Tri in Malayalam
Tri is a prefix rather than a word, and Malayalam handles it the same way, with a bound Sanskritic element meaning three. You can see it working in ത്രിവര്ണ്ണ (thrivarnna), tri-coloured, the standard word for the national flag's three bands. On its own the prefix is never spoken as a separate word.
Tri- coloured, having three colours.
അവൾ ഒരു ത്രിവർണ്ണ ചിത്രം വരച്ചു.
aval oru thrivarnna chithram varachu.
She drew a tricolored picture.
Dictionary entry
- ത്രിവര്ണ്ണ (thrivarnna) — Tri- coloured, having three colours.
There is no free-standing Malayalam equivalent of tri; the prefix only appears glued to the front of a compound, as it is in this entry.
Common questions
How do you say tri in Malayalam?
Tri is a prefix, not a word; in compounds it appears as the thri element you can see in ത്രിവര്ണ്ണ (thrivarnna), tri-coloured.
What does thrivarnna refer to in Kerala?
Most often the tricolour flag. ത്രിവര്ണ്ണ (thrivarnna) describes anything having three colours, but the flag is the usual reference.