తెలుగు

Telugu

Dravidian

FamilyDravidian Speakers~83M ScriptTelugu CountriesIndia Official inIndia (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3tel

Also known as: Telugu

Telugu (తెలుగు Telugu) is the largest Dravidian language by speakers (~83M L1), official in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (separated 2014 from united Andhra Pradesh state). It earned the nickname "Italian of the East" because almost every word ends in a vowel — a result of strict Dravidian phonological rules (no word-final consonants). Like Tamil, it has been recognized as a Classical Language of India (2008), with a literary tradition since the 11th century — Nannayya's 1022 CE Andhra Mahabharatam established the standard. The Telugu script is a Brahmic abugida descended from the Bhattiprolu inscriptions (3rd c. BCE) and shares its origin with Kannada (the two scripts were nearly identical until the 14th c. and remain very similar). Linguistically: agglutinative SOV, three genders (masculine/feminine/neuter), distinct vocabulary strata from Sanskrit (tatsama "pure-form" loans) and indigenous Dravidian (dēśya).

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Telugu

Water

నీళ్ళు

/niːɭːu/

Fire

అగ్ని

/əɡni/

Sun

సూర్యుడు

/suːɾjuɖu/

Moon

చంద్రుడు

/tʃəndɾuɖu/

Mother

అమ్మ

/əmːə/

Father

నాన్న

/naːnːə/

Eat

తినడం

/tɪnəɖəm/

Drink

తాగడం

/taːɡəɖəm/

Love

ప్రేమ

/pɾeːmə/

Heart

హృదయం

/ɦɾudəjəm/

Tree

చెట్టు

/tʃeʈːu/

House

ఇల్లు

/ɪlːu/

Dog

కుక్క

/kukːə/

Cat

పిల్లి

/pɪlːɪ/

Hand

చేయి

/tʃeːjɪ/

Eye

కన్ను

/kənːu/

Hello

నమస్కారం

/nəməskaːɾəm/

Thank you

ధన్యవాదాలు

/dʱənjəʋaːdaːlu/

One

ఒకటి

/okəʈɪ/

Good

మంచి

/məntʃɪ/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Dravidian languages

Meaning TeluguKannadaMalayalamMarathiOdiaGujaratiPunjabi
Water నీళ్ళు /niːɭːu/ ನೀರು /niːɾu/ വെള്ളം /ʋeɭːəm/ पाणी /paːɳiː/ ପାଣି /paːɳi/ પાણી /paːɳiː/ ਪਾਣੀ /pɑːɳiː/
Fire అగ్ని /əɡni/ ಬೆಂಕಿ /beŋkɪ/ തീ /tiː/ अग्नी /əɡniː/ ନିଆଁ /niãː/ આગ /aːɡ/ ਅੱਗ /əɡː/
Sun సూర్యుడు /suːɾjuɖu/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːɾjə/ സൂര്യൻ /suːɾjən/ सूर्य /suːɾjə/ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ /suːɾjɔ/ સૂર્ય /suːɾjə/ ਸੂਰਜ /suːɾədʒ/
Moon చంద్రుడు /tʃəndɾuɖu/ ಚಂದ್ರ /tʃəndɾə/ ചന്ദ്രൻ /tʃəndɾən/ चंद्र /tʃəndɾə/ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର /tʃɔndɾɔ/ ચંદ્ર /tʃəndɾə/ ਚੰਦ /tʃənd/
Mother అమ్మ /əmːə/ ಅಮ್ಮ /əmːə/ അമ്മ /əmːə/ आई /aːiː/ ମା /maː/ મા /maː/ ਮਾਂ /mɑ̃ː/
Father నాన్న /naːnːə/ ಅಪ್ಪ /əpːə/ അച്ഛൻ /ətʃːʰən/ वडील /ʋəɖiːl/ ବାପା /baːpaː/ પિતા /pɪtaː/ ਪਿਤਾ /pɪtɑː/
Eat తినడం /tɪnəɖəm/ ತಿನ್ನು /tɪnːu/ കഴിക്കുക /kəɻɪkːukə/ खाणे /kʰaːɳe/ ଖାଇବା /kʰaːɪbaː/ ખાવું /kʰaːʋũ/ ਖਾਣਾ /kʰɑːɳɑː/
Drink తాగడం /taːɡəɖəm/ ಕುಡಿ /kuɖɪ/ കുടിക്കുക /kuɖɪkːukə/ पिणे /pɪɳe/ ପିଇବା /piːɪbaː/ પીવું /piːʋũ/ ਪੀਣਾ /piːɳɑː/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Telugu
నేను హోటల్ ఎదురుగా ఒక దుకాణంలో చూసిన సూట్‌ని ధరించి చూడాలని అనుకుంటున్నాను
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

ನಾನು ಹೋಟೆಲ್‌ನ ಎದುರಿನ ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ ಸೂಟ್‌ ಧರಿಸಿ ನೋಡ ಬಯಸುತ್ತೇನೆ
ഞാൻ ഹോട്ടലിന് എതിരെയുള്ള കടയിൽ കണ്ട സ്യൂട്ട് ധരിച്ച് നോക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു
நான் ஹோட்டலுக்கு எதிரில் ஒரு கடையில் பார்த்த சூட்டை அணிந்து பார்க்க விரும்புகிறேன்
Telugu
నేను హోటల్ ఎదురుగా ఒక దుకాణంలో చూసిన సూట్‌ని ధరించి చూడాలని అనుకుంటున్నాను

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