Telugu is used by Telugu speakers in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as in the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala and many other parts of the world. The Telugu alphabet has 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants.

Let's start with vowels.

Telugu Vowels

In Telugu vowels also called అచ్చులు (Atchulu). There are two types of vowels in Telugu Script. The first one is an independent vowel, which is used at the beginning of a syllable. The second one is dependent vowel, which is used when the vowel follows a consonant. Like other Dravidian languages, the Telugu vowel set adds short /e/ and /o/ in addition to the long /eː/ and /oː/ of the Indo-Aryan languages.

Independent Vowels:

[a]
[aa]
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[l]
[e]
[ee]
[ai]
[o]
[oo]
[au]

Dependent Vowels:

◌ా
[aa]
◌ి
[i]
◌ీ
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[rr]
◌ె
[e]
◌ే
[ee]
◌ై
[ai]
◌ొ
[o]
◌ో
[oo]
◌ౌ
[au]
◌ౢ
[l]
◌ౣ
[ll]

Telugu Consonants

In Telugu, they are known as `హల్లులు (Hallulu)`. There are 42 consonants in Telugu Script. In Telugu, consonants are pure constants which means there are no vowel sound in them. However, it is traditional to write and read consonants with an implied "a" vowel sounds.

[ka]
[kha]
[ga]
[gha]
[nga]
[ca]
[cha]
[ja]
[jha]
[nya]
[tta]
[ttha]
[dda]
[ddha]
[nna]
[ta]
[tha]
[da]
[dha]
[na]
[pa]
[pha]
[ba]
[bha]
[ma]
[ya]
[ra]
[rra]
[la]
[lla]
[llla]
[va]
[sha]
[ssa]
[sa]
[ha]

Telugu Numerals

Telugu numerals are the symbols used to write numbers in the Telugu script. They are also used to write decimal numbers, instead of the latin numbers. Telugu has ten digits with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. However, in modern usage, the Arabic numerals have replaced them.

[zero]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
.

Features

  • Telugu is a Dravidian language and has its influence in Sanskrit.
  • Telugu is written from left toward the right which is the same as English.
  • Telugu has its own numerals system which is used to write numbers.
  • Each letter in the Telugu alphabet has its own independent and distinct sound. This means Telugu words are pronounced exactly as they are written.

Interesting Facts about Telugu Language

  • Telugu is the only language in the East that has every word ending with a vowel sound. For this reason, Telugu is also hailed as the `Italian of the East`.
  • Telugu is one of the oldest living languages and it has existed since 400 BC.
  • Telugu is voted as the 2nd best script in the world after Korean by International Alphabet Association in 2012.
  • Previously, Telugu language is also known as Tenungu or Telungu or Tenungu.
  • Telugu is the 15th most spoken language in the world.

Telugu at a glance

Telugu (తెలుగు, tɛlʊɡu), is an official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India. Telugu is also spoken in Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Andaman and Nicobar Island. There are 82 million (8.1 Crore) speakers of Telugu in India and additional 13 million (1.3 Crore) as second language speakers across the world. Below is the quick summary:

Pronunciation: [/ˈtɛlʊɡuː/]
Native Name: Telugu (తెలుగు)
Number of Speakers: 82 million
Language family: Dravidian
Ethnicity: Telugu people
Writing System: Telugu alphabet, Telugu Braille
Spoken in: Indian State of Andra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil nadu, Kerela, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andaman and Nicobar Island.
Status: Official language in Indian State of Andra Pradesh and Telangana
Two digit language code (ISO 639-1): te

A Complete Telugu Alphabet Chart

Below is a list of complete Telugu Varnamala Chart

Independent Vowels:

[a]
[aa]
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[l]
[e]
[ee]
[ai]
[o]
[oo]
[au]

Dependent Vowels:

◌ా
[aa]
◌ి
[i]
◌ీ
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[rr]
◌ె
[e]
◌ే
[ee]
◌ై
[ai]
◌ొ
[o]
◌ో
[oo]
◌ౌ
[au]
◌ౢ
[l]
◌ౣ
[ll]

Consonants:

[ka]
[kha]
[ga]
[gha]
[nga]
[ca]
[cha]
[ja]
[jha]
[nya]
[tta]
[ttha]
[dda]
[ddha]
[nna]
[ta]
[tha]
[da]
[dha]
[na]
[pa]
[pha]
[ba]
[bha]
[ma]
[ya]
[ra]
[rra]
[la]
[lla]
[llla]
[va]
[sha]
[ssa]
[sa]
[ha]

Digit:

[zero]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
.

Special Characters:

.
,
◌్
◌ౕ
◌ౖ
◌ఀ

Telugu fractions and weights:

౿

Additional vowels for Sanskrit:

[rr]
[ll]

Additional for Sanskrit:


Historic Phonetic Variants:

[tsa]
[dza]
[rrra]

Type in English, Get In Malayalam. E.g. Typing halea becomes ഹലോ.
Type in English, Get In Tamil. E.g. Typing Vanakkam becomes வணக்கம்.
56 Telugu Letters - Telugu Vowels, Consonants & Numerals
Malayalam alphabet chart with Malayalam Vowels, Consonants & Numerals
Download High quality Malayalam Keyboard layout in 5 different colour modes.
Download High quality Telugu Keyboard layout in 5 different colour modes.
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