Kannada Scripts | Learn Basic Scripts in Kannada

The Kannada script is used for writing the Kannada language, which is primarily spoken in the Indian state of Karnataka. The script is an abugida, where each consonant carries an inherent vowel sound. Here is a list of Kannada alphabet characters:

Kannada Alphabets

The below lists contains Kannada Alphabets. In the list contains around 16 Kannada Alphabets. It is a part of Kannada Scripts.

  • ಅ – A:    – Pronounced like the ‘a’ in “sofa.”
  • ಆ – AA: – Pronounced like the ‘a’ in “father.”
  • ಇ – I:      – Similar to the ‘i’ in “sit.”
  • ಈ – II: – Pronounced like the ‘ee’ in “see.”
  • ಉ – U: – Similar to the ‘u’ in “put.”
  • ಊ – UU: -Pronounced like the ‘oo’ in “pool.”
  • ಋ – RU: – Similar to the ‘ru’ in “rural.”
  • ೠ – RUU: – Similar to the ‘roo’ in “root.”
  • ಎ – E: – Pronounced like the ‘e’ in “let.”
  • ಏ – EE: – Similar to the ‘ay’ in “say.”
  • ಐ – AI: – Similar to the ‘i’ in “ice.”
  • ಒ – O: – Pronounced like the ‘o’ in “cot.”
  • ಓ – OO: – Similar to the ‘o’ in “pool.”
  • ಔ – AU: – Similar to the ‘ow’ in “how.”
  • ಅಂ – AM: – The ‘m’ sound is nasalized, similar to the ‘am’ in “champion.”
  • ಅಃ – AH: – Similar to the ‘ah’ in “aha.”

Kannada Consonants:

Below list contains Kannada Consonants. There are around 36 consonants mentioned in the below list. It is a part of Kannada script.

  • ಕ – KA: Similar to the ‘k’ in “kite.”
  • ಖ – KHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘kh’ sound, similar to the ‘kh’ in “knight.”
  • ಗ – GA: Similar to the ‘g’ in “go.”
  • ಘ – GHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘gh’ sound, similar to the ‘gh’ in “ghost.”
  • ಙ – NGA: Similar to the ‘ng’ in “sing.” Note that this is a nasal sound.
  • ಚ – CHA: Similar to the ‘ch’ in “chat.”
  • ಛ – CHHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘chh’ sound, similar to the ‘ch’ in “chance.”
  • ಜ – JA: Similar to the ‘j’ in “jam.”
  • ಝ – JHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘jh’ sound, similar to the ‘j’ in “treasure.”
  • ಞ – NYA: Similar to the ‘ny’ in “canyon.” This is a nasal sound.
  • ಟ – ṬA: Similar to the ‘ṭ’ in “top.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಠ – ṬHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ṭh’ sound, similar to the ‘ṭh’ in “bath.”
  • ಡ – ḌA: Similar to the ‘ḍ’ in “dog.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಢ – ḌHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ḍh’ sound, similar to the ‘ḍh’ in “adhere.”
  • ಣ – ṆA: Similar to the ‘ṇ’ in “kind.” It is a retroflex nasal sound.
  • ತ – TA: Similar to the ‘t’ in “top.”
  • ಥ – THA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘th’ sound, similar to the ‘th’ in “think.”
  • ದ – DA: Similar to the ‘d’ in “dog.”
  • ಧ – DHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘dh’ sound, similar to the ‘dh’ in “adhere.”
  • ನ – NA: Similar to the ‘n’ in “no.”
  • ಪ – PA: Similar to the ‘p’ in “pen.”
  • ಫ – PHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ph’ sound, similar to the ‘ph’ in “philosophy.”
  • ಬ – BA: Similar to the ‘b’ in “bat.”
  • ಭ – BHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘bh’ sound, similar to the ‘bh’ in “behave.”
  • ಮ – MA: Similar to the ‘m’ in “man.”
  • ಯ – YA: Similar to the ‘y’ in “yes.”
  • ರ – RA: Similar to the ‘r’ in “red.”
  • ಲ – LA: Similar to the ‘l’ in “love.”
  • ವ – VA: Similar to the ‘v’ in “van.”
  • ಶ – SHA: Similar to the ‘sh’ in “shy.”
  • ಷ – ṢA: Similar to the ‘ṣ’ in “pressure.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಸ – SA: Similar to the ‘s’ in “sit.”
  • ಹ – HA: Similar to the ‘h’ in “hat.”
  • ಳ – ḶA: Similar to the ‘ḷ’ in “bulge.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಕ್ಷ – KṢA: Pronounced as ‘kṣa,’ similar to the ‘ksh’ in “akshay.”
  • ಱ – ṚA: Similar to the ‘ṛ’ in “bird.”

Kannada Vowels:

The below list contains Kannada Vowels.  This list contains around 16 vowels. It is a part of Kannada Scripts.

  • ಅ – A: Similar to the ‘a’ in “cat.”
  • ಆ – AA: Similar to the ‘a’ in “father,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಇ – I: Similar to the ‘i’ in “bit.”
  • ಈ – II: Similar to the ‘ee’ in “see,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಉ – U: Similar to the ‘u’ in “put.”
  • ಊ – UU: Similar to the ‘oo’ in “food,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಋ – RU: Similar to the ‘ri’ in “riff,” pronounced with a slight ‘r’ sound.
  • ೠ – RUU: Similar to the ‘roo’ in “root,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಎ – E: Similar to the ‘e’ in “bed.”
  • ಏ – EE: Similar to the ‘ay’ in “say,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಐ – AI: Similar to the ‘i’ in “ice.”
  • ಒ – O: Similar to the ‘o’ in “cot.”
  • ಓ – OO: Similar to the ‘o’ in “pool,” held for a longer duration.
  • ಔ – AU: Similar to the ‘ow’ in “how.”
  • ಅಂ – AM: The ‘m’ sound is nasalized. It’s similar to the ‘am’ in “champion.”
  • ಅಃ – AH: The ‘h’ sound is added after ‘a,’ similar to the ‘ah’ in “aha.”

Kannada Consonants: 17. ಕ – KA

The below list contains Kannada Consonants. It is a part of Kannada Scripts. You can read these consonants and memorise them or learn them.

  • ಖ – KHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘kh’ sound, similar to the ‘kh’ in “kite.”
  • ಗ – GA: Similar to the ‘g’ in “go.”
  • ಘ – GHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘gh’ sound, similar to the ‘gh’ in “ghost.”
  • ಙ – NGA: Similar to the ‘ng’ in “sing.” Note that this is a nasal sound.
  • ಚ – CHA: Similar to the ‘ch’ in “chat.”
  • ಛ – CHHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘chh’ sound, similar to the ‘ch’ in “chance.”
  • ಜ – JA: Similar to the ‘j’ in “jam.”
  • ಝ – JHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘jh’ sound, similar to the ‘j’ in “treasure.”
  • ಞ – NYA: Similar to the ‘ny’ in “canyon.” This is a nasal sound.
  • ಟ – ṬA: Similar to the ‘ṭ’ in “top.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಠ – ṬHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ṭh’ sound, similar to the ‘ṭh’ in “bath.”
  • ಡ – ḌA: Similar to the ‘ḍ’ in “dog.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಢ – ḌHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ḍh’ sound, similar to the ‘ḍh’ in “adhere.”
  • ಣ – ṆA: Similar to the ‘ṇ’ in “kind.” It is a retroflex nasal sound.
  • ತ – TA: Similar to the ‘t’ in “top.”
  • ಥ – THA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘th’ sound, similar to the ‘th’ in “think.”
  • ದ – DA: Similar to the ‘d’ in “dog.”
  • ಧ – DHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘dh’ sound, similar to the ‘dh’ in “adhere.”
  • ನ – NA: Similar to the ‘n’ in “no.”
  • ಪ – PA: Similar to the ‘p’ in “pen.”
  • ಫ – PHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘ph’ sound, similar to the ‘ph’ in “philosophy.”
  • ಬ – BA: Similar to the ‘b’ in “bat.”
  • ಭ – BHA: Pronounced with an aspirated ‘bh’ sound, similar to the ‘bh’ in “behave.”
  • ಮ – MA: Similar to the ‘m’ in “man.”
  • ಯ – YA: Similar to the ‘y’ in “yes.”
  • ರ – RA: Similar to the ‘r’ in “red.”
  • ಲ – LA: Similar to the ‘l’ in “love.”
  • ವ – VA: Similar to the ‘v’ in “van.”
  • ಶ – SHA: Similar to the ‘sh’ in “shy.”
  • ಷ – ṢA: Similar to the ‘ṣ’ in “pressure.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಸ – SA: Similar to the ‘s’ in “sit.”
  • ಹ – HA: Similar to the ‘h’ in “hat.”
  • ಳ – ḶA: Similar to the ‘ḷ’ in “bulge.” It is a retroflex sound.
  • ಕ್ಷ – KṢA: Pronounced as ‘kṣa,’ similar to the ‘ksh’ in “akshay.”
  • ಱ – ṚA: Similar to the ‘ṛ’ in “bird.”

Kannada Advanced Conjuncts:

  • ಕಾ – KAA: Pronounced as ‘kaa,’ where ‘a’ is prolonged.
  • ಗ್ಧ – GDHA: Pronounced as ‘gdha,’ where ‘d’ is pronounced with an aspiration.
  • ಗ್ಧ್ಯ – GDHYA: Pronounced as ‘gdhya,’ where ‘d’ is pronounced with an aspiration and ‘y’ is added.
  • ಚ್ಯ – CHYA: Pronounced as ‘chya,’ where ‘ch’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಟ್ಯ – ṬYA: Pronounced as ‘ṭya,’ where ‘ṭ’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಟ್ರ – ṬRA: Pronounced as ‘ṭra,’ where ‘ṭ’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ಡ್ಯ – ḌYA: Pronounced as ‘ḍya,’ where ‘ḍ’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಣ್ಯ – ṆYA: Pronounced as ‘ṇya,’ where ‘ṇ’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಣ್ಡ – ṆḌA: Pronounced as ‘ṇḍa,’ where ‘ṇ’ is followed by ‘ḍ.’
  • ತ್ಯ – TYA: Pronounced as ‘tya,’ where ‘t’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ತ್ರ – TRA: Pronounced as ‘tra,’ where ‘t’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ದ್ಯ – DYA: Pronounced as ‘dya,’ where ‘d’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ದ್ರ – DRA: Pronounced as ‘dra,’ where ‘d’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ನ್ಯ – NYA: Pronounced as ‘nya,’ where ‘n’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ನ್ತ – NTA: Pronounced as ‘nta,’ where ‘n’ is followed by ‘ta.’
  • ನ್ದ – NDA: Pronounced as ‘nda,’ where ‘n’ is followed by ‘da.’
  • ನ್ನ – NNA: Pronounced as ‘nna,’ where ‘n’ is followed by ‘na.’
  • ಪ್ತ – PTA: Pronounced as ‘pta,’ where ‘p’ is followed by ‘ta.’
  • ಪ್ಯ – PYA: Pronounced as ‘pya,’ where ‘p’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಪ್ರ – PRA: Pronounced as ‘pra,’ where ‘p’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ಫ್ರ – PHRA: Pronounced as ‘phra,’ where ‘ph’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ಬ್ಧ – BDA: Pronounced as ‘bda,’ where ‘b’ is followed by ‘da.’
  • ಬ್ಬ – BBA: Pronounced as ‘bba,’ where ‘b’ is followed by ‘ba.’
  • ಭ್ಯ – BHYA: Pronounced as ‘bhya,’ where ‘bh’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಮ್ಯ – MYA: Pronounced as ‘mya,’ where ‘m’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಮ್ಮ – MMA: Pronounced as ‘mma,’ where ‘m’ is followed by ‘ma.’
  • ಯ್ಯ – YYA: Pronounced as ‘yya,’ where ‘y’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ರ್ಯ – RYA: Pronounced as ‘rya,’ where ‘r’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಲ್ಯ – LYA: Pronounced as ‘lya,’ where ‘l’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ವ್ಯ – VYA: Pronounced as ‘vya,’ where ‘v’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಶ್ರ – SHRA: Pronounced as ‘shra,’ where ‘sh’ is followed by ‘ra.’
  • ಷ್ಯ – ṢYA: Pronounced as ‘ṣya,’ where ‘ṣ’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಸ್ಯ – SYA: Pronounced as ‘sya,’ where ‘s’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಹ್ಯ – HYA: Pronounced as ‘hya,’ where ‘h’ is followed by ‘ya.’
  • ಳ್ಳ – ḶḶA: Pronounced as ‘ḷḷa,’ where ‘ḷ’ is followed by ‘ḷa.’
  • ಕ್ಷ್ಮ – KṢMA: Pronounced as ‘kṣma,’ where ‘k

Numerals:

Below is the list of Kannada Numerals. The numerals in Kannada and there mathematical representation is given in the below list.

  • ೧ – 1: Pronounced as “ondu.”
  • ೨ – 2: Pronounced as “eraḍu.”
  • ೩ – 3: Pronounced as “mūṅḍu.”
  • ೪ – 4: Pronounced as “nālku.”
  • ೫ – 5: Pronounced as “aidu.”
  • ೬ – 6: Pronounced as “āṟu.”
  • ೭ – 7: Pronounced as “ēḽu.”
  • ೮ – 8: Pronounced as “enṭu.”
  • ೯ – 9: Pronounced as “ombattu.”
  • ೦ – 0: Pronounced as “sonne” or “śūnya” (zero).

Other Symbols:

  • ಅಂಶ – Ansha (fraction)
  • ಅಕ್ಷರ – Akshara (letter)
  • ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ – Sankhye (number)
  • ವಿರಾಮ – Virāma (pause)

Conclusion

This article contains Kannada Scripts. It has Kannada Numerals from 1-10. Kannada Characters, Kannada Vowels, Kannada Consonants, Advanced conjuncts.

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