learn more about the poets behind these works, or the history quiz for the dynasties that supported Tamil literature. You can also read our post on Tamil Nadu GK questions with answers.
Now play the Tamil language and literature quiz above and test how well you know your mother tongue. In the TNChatZone app you can collect coins for playing – just for fun, with no cash value – and chat in Tamil with other quiz lovers.
All 28 questions with answers
Try to answer before you tap "Show answer".
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Who wrote the Silappatikaram?
- A. Kambar
- B. Ilango Adigal
- C. Thiruvalluvar
- D. Avvaiyar
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✅ Ilango Adigal
Silappatikaram, one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature, is attributed to the poet Ilango Adigal.
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Who wrote the Kamba Ramayanam?
- A. Ottakoothar
- B. Sekkizhar
- C. Pugazhendi
- D. Kambar
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✅ Kambar
The Kamba Ramayanam, a Tamil retelling of the Ramayana, was composed by the poet Kambar.
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Which poet wrote the Aathichoodi, learnt by many Tamil children?
- A. Avvaiyar
- B. Bharathidasan
- C. Kambar
- D. Thiruvalluvar
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✅ Avvaiyar
Aathichoodi is a set of short moral sayings by Avvaiyar, arranged in the order of the Tamil alphabet.
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What is the oldest surviving grammar of the Tamil language?
- A. Nannool
- B. Tolkappiyam
- C. Yapparungalam
- D. Veerasoliyam
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✅ Tolkappiyam
Tolkappiyam, by Tolkappiyar, is the oldest surviving Tamil grammar and covers letters, words and poetic subject matter.
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Into how many main parts (books) is the Thirukkural divided?
- A. Two
- B. Four
- C. Three
- D. Five
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✅ Three
The Thirukkural has three parts: Aram (virtue), Porul (wealth) and Inbam (love).
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How many chapters (adhikarams) does the Thirukkural have?
- A. 100
- B. 108
- C. 150
- D. 133
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✅ 133
The Thirukkural has 133 chapters, each with 10 couplets, making 1330 kurals.
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How many kurals are there in each chapter of the Thirukkural?
- A. 10
- B. 7
- C. 12
- D. 5
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✅ 10
Every adhikaram of the Thirukkural has exactly 10 kurals.
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How many lines does each kural in the Thirukkural have?
- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Three
- D. Four
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✅ Two
Each kural is a couplet of two lines, written in the kural venba metre.
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The first part of the Thirukkural, Aram, mainly deals with what?
- A. Love
- B. Wealth
- C. Virtue
- D. War
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✅ Virtue
Aram (Arathuppal) deals with virtue and righteous living; Porul covers wealth and polity, and Inbam covers love.
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The Thirukkural is often called by which name, meaning "the universal Veda"?
- A. Tamil Marai
- B. Muppal
- C. Poyyamozhi
- D. Ulaga Pothumarai
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✅ Ulaga Pothumarai
The Thirukkural is called Ulaga Pothumarai because its teachings apply to all people, regardless of religion or region.
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The first kural of the Thirukkural begins with which Tamil letter?
- A. அ (a)
- B. க (ka)
- C. த (tha)
- D. உ (u)
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✅ அ (a)
The first kural begins "Agara mudala ezhuthellam" – just as all letters begin with அ, the world begins with God.
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Which of these is NOT one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature?
- A. Silappatikaram
- B. Kamba Ramayanam
- C. Civaka Cintamani
- D. Manimekalai
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✅ Kamba Ramayanam
The Five Great Epics are Silappatikaram, Manimekalai, Civaka Cintamani, Valayapathi and Kundalakesi; Kamba Ramayanam is not one of them.
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Who is the heroine of the Silappatikaram?
- A. Madhavi
- B. Manimekalai
- C. Kannagi
- D. Sita
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✅ Kannagi
Silappatikaram tells the story of Kannagi, whose husband Kovalan is wrongly executed in Madurai.
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In Tamil literature, Manimekalai is the daughter of which couple?
- A. Kovalan and Kannagi
- B. Rama and Sita
- C. Nala and Damayanti
- D. Kovalan and Madhavi
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✅ Kovalan and Madhavi
Manimekalai is the daughter of Kovalan and the dancer Madhavi, both characters from the Silappatikaram.
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Which epic is called the twin epic of Silappatikaram?
- A. Manimekalai
- B. Valayapathi
- C. Kundalakesi
- D. Civaka Cintamani
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✅ Manimekalai
Silappatikaram and Manimekalai are called the twin epics because Manimekalai continues the story of the same characters.
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Who wrote the Civaka Cintamani?
- A. Seethalai Saathanar
- B. Thiruthakka Thevar
- C. Ilango Adigal
- D. Kambar
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✅ Thiruthakka Thevar
Civaka Cintamani, one of the Five Great Epics, was written by the Jain poet Thiruthakka Thevar.
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The Sangam collection "Ettuthogai" means what?
- A. Ten Idylls
- B. Five Epics
- C. Eight Anthologies
- D. Eighteen Minor Works
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✅ Eight Anthologies
Ettuthogai means the Eight Anthologies; together with Pathupattu (Ten Idylls) it forms the core of Sangam poetry.
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Which famous work belongs to the Pathinenkilkanakku (Eighteen Minor Works)?
- A. Silappatikaram
- B. Kamba Ramayanam
- C. Periya Puranam
- D. Thirukkural
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✅ Thirukkural
The Thirukkural is the best-known of the Pathinenkilkanakku, a group of eighteen mostly didactic works.
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How many vowels (uyir ezhuthukkal) are there in Tamil?
- A. 12
- B. 10
- C. 18
- D. 16
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✅ 12
Tamil has 12 vowels, called uyir ezhuthukkal ("life letters"), from அ to ஔ.
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How many consonants (mei ezhuthukkal) are there in Tamil?
- A. 12
- B. 18
- C. 22
- D. 16
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✅ 18
Tamil has 18 consonants, called mei ezhuthukkal ("body letters"), from க் to ன்.
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How many vowel-consonant letters (uyirmei ezhuthukkal) does Tamil have?
- A. 247
- B. 180
- C. 216
- D. 198
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✅ 216
18 consonants combine with 12 vowels to make 216 uyirmei letters (18 × 12 = 216).
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What is the special Tamil letter ஃ called?
- A. Uyir
- B. Mei
- C. Uyirmei
- D. Aaytham
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✅ Aaytham
ஃ is the aaytham; with 12 vowels, 18 consonants and 216 vowel-consonants it brings the total to 247 letters.
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Panchali Sabatham was written by which poet?
- A. Bharathidasan
- B. Subramania Bharati
- C. Kambar
- D. Kannadasan
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✅ Subramania Bharati
Panchali Sabatham, based on Draupadi's vow in the Mahabharata, is one of Subramania Bharati's best-known works.
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Tamil belongs to which language family?
- A. Indo-Aryan
- B. Austroasiatic
- C. Dravidian
- D. Sino-Tibetan
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✅ Dravidian
Tamil is a Dravidian language, related to Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.
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Besides India, Tamil is an official language in which of these countries?
- A. Malaysia
- B. Thailand
- C. Myanmar
- D. Singapore
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✅ Singapore
Tamil is one of Singapore's four official languages, and it is also an official language of Sri Lanka.
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What does the Tamil word "Nandri" mean?
- A. Thank you
- B. Hello
- C. Sorry
- D. Welcome
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✅ Thank you
"Nandri" means thank you; "Vanakkam" is the usual greeting.
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What does the Tamil word "Thanneer" mean?
- A. Rice
- B. Water
- C. Milk
- D. Fire
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✅ Water
"Thanneer" means water – literally "cool water" (thann + neer).
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What does the Tamil word "Kadal" mean?
- A. River
- B. Mountain
- C. Sea
- D. Forest
Show answer
✅ Sea
"Kadal" means sea; a river is "aaru" and a mountain is "malai".
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