Brush in Malayalam
Malayalam has simply taken the English word over: ബ്രഷ് (brush) is what people say for a toothbrush, a paintbrush and a cleaning brush. The spelling keeps the br cluster and ends in a short sh. Nobody in Kerala will misunderstand you if you use it.
Most common translation
Brush, a tool with bristles used for cleaning, painting or brushing the teeth.
പല്ല് തേക്കാൻ ബ്രഷ് എടുത്തു.
pallu thekkaan brush eduthu.
He took the brush to clean his teeth.
All Malayalam words for “brush”
- ബ്രഷ് (brush) — Brush, a tool with bristles used for cleaning, painting or brushing the teeth.
- തൂലിക (thoolika) — Feather, pen, painter's brush, cotton mattress, lamp wick.
- വര്ത്തിക (varthika) — Painting brush, paint, colour, lamp-wick.
brush is the borrowed everyday word, while thoolika and varthika are older terms for a painter's brush that also mean a feather or pen and a lamp wick respectively.
Common questions
How do you say brush in Malayalam?
Brush is ബ്രഷ് (brush).
Is there a native Malayalam word for a paintbrush?
thoolika is the traditional one, though it is better known today in its literary sense of a writer's pen.