ScriptLookup

Tamil

தமிழ்
ta 78M speakers

Tamil (தமிழ்) is a Dravidian language with approximately 78M speakers speakers. It is written using the Tamil script. Its BCP 47 language code is ta.

Tamil (தமிழ்) is a Dravidian language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and by Tamil diaspora communities worldwide. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world, with a continuous literary tradition spanning over 2,000 years.

Tamil is written in the Tamil script, which is an abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script. The Tamil language has a literary form (centamil) and a colloquial form (koduntamil) that differ substantially. Tamil is an official language of India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

Writing Systems Used for Tamil

Tamil
தமிழ் எழுத்து
Primary
வணக்கம்
LTR Taml

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Tamil use?
Tamil is written using the Tamil script (ISO 15924 code: Taml). Tamil is written left-to-right.
What direction is Tamil written?
Tamil is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Tamil?
Tamil has approximately 78M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Dravidian language family.
What language family does Tamil belong to?
Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family. It is written with the Tamil script.
What is the language code for Tamil?
The BCP 47 language code for Tamil is "ta". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
ta
ISO 639-3
tam
Status
living
Speakers
78M speakers
Language Family
Dravidian
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Tamil

Other Tamil Languages

Badaga

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.