താറാവ്
tāṟāvŭ/t̪aːraːʋɨ/
The English word "duck" is translated into Malayalam as താറാവ് (tāṟāvŭ).
താറാവ് refers to the aquatic bird belonging to the family Anatidae.
Meaning: aquatic bird of the family Anatidae (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /t̪aːraːʋɨ/. In romanization, it is written as tāṟāvŭ.
Did you know?
- In Kerala, the താറാവ് is central to a traditional integrated farming system where ducks are released into paddy fields to eat snails and insects that would otherwise destroy the rice crop.
- The pronunciation of താറാവ് requires a distinct alveolar trill for the letter റ, which is a vibration of the tongue that does not exist in standard English 'r' sounds.
- The word താറാവ് is a linguistic cousin to the Tamil word தாரா, proving that even as the languages diverged, they kept this specific bird's name intact.
Examples in context
- ആ കുഞ്ഞൻ താറാവ് വെള്ളത്തിൽ നീന്തുന്നു.aa kunjan thaaraavu vellathil neenthunnu.That little duck is swimming in the water.
- താറാവ് ഒരു ജലപക്ഷിയാണ്.thaaraavu oru jalapakshiyaanu.A duck is a water bird.
Example conversation
Lakshmi and Vishnu are looking at a pond.
- ലക്ഷ്മി Lakshmiവിഷ്ണു, ആ താറാവ് നോക്കൂ!viṣṇu, ā thāravu nōkkū!Vishnu, look at that duck!
- വിഷ്ണു Vishnuഅത് വളരെ ഭംഗിയുണ്ട്.atu vaḷare bhaṅgiyuṇṭu.It is very beautiful.
- ലക്ഷ്മി Lakshmiതാറാവുകൾക്ക് നന്നായി നീന്താൻ കഴിയും.thārāvukaḷkk nannāyi nīntān kaḻiyum.Ducks can swim well.
- വിഷ്ണു Vishnuഅതെ, അത് സത്യമാണ്.ate, atu satyamāṇu.Yes, that is true.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “duck” translations and entries താറാവ്, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries താറാവ്, CC BY-SA 4.0.
