-கள்
Tamil
editEtymology
editCognate with Telugu -లు (-lu), Malayalam -കൾ (-kaḷ), Kannada -ಗಳು (-gaḷu).
Suffix
edit-கள் • (-kaḷ)
- a suffix denoting plurality, mostly found in verbs and nouns.
Usage notes
editThe க் (k) in this suffix often becomes doubled after certain (but not all) consonant clusters and vowels. It is always doubled after long vowels. For example:
- வாத்து (vāttu, “duck”) + -கள் (-kaḷ) → வாத்துக்கள் (vāttukkaḷ, “ducks”)
- ரோஜா (rōjā, “rose”) + -கள் (-kaḷ) → ரோஜாக்கள் (rōjākkaḷ, “roses”)
Also, if a word ends in ம் (m), it will become ங் (ṅ) before this suffix.