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Introduction

Kannada is a Southern-Dravidian Language also known as ‘Canarese’ or ‘Kanarese’.It is the most widely spoken language in the state of Karnataka and also to some extent in the other Southern states of India, like Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. It also has its reach in parts of Maharashtra as well as Goa. The people speaking this language are known as ‘Kannadigas’ or ‘Kannadigaru’ in the native language. Kannada is the official administrative language of Karnataka.

History

It is one of the most ancient languages which has evolved over a period of centuries. The Kannada script, which evolved from the 5th-century Kadamba script, has its origin in the Brahmic script. Since its inception, Kannada script which consists of both the Alphabets as well as the Numerals has flourished under many dynasties like the Kadamba dynasty, Ganga dynasty and the Rashtrakuta dynasty.

The research also states that Kannada and other Dravidian languages like Tamil and Telugu could have had an influence over each other since the earlier dynasties have now become different states. The Kannada alphabets are somewhat similar to Telugu alphabets.

The history and evolution of Kannada can be divided into three parts:

Old Kannada also was known as ‘Halegannada’ from 450–1200 AD
Middle Kannada also was known as ‘Nadugannada’ from 1200–1700 AD
Modern Kannada also was known as ‘Hosagannada’ from 1700 AD

Alphabets in Kannada

The total no.of Kannada alphabets in Kannada is 50. Each letter of the Kannada script consists of an ‘Akshara’ and ‘Varna’ which gives each letter a different shape and sound.

The Kannada alphabets are classified into 3 categories:

Svara(Vowels)
Vyanjana(Consonants)
Yogavahaka(Part vowel, Part consonant)

Below is the list of the Kannada alphabets :

Varnmaala	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಅ	ಅಮ್ಮ	a	Up
ಆ	ಆನೆ	aa	Arm
ಇ	ಇಲಿ	i	Is
ಈ	ಈಗ	ee	Eat
ಉ	ಉತ್ತರ	u	Uber
ಊ	ಊಟ	oo	Oops
ಋ	ಋಷಿ	ri	Risk
ಎ	ಎಲೆ	e	Ate
ಏ	ಏತ	ae	Ant
ಐ	ಐರಾವತ	ai	Ice
ಒ	ಒಂಟೆ	o	On
ಓ	ಓಟ	oo	Old
ಔ	ಔಷಧಿ	au	Outside
ಅಂ	ಅಂಗಳ	am	Umbrella
ಅ:	ಅ:	aha
ಕ	ಕತ್ತರಿ	ka,ca	King
ಖ	ಖಡ್ಗ	kha	Khaki
ಗ	ಗಂಧ	ga	Gun
ಘ	ಘಂಟೆ	gha	Ghastly
ಙ		Nga
ಚ	ಚಮಚ	cha	Chair
ಛ	ಛತ್ರಿ	chha	Chhatisgarh
ಜ	ಜಲ	ja	Jam
ಝ	ಝರಿ	jha	Jhalem
ಞ		Nja
ಟ	ಟಗರು	Ta	Take
ಠ	ಠಸ್ಸೆ	Tha	Thane
ಡ	ಡಮರು	Da	Danger
ಢ	ಢಣಢಣ	Dha
ಣ	ಬಾಣ	Na
ತ	ತಬಲ	ta	Path
ಥ	ರಥ	tha	Thick
ದ	ದನ	da	The
ಧ	ಧನ	dha	Buddha
ನ	ನಳ	na	Name
ಪ	ಪದಕ	pa	Parent
ಫ	ಫಲ	pha,fa	Flower
ಬ	ಬಣ್ಣ	ba	Bank
ಭ	ಭವನ	bha	Bhavan
ಮ	ಮನೆ	ma	Made
ಯ	ಯಮ	ya	Yacht
ರ	ರಂಗೋಲಿ	ra	Rain
ಲ	ಲಂಗ	la	Lawyer
ವ	ವನ	va	Vase
ಶ	ಶಂಖ	sha	Shine
ಷ	ಷಟ್ಕೋನ	Sha	Share
ಸ	ಸರ	sa	Sale
ಹ	ಹಣ್ಣು	ha	Hat
ಳ	ಅವಳ	La
ಕ್ಷ	ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯ	ksha	Laksha
ತ್ರ	ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ	tra	Chitra
ಜ್ಞ	ಜ್ಞಾನ	Gya	Gyan
ಕ	ಕಮಲ	Ka	Colour
ಕಾ	ಕಾಗೆ	Kaa	Carton
ಕಿ	ಕಿರೀಟ	Ki	King
ಕೀ	ಕೀಟ	Kee	Keep
ಕು	ಕುಶಲ	Ku	Kung Fu
ಕೂ	ಕೂಗು	Koo	Cool
ಕೃ	ಕೃಷ್ಣ	Kri	Crypto
ಕೆ	ಕೆಂಪು	Ke	Kept
ಕೇ	ಕೇಸರಿ	Kae	Kale
ಕೈ	ಕೈಲಾಸ	Kai	Kind
ಕೊ	ಕೊಂಬು	Ko	Cost
ಕೋ	ಕೋಳಿ	Koo	Cold
ಕೌ	ಕೌಶಿಕ್	Kau	Cauliflower
ಕಂ	ಕಂಬಳಿ	Kam	Computer
ಕಃ	ಕಃ	Kaha

The letters are classified into three categories:

ಸ್ವರ svara (Vowels)
ವ್ಯಂಜನ vyan̄jana (Consonants) and
ಯೋಗವಾಹಕ yōgavāhaka(Part vowel, Part consonant).

Vowels

There are 13 vowel (Svara) letters in Kannada. These form the basis for the ‘Aksharamale’ or ‘Kagunita’, which is derived by combining vowels and consonants.

Below is the table depicting the ‘Svara’ :

Svara	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಅ	ಅಮ್ಮ	a	Up
ಆ	ಆನೆ	aa	Arm
ಇ	ಇಲಿ	i	Is
ಈ	ಈಗ	ee	Eat
ಉ	ಉತ್ತರ	u	Uber
ಊ	ಊಟ	oo	Oops
ಋ	ಋಷಿ	ri	Risk
ಎ	ಎಲೆ	e	Ate
ಏ	ಏತ	ae	Ant
ಐ	ಐರಾವತ	ai	Ice
ಒ	ಒಂಟೆ	o	On
ಓ	ಓಟ	oo	Old
ಔ	ಔಷಧಿ	au	Outside

The ‘Svara’ in Kannada alphabets can be further classified into two categories:

Hrusva Svara
Deergha Svara

Hrusva Svara : The alphabets which do not require much stress while saying them are called Hrusva Svara.

Below is a table depicting the ‘Hrusva Svara’ :

Hrusva Svara	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಅ	ಅಮ್ಮ	a	Up
ಇ	ಇಲಿ	i	Is
ಉ	ಉತ್ತರ	u	Uber
ಎ	ಎಲೆ	e	Ate
ಒ	ಒಂಟೆ	o	On

Deergha Svara : The alphabets which need stress while saying them are called Deergha Svara.

Below is a table depicting the ‘Deergha Svara’ :

Deergha Svara	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಆ	ಆನೆ	aa	Arm
ಈ	ಈಗ	ee	Eat
ಊ	ಊಟ	oo	Oops
ಋ	ಋಷಿ	ri	Risk
ಏ	ಏತ	ae	Ant
ಐ	ಐರಾವತ	ai	Ice
ಓ	ಓಟ	oo	Old
ಔ	ಔಷಧಿ	au	Outside

Part Vowel-Part Consonants

The Yōgavāha (Part-vowel, Part consonant) include two letters:

The Anusvara : ಅಂ (aṁ)
The Visarga : ಅಃ (aḥa)

Consonants

The remaining are the consonants which are categorised as :

Structured Consonants – which are classified into groups of 5 based on the sounds they produce when the tongue touches the palate of the mouth.

ಕ ಖ ಗ ಘ ಙ

ಚ ಛ ಜ ಝ ಞ

ಟ ಠ ಡ ಢ ಣ

ತ ಥ ದ ಧ ನ

ಪ ಫ ಬ ಭ ಮ

Below is a list of the Structured consonants with examples :

Structured consonants	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಕ	ಕತ್ತರಿ	ka,ca	King
ಖ	ಖಡ್ಗ	kha	Khaki
ಗ	ಗಂಧ	ga	Gun
ಘ	ಘಂಟೆ	gha	Ghastly
ಙ		Nga
ಚ	ಚಮಚ	cha	Chair
ಛ	ಛತ್ರಿ	chha	Chhatisgarh
ಜ	ಜಲ	ja	Jam
ಝ	ಝರಿ	jha	Jhalem
ಞ		Nja
ಟ	ಟಗರು	Ta	Take
ಠ	ಠಸ್ಸೆ	Tha	Thane
ಡ	ಡಮರು	Da	Danger
ಢ	ಢಣಢಣ	Dha
ಣ	ಬಾಣ	Na
ತ	ತಬಲ	ta
ಥ	ರಥ	tha	Thick
ದ	ದನ	da	The
ಧ	ಧನ	dha	Buddha
ನ	ನಳ	na	Name
ಪ	ಪದಕ	pa	Parent
ಫ	ಫಲ	pha,fa	Flower
ಬ	ಬಣ್ಣ	ba	Bank
ಭ	ಭವನ	bha	Bhavan
ಮ	ಮನೆ	ma	Made

Unstructured Consonants – which do not belong to any particular pattern of alphabets.

Unstructured Consonants	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಯ	ಯಮ	ya	Yacht
ರ	ರಂಗೋಲಿ	ra	Rain
ಲ	ಲಂಗ	la	Lawyer
ವ	ವನ	va,wa	Vase
ಶ	ಶಂಖ	sha	Shine
ಷ	ಷಟ್ಕೋನ	Sha	Share
ಸ	ಸರ	sa	Sale
ಹ	ಹಣ್ಣು	ha	Hat
ಳ	ಅವಳ	La

Merging Vowels and Consonants

When we merge the vowels and consonants in Kannada, we get a new letter with a special character attached to it, which gives a unique sound to the consonant, the vowel is added to. The special character also known as a diacritic mark, will differ based on the vowel being used. Below is a simple representation of the same :

Swar+Vyanjan	Kannada examples	Pronounced as	Phonetic Examples
ಕ = ಕ್+ ಅ	ಕಮಲ	Ka	Colour
ಕಾ = ಕ್+ಆ	ಕಾಗೆ	Kaa	Carton
ಕಿ = ಕ್+ ಇ	ಕಿರೀಟ	Ki	King
ಕೀ = ಕ್ + ಈ	ಕೀಟ	Kee	Keep
ಕು = ಕ್ + ಉ	ಕುಶಲ	Ku	Kung Fu
ಕೂ = ಕ್ + ಊ	ಕೂಗು	Koo	Cool
ಕ್ರ = ಕ್ + ಋ	ಕೃಷ್ಣ	Kri	Crypto
ಕೆ = ಕ್ + ಎ	ಕೆಂಪು	Ke	Kept
ಕೇ = ಕ್ + ಏ	ಕೇಸರಿ	Kae	Kale
ಕೈ = ಕ್ + ಐ	ಕೈಲಾಸ	Kai	Kind
ಕೊ = ಕ್ + ಒ	ಕೊಂಬು	Ko	Cost
ಕೋ = ಕ್ + ಓ	ಕೋಳಿ	Koo	Cold
ಕೌ = ಕ್ + ಔ	ಕೌಶಿಕ್	Kau	Cauliflower
ಕಂ = ಕ್ + ಅಂ	ಕಂಬಳಿ	Kam	Computer
ಕಃ = ಕ್ + ಅ:	ಕಃ	Kaha

Sample Text

To understand how Kannada alphabets are used as building blocks to make complex sentences, please see the following :

“ಕರುಣೆ ಎಂಬ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಕಿವುಡ ಕೇಳಬಹುದು ಮತ್ತು ಕುರುಡ ನೋಡಬಹುದು”.

“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see”

– Mark Twain

You can use our free learning app which helps you to come across a lot of Kannada alphabets, phrases and other basic Kannada lessons to improve your Kannada alphabets and basics.