Learn Telugu
తెలుగు నేర్చుకో
అ for అమ్మ. ఆ for ఆవు. ఇ for ఇల్లు. Every one of the forty-nine letters below has its own picture, the way it is taught on a classroom wall. Tap any of them.
Tap a letter. A picture pops up.
అక్షరాలు
Telugu is written left to right, one syllable at a time, and it is almost perfectly phonetic — once you know a letter, you know how it sounds in every word it appears in.
Vowels
అచ్చులుConsonants
హల్లులుOne consonant, sixteen shapes.
గుణింతాలు
Every consonant bends to carry a vowel. Learn the pattern once with క (ka) and it repeats identically for all the others — this is the single thing that unlocks reading.
Telugu has its own numerals, and hardly anyone uses them.
అంకెలు
You will see Arabic digits on every shopfront in Hyderabad. But the Telugu numerals still appear on temple inscriptions, old land records and wedding invitations — so they are worth twenty minutes.
Enough to get through a phone call to Vijayawada.
రోజువారీ మాటలు
Learn these twelve first. They cover a greeting, a thank you, an apology, and the two questions everyone will ask you.
నమస్కారం
namaskāram
Hello / greetings
ఎలా ఉన్నారు?
elā unnāru?
How are you?
బాగున్నాను
bāgunnānu
I'm well
ధన్యవాదాలు
dhanyavādālu
Thank you
మీ పేరు ఏమిటి?
mī pēru ēmiṭi?
What is your name?
నా పేరు …
nā pēru …
My name is …
క్షమించండి
kṣamiñchaṇḍi
Sorry / excuse me
అర్థం కాలేదు
artham kālēdu
I didn't understand
కొంచెం నెమ్మదిగా
konchem nemmadigā
A little slower, please
ఎంత?
enta?
How much?
నాకు తెలుగు వచ్చు
nāku telugu vacchu
I can speak Telugu
మళ్ళీ కలుద్దాం
maḷḷī kaluddām
See you again
Start where every child starts.
కుటుంబం
Telugu distinguishes elder from younger siblings, and maternal from paternal grandparents. English does not, which is why these words survive in British Telugu households long after the rest of the language has gone quiet.
Twenty seconds a day beats an hour on Sunday.
పరీక్ష
Which sound is this letter? No score is stored anywhere — this is just for you.
A page can teach the letters. A teacher teaches the rest.
తెలుగు బడి
Three levels, ages 5 to 16, term-time Saturdays across the UK. Speak to us about enrolling a child.