இல்லை

• இல்லெ (ille)^[1] — Spoken Tamil (particle, adverb)
• (-ல்)லெ ((-l)le)^[1] — Spoken Tamil (interjection)

From the root இல்- (il-, (existential) negative particle) +‎ -ஐ (-ai).^[2] Cognate with Kannada ಇಲ್ಲ (illa) and Malayalam ഇല്ല (illa).

• IPA^(key): /ɪllɐɪ̯/

• Audio:

  (file)

இல்லை • (illai) (finite verb)

1. (existential negation) no

   Coordinate term: அல்ல (alla)

2. (Spoken Tamil, absolute negation) no

   Synonym: அல்ல (alla)

• While இல்லை (illai) originally refers only to existential negation, spoken/colloquial Tamil does not differentiate between the two senses (with dialectal exceptions), in contrast with its cognates.

இல்லை • (illai) (often Spoken Tamil)

1. not

   Synonym: அல்ல (alla)

   என் பெயர் தேன்மொழி இல்லை.

   eṉ peyar tēṉmoḻi illai.

   My name is not Thenmozhi.

   இது நல்லது இல்லை. ― itu nallatu illai. ― This is not good.

• When used sentence-finally, it takes on the meaning of "to not be" if there is no verb in the sentence.

இல்லை • (illai) (tag question, chiefly Spoken Tamil)

1. right, isn't it? (with rising intonation)

   Synonym: அல்லவா (allavā)

• S. Ramakrishnan (1992), “இல்லை”, in தற்காலத் தமிழ் அகராதி [Dictionary of Contemporary Tamil] (in Tamil), Madras: Cre-A Publishers, page [2]
• Johann Philipp Fabricius (1779), “இல்லை”, in A Malabar and English Dictionary, Tranquebar: Evangelical Lutheran Mission Pub. House; republished as Tamil and English Dictionary, 1972
• University of Madras (1924–1936), “இல்லை”, in Tamil Lexicon, Madras [Chennai]: Diocesan Press