The idea. A small, high-frequency core plus plug-and-play sentence templates. Learn words inside the patterns, not as flashcards.
What to know. Kannada has its own script and verbs that change ending by who's speaking — but it isn't tonal, word order is steady (verb last), and this core gets you communicating fast. Romanized throughout, with the script alongside.
0 Script & sounds
Kannada is written in its own script (ಕನ್ನಡ); the romanization here is a pronunciation guide. Get these and you can say almost anything.
Vowels — length matters
a / ā
short “uh” / long “ah” — hold it
e / ē, o / ō
short / long e and o
Consonants that trip people up
ṭ ḍ ṇ ḷ
retroflex — curl the tongue back
kh gh ch th dh ph bh
aspirated — add a puff of air
Long marks (ā ī ū ē ō) just mean hold the vowel a beat longer — but they change the word, so they matter.
1 Survival phrases
Say these on day one.
Namaskāra ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ
Hello / greetings
Dhanyavādagaḷu ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು
Thank you
Houdu / Illa ಹೌದು / ಇಲ್ಲ
Yes / No
Kshamisi ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ
Sorry / excuse me
Hēgiddīrā? ಹೇಗಿದ್ದೀರಾ?
How are you?
Chennāgiddīni ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದೀನಿ
I'm fine
Nimma hesaru ēnu? ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರು ಏನು?
What's your name?
Nanna hesaru ___ ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ___
My name is ___
Nanage arthavāgalilla ನನಗೆ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ
I don't understand
Nimage inglish baruttā? ನಿಮಗೆ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಬರುತ್ತಾ?
Do you speak English?
Idu eshtu? ಇದು ಎಷ್ಟು?
How much is this?
Sahāya māḍi ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಿ
Please help
Hōgi bartīni ಹೋಗಿ ಬರ್ತೀನಿ
Goodbye
2 Pronouns & “my / your”
Use nīvu (polite you) with strangers and elders; nīnu is casual. Possessives: nanna (my), nimma (your).
nīnu / nīvu ನೀನು / ನೀವು
you (casual / polite)
avanu / avaḷu ಅವನು / ಅವಳು
he / she
avaru ಅವರು
they (also polite he/she)
nanna / nimma ನನ್ನ / ನಿಮ್ಮ
my / your
3 Question words
ēnu ಏನು what
yāru ಯಾರು who
elli ಎಲ್ಲಿ where
yāvāga ಯಾವಾಗ when
yāke ಯಾಕೆ why
hēge ಹೇಗೆ how
eshtu ಎಷ್ಟು how much
yāvudu ಯಾವುದು which
For a yes/no question, add -ā to the end or just raise your tone.
4 Core verbs
Given as the root. (See §9+ to conjugate.)
tiḷi ತಿಳಿ
to know / understand
5 Numbers
1ondu ಒಂದು
2eraḍu ಎರಡು
3mūru ಮೂರು
4nālku ನಾಲ್ಕು
5aidu ಐದು
6āru ಆರು
7ēḷu ಏಳು
8enṭu ಎಂಟು
9ombattu ಒಂಬತ್ತು
10hattu ಹತ್ತು
20ippattu ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು
100nūru ನೂರು
11 = hannondu, 20 = ippattu. Learn 1–10 first; the rest build on them.
6 Essential nouns
People
gaṇḍasu / heṅgasu ಗಂಡಸು / ಹೆಂಗಸು
man / woman
huḍuga / huḍugi ಹುಡುಗ / ಹುಡುಗಿ
boy / girl
snēhita / jana ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ / ಜನ
friend / people
amma / appa ಅಮ್ಮ / ಅಪ್ಪ
mum / dad
Places
mārukaṭṭe ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ
market
nildāṇa / hōṭel ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ / ಹೋಟೆಲ್
station / hotel
kōṇe / raste ಕೋಣೆ / ರಸ್ತೆ
room / road
Things & time
ūṭa / chahā ಊಟ / ಚಹಾ
food / tea
dina / varṣa ದಿನ / ವರ್ಷ
day / year
7 Adjectives (opposite pairs)
Adjectives come before the noun: oḷḷeya mane = a good house.
oḷḷeya / keṭṭa ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ / ಕೆಟ್ಟ
good / bad
doḍḍa / chikka ದೊಡ್ಡ / ಚಿಕ್ಕ
big / small
hosa / haḷeya ಹೊಸ / ಹಳೆಯ
new / old
bisi / taṇṇage ಬಿಸಿ / ತಣ್ಣಗೆ
hot / cold
hattira / dūra ಹತ್ತಿರ / ದೂರ
near / far
jāsti / kaḍime ಜಾಸ್ತಿ / ಕಡಿಮೆ
more / less
bēga / nidhāna ಬೇಗ / ನಿಧಾನ
fast / slow
dubāri / agga ದುಬಾರಿ / ಅಗ್ಗ
expensive / cheap
sari / tappu ಸರಿ / ತಪ್ಪು
right / wrong
8 Glue words
mattu ಮತ್ತು and
athavā ಅಥವಾ or
ādare ಆದರೆ but
yākendare ಯಾಕೆಂದರೆ because
hāgāgi ಹಾಗಾಗಿ so
ivattu ಇವತ್ತು today
nāḷe ನಾಳೆ tomorrow
nenne ನೆನ್ನೆ yesterday
īga ಈಗ now
illi ಇಲ್ಲಿ here
alli ಅಲ್ಲಿ there
tumbā ತುಂಬಾ very
svalpa ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ a little
ella ಎಲ್ಲ all
9 7 rules for sentences
1
Word order = Subject–Object–Verb (the verb goes last).
ನಾನು ನೀರು ಕುಡಿಯುತ್ತೇನೆ
Nānu nīru kuḍiyuttēne = I drink water.
2
Little words attach to the END of nouns (case suffixes): -ge = to, -alli = in/at, -inda = from.
ಮನೆಗೆ mane-ge = to home · ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ mane-yalli = at home
3
Verbs change ending by who does it (§9+). Same root, different tail.
nānu māḍuttēne (I do) · avaru māḍuttāre (they do)
4
Possession: nanna (my), nimma (your); for names add -na.
ನನ್ನ ಪುಸ್ತಕ nanna pustaka = my book · Rāma-na mane = Rama's house
5
“to be” = iru for location/existence; the “X is Y” copula is often just dropped.
ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೇನೆ Nānu illi iddēne = I'm here · Idu chennāgide = This is nice
6
Negate with illa ಇಲ್ಲ (no / not / isn't). “I don't know” =
ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ Nanage gottilla = I don't know
7
Yes/no question: add -ā to the end (or raise your tone). Answer Houdu / Illa.
ಇದು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆಯಾ? Idu chennāgideyā? = Is this nice?
Want & have (dative)
Kannada says wants and haves “to me”: Nanage kāphi bēku (ನನಗೆ ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಕು) = I want coffee; Nanage samaya ide = I have time (lit. to-me time exists).
9+ Conjugation cheat-sheet
Two must-knows: the “to be / want / have” idioms, and how a regular verb changes ending.
A · “To be”, want, have
iru ಇರು — be / stay / there is
ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೇನೆ Nānu illi iddēne = I'm here
bēku ಬೇಕು — want / need (to-me)
ನನಗೆ ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಕು Nanage kāphi bēku = I want coffee
ide ಇದೆ — have (to-me … exists)
ನನಗೆ ಸಮಯ ಇದೆ Nanage samaya ide = I have time
B · Regular present tense — model ಮಾಡು māḍu (“to do”)
Recipe: take the root (māḍu), add -utt- then the person ending. Same pattern for hōgu → hōguttēne (I go), tinnu → tinnuttēne (I eat).
nānu (I)
ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ māḍuttēne
nīvu (you, polite)
ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀರಿ māḍuttīri
avanu / avaḷu (he / she)
ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ / ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ māḍuttāne / māḍuttāḷe
nāvu (we)
ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ māḍuttēve
avaru (they)
ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ māḍuttāre
Past & future swap the middle bit (-id-, -uv-); once the present clicks, those follow.
10 Sentence-building machine
Memorize the frame, swap the ___ for any core word.
ನನಗೆ ___ ಬೇಕು · Nanage ___ bēku
= I want ___.
kāphi · nīru · idu
___ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೆ? · ___ elli ide?
= Where is ___?
mārukaṭṭe · nildāṇa · hōṭel
ಇದು ಏನು? · Idu ēnu?
= What is this?
point + ask
ನಿಮಗೆ ___ ಬರುತ್ತಾ? · Nimage ___ baruttā?
= Do you know ___?
inglish · Kannada
ನನಗೆ ___ ಇಷ್ಟ · Nanage ___ ishṭa
= I like ___.
kāphi · Karnataka
___ ಎಷ್ಟು? · ___ eshtu?
= How much is ___?
idu · kāphi
ನಾನು ___ ನಿಂದ · Nānu ___ ninda
= I'm from ___.
London · India
11 Your turn — practice
Write the Kannada (romanized is fine). Answers below.
- Greet someone and give your name:
- Ask “Where is the market?”:
- Say “I want a coffee”:
- Say “I don't understand”:
- Count 1 to 5:
- Ask “How much is this?”:
Check yourself: 1) Namaskāra, nanna hesaru ___. 2) Mārukaṭṭe elli ide? 3) Nanage kāphi bēku. 4) Nanage arthavāgalilla. 5) ondu, eraḍu, mūru, nālku, aidu. 6) Idu eshtu?
12 A 2-week plan
15–20 min a day, out loud, beats an occasional long session.
Week 1 — Script & survival
- Days 1–2: the sounds + survival phrases.
- Day 3: numbers 1–10.
- Day 4: pronouns + nanna/nimma.
- Day 5: question words.
- Days 6–7: review, no notes.
Week 2 — Build sentences
- Day 8: core verbs.
- Day 9: nouns + case suffixes (-ge, -alli, -inda).
- Day 10: adjectives + glue words.
- Days 11–12: the 7 rules + present-tense conjugation.
- Days 13–14: sentence machine + practice.
Where this grows next
Next: reading the script fluently, past & future tense, and the polite command forms (māḍi). This core already carries everyday Bengaluru travel.