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

31 core words in Telugu

Water

నీళ్ళు

/niːɭːu/

Fire

నిప్పు

/nippu/

Sun

సూర్యుడు

/suːɾjuɖu/

Moon

చంద్రుడు

/tʃəndɾuɖu/

Star

నక్షత్రం

/nakʂat̪ram/

Mother

అమ్మ

/əmːə/

Father

నాన్న

/naːnːə/

I

నేను

/neːnu/

You

నువ్వు

/nuʋːu/

Name

పేరు

/peːru/

Eye

కన్ను

/kənːu/

Hand

చేయి

/tʃeːjɪ/

Heart

హృదయం

/ɦɾudəjəm/

Love

ప్రేమ

/pɾeːmə/

Tree

చెట్టు

/tʃeʈːu/

House

ఇల్లు

/ɪlːu/

Dog

కుక్క

/kukːə/

Cat

పిల్లి

/pɪlːɪ/

Eat

తినడం

/tɪnəɖəm/

Drink

తాగడం

/taːɡəɖəm/

One

ఒకటి

/okəʈɪ/

Two

రెండు

/reɳɖu/

Hello

నమస్కారం

/nəməskaːɾəm/

Thank you

ధన్యవాదాలు

/dʱənjəʋaːdaːlu/

Good

మంచి

/məntʃɪ/

Cuckoo

కోయిల

/koːjila/

Woof

భౌ భౌ

/bʱau bʱau/

Computer

కంప్యూటర్

/kampjuːʈar/

Sushi

సుషీ

/su.ʂiː/

Dopamine

డోపమైన్

/ɖoːpəmaɪn/

At sign (@)

ఎట్

/eʈ/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Dravidian languages

Meaning TeluguKannadaMalayalamMarathiOdiaIrulaGujarati
Water నీళ్ళు /niːɭːu/ ನೀರು /niːɾu/ വെള്ളം /ʋeɭːəm/ पाणी /paːɳiː/ ପାଣି /paːɳi/ nīr /niːɾ/ પાણી /paːɳiː/
Fire నిప్పు /nippu/ ಬೆಂಕಿ /beŋkɪ/ തീ /tiː/ अग्नी /əɡniː/ ନିଆଁ /niãː/ /tiː/ આગ /aːɡ/
Sun సూర్యుడు /suːɾjuɖu/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːɾjə/ സൂര്യൻ /suːɾjən/ सूर्य /suːɾjə/ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ /suːɾjɔ/ čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ સૂર્ય /suːɾjə/
Moon చంద్రుడు /tʃəndɾuɖu/ ಚಂದ್ರ /tʃəndɾə/ ചന്ദ്രൻ /tʃəndɾən/ चंद्र /tʃəndɾə/ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର /tʃɔndɾɔ/ niLā /niɭaː/ ચંદ્ર /tʃəndɾə/
Star నక్షత్రం /nakʂat̪ram/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂat̪ra/ നക്ഷത്രം /nakʂat̪ram/ तारा /t̪aːɾaː/ ତାରା /taɾa/ naTčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ તારો /t̪aːɾo/
Mother అమ్మ /əmːə/ ಅಮ್ಮ /əmːə/ അമ്മ /əmːə/ आई /aːiː/ ମା /maː/ ammā /amːaː/ મા /maː/
Father నాన్న /naːnːə/ ಅಪ್ಪ /əpːə/ അച്ഛൻ /ətʃːʰən/ वडील /ʋəɖiːl/ ବାପା /baːpaː/ ayyā /ajːaː/ પિતા /pɪtaː/
I నేను /neːnu/ ನಾನು /naːnu/ ഞാൻ /ɲaːn/ मी /miː/ ମୁଁ /mũ/ nānu /naːnu/ હું /ɦũ/
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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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