Rainbow in Malayalam
A rainbow is മഴവില്ല് (mazhavill), rain plus bow, the same picture English draws. The retroflex zh sits in the middle and the word ends in a held ll. Children's books and weather talk use nothing else.
Most common translation
Rainbow.
മഴ നിന്നപ്പോൾ ആകാശത്ത് മഴവില്ല് തെളിഞ്ഞു.
mazha ninnappol aakaashathu mazhavill thelinju.
When the rain stopped a rainbow appeared in the sky.
All Malayalam words for “rainbow”
- മഴവില്ല് (mazhavill) — Rainbow.
- കാര്മുകം (karmukam) — Bow, rainbow, bamboo, margosa.
കാര്മുകം (karmukam) is a literary word for a bow that can mean rainbow in poetry, but it also means bamboo and the margosa tree, so it is not a practical substitute.
Common questions
How do you say rainbow in Malayalam?
മഴവില്ല് (mazhavill), literally the rain bow.
Is the poetic word still used?
കാര്മുകം (karmukam) appears in classical verse and crosswords, but no one points at the sky and says it.