Basic numbering

Zero
Old Tamil possesses a special numerical character for zero (see Old Tamil numera
ls below) and
it is read as andru (literally, no/nothing). But yet Modern Tamil renounces the
use of its native character and
uses Arabic, 0. Modern Tamil words for zero include ??????? (suzhiyam) or ?????
???? (poocciyam).
Cardinal numbers (????? ??????)
Modern
Tamil script
?
0
?
1
?
2
?
3
?
4
?
5
?
6
?
7
?
8
?
9
?
10

Tamil numeral Tamil word and pronunciation

??????? (chu?iyam); Old Tamil ???? (pa?)[1]
????? (o??u)
?????? (ira??u)
?????? (mu??u)
?????? (na?ku)
????? (aintu)
??? (aru)
??? (e?u)
????? (e??u)
?????? (o?patu)
????? (pattu)

Transcribing other numbers

Reproductive and Attributive prefixes (??????? ???????????????)
Tamil has a numeric prefix for each number from 1 to 9, which can be added to th
e words for the powers of ten (ten, hundred, thousand, etc.) to form multiples o
f them. For instance, the word for fifty, ?????? (aimpathu) is a combination of
? (ai, the prefix for five) and ????? (paththu, which is ten). The prefix for ni
ne changes with respect to the succeeding base 10. ??+ the unvoiced consonant of
the succeeding base 10 forms the prefix for nine. For instance, 90 is ??+?? ('?
?' being the unvoiced version of '??'), hence, ????????).