Home
Languagevs


Tamil vs Xhosa


Xhosa vs Tamil


Countries

Countries
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu   
South Africa   

Total No. Of Countries
6   
9
1   
14

National Language
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu   
South Africa   

Second Language
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry   
Lesotho, South Africa   

Speaking Continents
Asia   
Africa   

Minority Language
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles   
Botswana, Lesotho   

Regulated By
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University   
Not Available   

Interesting Facts
  • 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.
    •   
  • Xhosa has 15 click sounds, borrowed from the khoi-khoi and san languages of the South Africa.
  • The same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meaning when said with different tones, so Xhosa is tonal.
  

Similar To
Malayalam   
Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele   

Derived From
Not Available   
Khoi-Khoi and San Languages   

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Tamil-Alphabets.jpg#200   
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200   

Alphabets
247   
99+
53   
32

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
12   
9
10   
7

How Many Consonants
18   
8
43   
32

Scripts
Tamil   
Latin   

Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal   
Not Available   

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
3   
2
3   
2

Time Taken to Learn
44 weeks   
11
44 weeks   
11

Greetings

Hello
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)   
Molo   

Thank You
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)   
Ndiyabulela   

How Are You?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)   
Unjani   

Good Night
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)   
Ulale kakuhle   

Good Evening
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)   
Ubusuku obuhle   

Good Afternoon
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)   
Uben' emva kwemini entle   

Good Morning
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)   
Molo   

Please
தயவு (Tayavu)   
Ndicela   

Sorry
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)   
Ndicela uxolo   

Bye
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)   
Uhambe/Usale kakuhle   

I Love You
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)   
Ndiyakuthanda   

Excuse Me
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)   
Uxolo   

Dialects

Dialect 1
Kongu   
Gcaleka   

Where They Speak
Kongu   
South Africa   

Dialect 2
Madurai Tamil   
Thembu   

Where They Speak
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu   
South Africa   

Dialect 3
Tirunelveli Tamil   
Hlubi   

Where They Speak
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli   
South Africa   

Total No. Of Dialects
10   
10
9   
9

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
78.00 million   
21
20.00 million   
99+

Speaking Population
1.06 %   
19
0.11 %   
99+

Native Speakers
70.00 million   
15
8.20 million   
99+

Second Language Speakers
8.00 million   
24
11.00 million   
21

Native Name
தமிழ்   
isiXhosa   

Alternative Names
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili   
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa   

French Name
tamoul   
xhosa   

German Name
Tamil   
Xhosa-Sprache   

Pronunciation
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]   
Not Available   

Ethnicity
Tamil people or Tamilans   
amaXhosa, amaBhaca   

History

Origin
300 BC   
16th Century   

Language Family
Dravidian Family   
Niger-Congo Family   

Subgroup
Not Available   
Benue-Congo   

Branch
Not Available   
Bantu   

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
Old Tamil and Middle Tamil   
No early forms   

Standard Forms
Modern Tamil   
isiXhosa   

Language Position
18   
16
Not Available   

Signed Forms
Signed Tamil   
Signed Xhosa   

Scope
Individual   
Individual   

Code

ISO 639 1
ta   
xh   

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
tam   
xho   

ISO 639 2/B
tam   
xho   

ISO 639 3
tam   
xho   

ISO 639 6
tam   
Not Available   

Glottocode
tami1289, oldt1248   
xhos1239   

Linguasphere
tami1289   
99-AUT-fa   

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living   
Living   

Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb   
Subject-Verb-Object   

Language Morphological Typology
Not Available   
Not Available   

Countries >>
<< All

Tamil and Xhosa Language History

Comparison of Tamil vs Xhosa language history gives us differences between origin of Tamil and Xhosa language. History of Tamil language states that this language originated in 300 BC whereas history of Xhosa language states that this language originated in 16th Century. 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 Tamil and Xhosa Language History.

Compare Most Spoken Languages

Tamil and Xhosa 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 Tamil and Xhosa greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Tamil and Xhosa language. Tamil word for "Hello" is வணக்கம் (Vanakkam) or Xhosa word for "Thank You" is Ndiyabulela. Find more of such common Tamil Greetings and Xhosa Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.

Tamil vs Xhosa Difficulty

The Tamil vs Xhosa difficulty level basically depends on the number of Tamil Alphabets and Xhosa 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 Tamil and Xhosa are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Tamil and Xhosa, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Tamil is 44 weeks while to learn Xhosa time required is 44 weeks.

Most Spoken Languages

Most Spoken Languages

» More Most Spoken Languages

Compare Most Spoken Languages

» More Compare Most Spoken Languages