Language/Telugu/Vocabulary/Numbers-and-Colors
As a Telugu language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to teach you the Telugu words for numbers and colors. This lesson is part of the "Complete 0 to A1 Telugu Course" and will help you learn how to count in Telugu and describe objects using colors. Let's get started!
Telugu Numbers
Telugu numbers are based on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, which means they are similar to the numbers we use in English. Here are the Telugu numbers from 0 to 10:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| సున్నాడు (sunnaaDu) | sunnāḍu | zero |
| ఒకటి (okaTi) | okat̪i | one |
| రెండు (reṃḍu) | reṇḍu | two |
| మూడు (mūḍu) | muːɖu | three |
| నాలుగు (naalugu) | naːluɡu | four |
| ఐదు (aidu) | aid̪u | five |
| ఆరు (aaru) | aːru | six |
| ఏడు (ēḍu) | eːɖu | seven |
| ఎనిమిది (enimidi) | en̪imidi | eight |
| తొమ్మిది (tommidi) | t̪om̪midi | nine |
| పది (padi) | pad̪i | ten |
You may notice that the Telugu numbers 1 to 4 are similar to their Tamil equivalents, and that the Telugu word for "zero" is derived from Arabic.
Here are some more Telugu numbers:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| పదకొండు (padakon̄ḍu) | pad̪akon̪ɖu | eleven |
| పన్నెండు (pannendu) | pan̪n̪eṇḍu | twelve |
| పదమూడు (padamūḍu) | pad̪amuːɖu | thirteen |
| పద్నాలుగు (padnālugu) | pad̪naːluɡu | fourteen |
| పందొమ్మిది (pan̄dommidi) | pan̪d̪om̪midi | fifteen |
| పన్నెండోకటి (pannendōkaṭi) | pan̪n̪eṇḍokat̪i | sixteen |
| పదహేడు (padahēḍu) | pad̪aheːɖu | seventeen |
| పన్నెండేనిమిది (pannendēṇimidi) | pan̪n̪en̪d̪en̪imidi | eighteen |
| పన్నెండుతొమ్మిది (pannendutom̐midi) | pan̪n̪eṇḍut̪om̪midi | nineteen |
| ఇరవై (iravai) | iravai | twenty |
| తొంభై (tombai) | t̪om̪b̥ai | thirty |
| నలభై (nalabai) | n̪al̪ab̥ai | forty |
| ఐదుపది (aidupadi) | aid̪upad̪i | fifty |
| ఆరుపది (aarupadi) | aːrupad̪i | sixty |
| ఏడుపది (eḍupadi) | eːd̪upad̪i | seventy |
| ఎనిమిదుపది (enimidupadi) | en̪im̐id̪upad̪i | eighty |
| తొమ్మిదుపది (tommidupadi) | t̪om̪mid̪upad̪i | ninety |
| నూరు (nooru) | nuːru | one hundred |
When counting beyond 100, you can combine the Telugu words for "hundred," "thousand" and "lakh" (one lakh = 100,000) to create larger numbers. For example, 1500 is "ఒక వేల ఐదు వందల సవ్వీసరం" (oka vēla aid̪u vandala savvīsaraṃ).
Telugu Colors
Colors are an important part of any language, and Telugu is no exception. Here are some common Telugu colors:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| నలుపు (nalupu) | naːl̪upu | black |
| పసుపు (pasupu) | pasupu | yellow |
| నీలం (nīlaṃ) | nilaṃ | blue |
| పచ్చ (paccha) | patʃʰa | green |
| ఎరుపు (erupu) | erupu | red |
| తెలుపు (telupu) | t̪el̪upu | white |
With these basic colors, you can describe many objects in Telugu. For example, "పసుపు పిల్లి" (pasupu pilli) means "yellow bird" and "ఎరుపు పుష్పం" (erupu puṣpaṃ) means "red flower."
You can also combine colors to create new, more specific colors. Here are some examples:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| నీలం రంగు (nīlaṃ raṅgu) | nilaṃ raŋɡu | sky blue |
| పసుపు నీలం (pasupu nīlaṃ) | pasupu nilaṃ | olive green |
| ఎరుపు తెలుపు (erupu t̪el̪upu) | erupu t̪el̪upu | pink |
Conclusion
In this lesson, we covered the Telugu words for numbers and colors. You learned how to count in Telugu and describe objects using colors. Remember to practice regularly and use these words in everyday situations to improve your Telugu language skills. Stay tuned for the next lesson, where we will learn the Telugu words for days of the week and months of the year.