Language/Telugu/Grammar/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Telugu Grammar → Introduction to Telugu → Alphabet and Pronunciation

As a Telugu language teacher for over 20 years, I understand that learning the alphabet and pronunciation is essential for mastering the language. In this lesson, you will learn the Telugu alphabet and pronunciation rules that will give you the foundation to build your Telugu vocabulary and grammar skills.

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Complex Sentence Structure & Question Formation.

Telugu Alphabet

Telugu is a 56 letter language that originated in South India. It is a Dravidian language that uses its own unique script. The Telugu script has evolved over time to include vowel diacritics, conjunct consonants, and other modifications to represent modern Telugu sounds.

The Telugu alphabet is divided into vowels and consonants. There are 16 vowels and 40 consonants in the Telugu alphabet. The vowels are monophthongs, while the consonants can be either single consonants or consonant clusters.

Here is the Telugu alphabet with the English transliteration and pronunciation:

Telugu	Transliteration	Pronunciation	English
అ	a	a	as in "father"
ఆ	aa	ɑː	as in "car"
ఇ	i	i	as in "keep"
ఈ	ii	iː	as in "meet"
ఉ	u	u	as in "push"
ఊ	uu	uː	as in "pool"
ఎ	e	e	as in "let"
ఏ	ee	eː	as in "rain"
ఐ	ai	ɛi	as in "eight"
ఒ	o	o	as in "hot"
ఓ	oo	oː	as in "go"
ఔ	au	ou	as in "out"
అం	am	aŋ	as in "song"
అః	ah	ah	as in "hut"
క	ka	k	as in "sky"
ఖ	kha	kh	aspirated k
గ	ga	g	as in "good"
ఘ	gha	gh	aspirated g
ఙ	nga	ŋ	as in "sing"
చ	cha	ch	as in "church"
ఛ	chha	chh	aspirated ch
జ	ja	j	as in "jump"
ఝ	jha	jh	aspirated j
ఞ	nya	ɲ	as in "canyon"
ట	ta	t̪	dental t
ఠ	tha	t̪h	aspirated dental t
డ	da	d̪	dental d
ఢ	dha	d̪h	aspirated dental d
ణ	na	n̪	dental n
త	tha	t	as in "top"
థ	thha	th	aspirated t
ద	da	d	as in "do"
ధ	dhha	dh	aspirated d
న	na	n	as in "now"
ప	pa	p	as in "spin"
ఫ	pha	ph	aspirated p
బ	ba	b	as in "boy"
భ	bha	bh	aspirated b
మ	ma	m	as in "man"
య	ya	j	as in "yes"
ర	ra	r	as in "rat"
ల	la	l	as in "love"
వ	va	v	as in "voice"
శ	sha	ʃ	as in "shy"
ష	shha	ʃh	aspirated sh
స	sa	s	as in "sun"
హ	ha	h	as in "house"
ళ	lla	ḷ	as in "pool"
క్ష	ksha	kʂ	as in "ks" in "kiss"
జ్ఞ	jna	d͡ʒɲ	as in "d" in "education" and "y" in "yes"

Note: IPA stands for International Phonetic Alphabet.

Pronunciation Rules

Now that you know the Telugu alphabet, it's time to learn the pronunciation rules. Here are some pronunciation rules in Telugu:

• The first syllable of a word is always stressed.
• Telugu has a few vowel and consonant sandhi rules, which means that sounds may change or be dropped in certain situations. For example, when two vowels come together, they may combine to form a new sound.
• The stress pattern of Telugu words changes based on the context of the sentence or phrase.

These are just a few general rules to keep in mind. As you progress in your Telugu studies, you will develop a better understanding of the language and its nuances.

Practice

Now that you have learned the basic Telugu alphabet and pronunciation rules, it's time to practice. Take some time to practice speaking Telugu words and phrases with the correct pronunciation. You can also try writing and reading Telugu script to improve your recognition and recall of different sounds and letters.

Here are some additional resources to help you learn the Telugu alphabet:

• "Learn Telugu with Radha" Youtube channel - this channel has several videos on learning the Telugu alphabet and pronunciation.
• "Telugu Alphabet and Pronunciation" by Andhra University - this resource is a PDF document that provides a detailed explanation of the Telugu alphabet and its sounds.

Learning the Telugu alphabet and pronunciation may seem daunting at first, but with consistent practice and patience, you can master the basics of the language. Good luck!

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Adverbs
• Basic Sentence Structure
• Give your Opinion
• Gender
• Questions
• Tenses
• Negation
• Advanced Verbs

Sources

• Telugu Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Telugu language - Wikipedia