Kannada · Kannada alphabet

Letters first — then you build words yourself

Kannada shares its round, looped letter shapes with Telugu and is just as regular — what you see is what you say. Learn the 13 vowels, the consonant grid and the vowel signs that ride on each consonant, and Kannada boards and signs start reading themselves.

Vowels (swaragalu)

• ಅ▶

  a

  like the 'a' in 'about'

• ಆ▶

  ā

  long 'aa' as in 'father'

• ಇ▶

  i

  short 'i' as in 'sit'

• ಈ▶

  ī

  long 'ee' as in 'see'

• ಉ▶

  u

  short 'u' as in 'put'

• ಊ▶

  ū

  long 'oo' as in 'food'

• ಋ▶

  ṛu

  'ru' with a curled tongue

• ಎ▶

  e

  short 'e' as in 'met'

• ಏ▶

  ē

  long 'ay' as in 'day'

• ಐ▶

  ai

  'ai' as in 'aisle'

• ಒ▶

  o

  short 'o' as in 'off'

• ಓ▶

  ō

  long 'o' as in 'go'

• ಔ▶

  au

  'au' as in 'aura'

Consonants (vyanjanagalu)

• ಕ▶

  ka

  'k' as in 'kite'

• ಖ▶

  kha

  'k' with a puff of air

• ಗ▶

  ga

  'g' as in 'go'

• ಘ▶

  gha

  'g' with a puff of air

• ಙ▶

  ṅa

  nasal 'ng', rare on its own

• ಚ▶

  cha

  'ch' as in 'chair'

• ಛ▶

  chha

  'ch' with a puff of air

• ಜ▶

  ja

  'j' as in 'jug'

• ಝ▶

  jha

  'j' with a puff of air

• ಞ▶

  ña

  nasal 'ny' as in 'canyon'

• ಟ▶

  ṭa

  hard 't', tongue on the roof

• ಠ▶

  ṭha

  hard 't' with a puff

• ಡ▶

  ḍa

  hard 'd', tongue on the roof

• ಢ▶

  ḍha

  hard 'd' with a puff

• ಣ▶

  ṇa

  hard 'n', tongue curled back

• ತ▶

  ta

  soft 't', tongue on the teeth

• ಥ▶

  tha

  soft 't' with a puff

• ದ▶

  da

  soft 'd' as in Spanish 'dedo'

• ಧ▶

  dha

  soft 'd' with a puff

• ನ▶

  na

  'n' as in 'no'

• ಪ▶

  pa

  'p' as in 'pen'

• ಫ▶

  pha

  'p' with a puff, near 'f'

• ಬ▶

  ba

  'b' as in 'bat'

• ಭ▶

  bha

  'b' with a puff

• ಮ▶

  ma

  'm' as in 'man'

• ಯ▶

  ya

  'y' as in 'yes'

• ರ▶

  ra

  light rolled 'r'

• ಲ▶

  la

  'l' as in 'love'

• ವ▶

  va

  between 'v' and 'w'

• ಶ▶

  śa

  'sh' as in 'shoe'

• ಷ▶

  ṣha

  hard 'sh', tongue back

• ಸ▶

  sa

  's' as in 'sun'

• ಹ▶

  ha

  'h' as in 'hat'

• ಳ▶

  ḷa

  curled 'l', tongue on the roof

Vowel signs (gunitakshara) — joining letters

A consonant carries a built-in “a”. Clip on a vowel sign and the sound changes — this is how every word is assembled.

• ಕ + ಾ = ಕಾ

  ▶

  kā

  💡 The long-a sign is a stroke on the right.

• ಕ + ಿ = ಕಿ

  ▶

  ki

  💡 The i sign curls over the top.

• ಕ + ೀ = ಕೀ

  ▶

  kī

• ಕ + ು = ಕು

  ▶

  ku

  💡 Signs for u hook off the right side.

• ಕ + ೂ = ಕೂ

  ▶

  kū

• ಕ + ೆ = ಕೆ

  ▶

  ke

  💡 Short e.

• ಕ + ೇ = ಕೇ

  ▶

  kē

  💡 Long e adds a bar on top.

• ಕ + ೈ = ಕೈ

  ▶

  kai

• ಕ + ೊ = ಕೊ

  ▶

  ko

• ಕ + ೋ = ಕೋ

  ▶

  kō

• ಕ + ೌ = ಕೌ

  ▶

  kau

• ಕ + ಂ = ಕಂ

  ▶

  kaṁ

  💡 Anusvara adds a nasal hum.

• ಕ + ್ = ಕ್

  ▶

  k

  💡 Virama removes the built-in 'a' sound.

Words you can already read

• ಅಮ್ಮammamother · ಅ + ಮ್ + ಮ▶
• ನೀರುnīruwater · ನೀ + ರು▶
• ಮನೆmanehouse · ಮ + ನೆ▶
• ನಮಸ್ಕಾರnamaskārahello / greetings · ನ + ಮ + ಸ್ + ಕಾ + ರ▶