Language/Telugu/Grammar/Plurals

Telugu Grammar - Plurals

Hi Telugu learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will cover Telugu Grammar - Plurals. Plurals refer to more than one object, animate or inanimate. In Telugu, there are rules to form plurals based on the noun and its ending. Telugu plurals are very specific, and every noun has its own plural form. This lesson will introduce you to the various plural forms in Telugu, their rules and exceptions, and also provide you with some examples.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Negation, Telugu Grammar – Intermediate Telugu – Complex Sentence Structure, Subject, Object, and Verb & Advanced Verbs.

Singular vs Plural

In English, plurals are usually formed by adding an “s” or “es” to the end of a word. However, in Telugu, plurals are formed in many ways, based on the noun-ending, the gender (masculine, feminine, neutral), and the context. Remember that there is no single rule to form all plurals in Telugu, and you need to learn them by heart.

To form the plural, Telugu adds various suffixes, which are mentioned below based on the type of endings of the noun.

Nouns ending in Consonants

Telugu nouns that end in a consonant form their plurals by adding “lu” to the end of the singular noun. Here are some examples of nouns ending in consonants:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
పిల్లి (pilli)	/pɪl.li/	Cat
మనిషి (maniṣi)	/ma.ni.ʂi/	Man
కార్యాలయం (kāryālayam)	/kaːr.jaː.la.jam/	Office
పుస్తకం (pustakam)	/pʊs.ta.kam/	Book

When we change these to their plural forms, we add $\texttt{-lu}$ to get:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
పిల్లిలు (pillilu)	/pɪl.li.lu/	Cats
మనిషులు (maniṣulu)	/ma.ni.ʂu.lu/	Men
కార్యాలయాలు (kāryālayālu)	/kaːr.jaː.la.jaː.lu/	Offices
పుస్తకాలు (pustakālu)	/pʊs.ta.kaː.lu/	Books

Nouns ending in “a”

Nouns in Telugu that end with an “a” typically form their plurals by dropping the “a” and adding లు (lu) at the end. Here are some examples:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
రామ (rāma)	/raː.ma/	Rama
పాపం (pāpaṃ)	/paː.paŋ/	Sin
దరిద్ర (daridra)	/da.ri.dra/	Poor
సహజం (sahajaṃ)	/sa.ha.jaŋ/	Natural

When we change these to their plural forms, we remove అ (a) and add లు(lu) to get:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
రామలు (rāmalu)	/raː.ma.lu/	Ramas
పాపాలు (pāpālu)	/paː.paː.lu/	Sins
దరిద్రులు (daridrulu)	/da.ri.dru.lu/	Poors
సహజాలు (sahajālu)	/sa.ha.dʒa.lu/	Naturals

Nouns ending in “i”

Nouns that end with “i” in Telugu are also pluralized by dropping the “i” and adding లు(lu). Here are some examples:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
పదము (padamu)	/pa.da.mu/	Word
జగిలి (jagili)	/dʒa.gi.li/	Nail
జంతు (jantu)	/dʒan.tu/	Animal
ఉపయోగించాలి (upayōgincāli)	/upajoːɡinʧaːli/	Should use

When we change these to their plural forms, we remove ఇ (i) and add లు (lu) to get:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
పదాలు (padālu)	/pa.daː.lu/	Words
జగిల్లు (jagillu)	/dʒa.gil.lu/	Nails
జంతువులు (jantuvulu)	/dʒan.tu.vu.lu/	Animals
ఉపయోగించాలు (upayōgincālu)	/upajoːɡinʧaː.lu/	Should use (Plural)

Note that where ఇ (i) occurs twice in the original Telugu word, both i's are removed and లు (lu) is added. For example, the word ఉత్తరించినారు (uttarinchināru) means 'answered'. Its plural form is ఉత్తరించినారులు /uttarinchinārulu /.

Nouns ending in “u”

Nouns that end in ఉ(u) are unique in Telugu because their plurals are formed by removing ఉ (u) and adding లు (lu). Here are some examples:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
ఆముదు (āmudu)	/aː.mu.du/	Mango
తేనెలు (tēnelu)	/teː.nɛ.lu/	Bees
ఈర్ర (īrra)	/iːr.ra/	Red ant
పది (padi)	/pad.i/	Ten

When we change these to their plural forms, we remove ఉ (u) and add లు (lu) to get:

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
ఆముదులు (āmudulu)	/aː.mu.du.lu/	Mangoes
తేనెలు (tēnelu)	/teː.nɛ.lu/	Bees
ఈర్రలు (īrralu)	/iːr.ra.lu/	Red ants
పదిలు (padilu)	/pad.i.lu/	Tens

Exceptions

While Telugu plurals are formed following some rules, there are some nouns that do not follow any of these listed. Thus, it becomes practically impossible to predict the plurals for such nouns.

Here are some examples:

• ెక్కులు (ekkulu) (meaning classes)
• మాటలు (māṭalu) (meaning words)
• స్థలాలు (sthālalu) (meaning places)

These are some common exception words, but do not limit to only these. There are many such words that are not following the norms.

Dialogue

Person 1: ఒక గ్లాసు నీలవేల (Oka glaasu neelavela) (One glass of water, please)

Person 2: అందుకే ఇక్కడ కాపాడుకోని ఉండాను (Andhuke ikkada kaapaadukoṇi undaanu) (That is why I am here to serve you)

Person 1: పిల్లిలు చాలా సంతోషంగా ఉన్నాయి (pillilu chala santōṣaṃgā unnāyi) (Cats are very happy)

Person 2: అవిల్లేది అందరికి అంతా ఖరాబాయి (Avillēdi andariki anthā kharābāyi) (They are always nuisance to all)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the formation of plurals in Telugu is very specific and is not consistent like in English. It is important to remember the rules mentioned above and practice them regularly by speaking with native speakers or practicing with exercises. Additionally, using Grammarly or other learning apps can help in practicing Telugu grammar. To improve your Telugu Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Lexical Plurals in Telugu: Mass Nouns in Disguise

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Basic Sentence Structure, Intermediate Telugu, Gender & Give your Opinion.

Other Lessons

• Give your Opinion
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• How to Use Be
• Negation
• Nouns
• Gender
• Questions
• Future Tense