Kannada Lessons For The Beginner PDF

© 2016 Shashank Rao !
ಆರಂ$ಗ&' ಕನ*ಡದ -ಠಗ/

Arambhigakke Kanṇadada Pāṭhgaḷu
Kannada Lessons
for the Beginner
by Shashank Rao 
© 2016 Shashank Rao !2
Preface
Hello! My name is Shashank Rao, and thank you for choosing to learn Kannada, a
fascinating and rich language! Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken primarily in the state of
Karnataka in South India, as well as in border areas of states surrounding it. Like several other
Indian languages, Kannada grammar is relatively complex and requires careful study. Kannada’s
vocabulary is drawn primarily from its Dravidian roots, which includes words that it may share
with other South Indian Dravidian languages, and from Sanskrit, a classical and liturgical
language of India. Many common, everyday words are of primarily Dravidian origin, and most
complex, technical, and area-specific words are mostly of Sanskrit origin, though occasionally
they turn up in everyday language. It also should be noted that Kannada speakers generally
prefer the Dravidian form of most words, and many Sanskrit equivalents to existing words are
often used in poetry and literary works.
As a child, I did not know Kannada very well, because of a speech disorder, and because
my parents were advised to refrain from teaching me anything but English. My journey in
learning Kannada has been an exercise in my ability to re-learn a language that I grew up
speaking poorly, and immerse myself in my heritage. The lack of a Kannada-speaking
community might have compelled me to abandon the language entirely, but I decided that I was
going to learn, because this language was a part of me and who I was. I hope this text will help
other Kannadigas who are isolated from our mother tongue as I was, and allow us to keep the
tradition of passing down our mother tongue from generation to generation.
This text is intended as a guide for beginners in Kannada as well as those who are
familiar with only the basics. While by no means exhaustive of all the cultural and idiomatic
nuances of the language, this aims to provide a decent understanding of the language. Kannada
speaking communities can be difficult to find outside of Karnataka, and the best way to find
them is through the Kannada Kootas in the United States, as well as the Kannada Balaga in the
UK. I hope that you enjoy learning this language, and can begin to appreciate one of the most
ancient living languages in the world! 
Section 1: Introduction to the Written Language and Grammar
Like almost every Indian language, Kannada has its own writing system (01 - lipi), which is
classified as an abugida, a specific type of writing system where each letter has an innate vowel.
Unlike the Roman alphabet used to write some languages in the West, Kannada’s writing system
works differently in that letters are not isolated consonants.
Consonant letters in Kannada each have an innate vowel attached to them, and for other vowels,
they change shape. Notice in the chart that each consonant has the innate vowel a [a]. There are
also subscript consonant diacritics, which are altered forms of consonant letters placed below or
to the bottom right of the letter. Below is a chart of the consonants.
Source: Omniglot
In the vowel diacritics, the letter ಕ [ka] is used as the example letter, and one can see how it
changes depending on what vowel is being used in conjunction with it. Each vowel also has a
complete form that cannot take diacritics of any kind.
Source: Omniglot
As for consonant diacritics, the chart above shows the most common diacritics that you will need
to know, as well as some of the irregularly shaped ones. Most of the consonant diacritics are
formed by removing the topmost line and placing it to the bottom right of the letter being
modified. However, some are less obvious, including those for t, r, y, n, m, l, ṣ as well as a unique
form for the posterior r.
Source: Omniglot
Pronunciation and vocabulary are tricky subjects in Kannada, because the written language and
spoken language sound completely different. This text will teach you speak Kannada as it is
written, since it is one medium that all Kannada speakers will understand, even if it sounds odd.
The only people who may genuinely speak this way on a daily basis are people from Mysore and
Mangalore, to an extent, as well as newscasters and public figures. Those dialects of Kannada
sometimes sound like the way most people talk, but use a very pure vocabulary that consists of
mostly Kannada words, with very little English and other loanwords. It’s important to understand
that Sanskrit-derived words are not really considered loanwords, except by Dravidian purists,
who are a minority. As for actual pronunciation of letters, use the audio files on this page: http://
www.omniglot.com/writing/kannada.htm. You can also use the IPA (International Phonetic
Alphabet), if you are familiar with it, given on this page:
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/ charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm.
To learn the way most Kannada speakers actually talk, it is best to learn from them in person and
also to talk in Kannada often. Colloquial Kannada often takes loanwords from surrounding
languages, including English and other Indian languages, even if there are already words in
Kannada for certain concepts. This is especially true of English, since most people in India speak
English at a minimum conversational degree. Kannada speakers, especially abroad, frequently
import English words for things that might have a rather long, complicated, and Sanskrit-derived
equivalent. That said, Kannada speakers in Karnataka use a significantly lower number of
English and other loanwords, due to their greater exposure to the language on a daily basis,
though not to the extent that newscasters and public figures do. In the vocabulary lists, when
there is more than one acceptable word for any given definition, the source will be given: (D -
Dravidian, S - Sanskrit, F - Perso-Arabic).
Nouns (2ಮಪದ - nāmapada) are declined into one of seven cases:
nominative - ಕತ67ಭ9:/ಪ;ಥಮ7ಭ9: - kartāvibhakti/prathamavibhakti - 1st 

accusative - ಕಮ6=ಭ9:/>?@ಯ7ಭ9: - karmavibhakti/dvitiyavibhakti - 2nd  
instrumental-ablative - ಕರಣ7ಭ9:/ತೃ@ಯ7ಭ9: - karaṇavibhakti/tṛtīyavibhakti - 3rd  
dative case - ಸಂಪ;Eನ7ಭ9:/ಚGಥ6ಿ7ಭ9: - saṃpradānavibhakti/caturthivibhakti - 4th  
genitive case - ಸಂಭಂದ7ಭ9:/ಪಂಚI7ಭ9: - saṃbhandavibhakti/pancamivibhakti - 5th  
locative case - ಅKLರಣ7ಭ9:/ಸMN7ಭ9: - adhikaraṇavibhakti/ṣaṣṭhivibhakti - 6th 
vocative case - ಸಂOಧ27ಭ9:/ಸಪ:I7ಭ9: - saṃbodhanāvibhakti/saptamivibhakti - 7th
Each case will be explained individually. A side note: Here, one can observe the tendency of
Kannada to use simpler words not only in pronunciation but also in meaning; for most people, it
is more pragmatic to label the cases by number and remember their function, rather than use the
traditional name from Sanskrit, which has requires some amount of extrapolation to interpret the
meaning.
Nouns also belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Only people can have
gender, which means that even if an animal is female, it is still treated as having the neuter
gender, having no changed form. However, there are a few words, derived from the names of
certain Hindu deities (which are people and therefore have gender) that have gender, such as
Qಯ6 (sūrya - Sun), which is masculine only because the Hindu god of the sun of the same
name is male. To pluralize nouns that are not people, append ಗ/ to the end, and for nouns that
are people, add ಗR, except for SೕUಗ/, ಅವRಗ/, and ಇವRಗ/ which are exceptions.
Adjectives do not change based on case, gender, or any of the criteria according to which nouns
change. Adjectives and adverbs (modifiers) in Kannada always go before the noun or verb they
modify, respectively.
Verbs conjugate according to tense, person, and plurality, and gender in the third person singular.
Verbs in the present tense can also take a variety of affixes for various auxiliary meanings. In
Kannada, tense is primarily contrasted between past and non-past, making the future tense
conveyable only through context. There is a separate future tense, but it is found mostly in
literary works.
The verb for “to be” (known as the copula) is frequently omitted from sentences that involve
“noun is noun” relationships but for “noun is adjective” relationships, the conjugation of the
copula is frequently affixed to the adjective, since predicate adjectives do not truly exist in
Kannada. It is also helpful to know that Kannada’s basic sentence order is SOV, differing from
English. So a sentence like “I kick the ball” in English would be translated roughly as “I the ball
kick” in Kannada.
Vocabulary: Basic Phrases
ನಮX'ರ - namaskāra - Hello 

YೕZಬR\:ೕ] - hōgubaruttēne - goodbye (“I’ll go and come back”) 
2^... - Nānu... - I am... 
ನನ* _ಸR... - Nanna hesaru... - My name is... 
Sನ*/Sಮ` _ಸR? - Ninna/Nimma hesaru ēnu? - What is your name (informal/polite)?
_ೕa>bಯ Sೕ^/_ೕa>bರ SೕU? - Hēgiddiya nīnu/Hēgiddira nīvu? - How are you? (informal/
polite) (Note: Sometimes ೆ is replaced with ೆಂ) 
2^ d2*aebೕ]. - Nānu cennāgiddēne. - I’m fine. 
ಧನfgದ(ಗ/). - Dhanyavāda(gaḷu). - Thank you. 
ಎij ಸkla>bಯ? - Ellā sariyāgiddiyā? - (Is) everything well/alright? 
ಎij ಸklaeb. - Ellā sariyāgidde. - Everything’s fine.
ಏ^ ಸnoರ? - Ēnu samācāra? - What’s the latest/What’s up? 
ಏ^ ಇಲj - Ēnu illa. - Not much. 
2^ (Gಂಬ) ಸಂqಷgaebೕ] Sನ*/Sಮ` sೕt nಡ>ಂದ. - Nānu (tuṃba) santōṣavāgiddēne ninna/
nimma bhēṭi māḍadinda. - I’m (very) pleased to meet you. (informal/polite)
*uvೕದಯ - śubhōdaya - Good morning/day (formal and rare) 

*uಭ ಮwfಹ* - śubha madhyāhna - Good afternoon (formal and rare) 
*uಭ XಯಂLಲ - śubha sāyankāla - Good evening (formal and rare) 
*uಭyತ:k - śubharātri - Good night (formal and rare) 
ಅನಂತರ/ಆzೕ{ |ೕ}ೕಣ - anantara/āmēle nōḍōṇa - See you after/later 
~ಂ>ನ •k |ೕ}ೕಣ - mundina bāri nōḍōṇa - See you next time 
€• - haudu - Yes 
ಇಲj - illa - No 
ದಯ7‚ƒ - dayaviṭṭu - please 
„X?ಗತ - susvāgata - welcome 
ಪರgaಲj/ಏ^ ಧನfgದ …ೕLaಲj. - Paravāgilla/Ēnu dhanyavāda bekāgilla. - No need for thanks.
(inf/form.) 
ಇಲj, ಇಲj - illa, illa - Not at all 
Sನ*/Sಮ` ಊR lವ• ? - Ninna/Nimma ūru yāvadu? - Where are you from? (informal/polite)
ನನ* ಊR... - Nanna ūru... - I’m from... 
ನನ‡ (noun or verb) ಇಷƒ ಆZತ:e. - Nanage (noun or verb) iṣṭa āguttade/āguttave. - I like (thing).
(sing/plural) 
ಇಲjವ/ಅಲjವ? - Illava/Allava? - Isn’t it?/Right? 
ಅ$ನಂeಗ/! - Abhinandanegaḷu - Congratulations! 
Î‰! - Kshamisi! - Excuse me! (Very formal) 
Ek =Š/=‹ - Dāri biḍu/biḍi - Make way/Excuse me (informal/polite) 
ಏ^/lR ಅ•? - Ēnu/Yāru adu? - What/Who is it? (used to answer the phone) 
ಎŒƒ ಗಂ• ಆŽG? - Eṣṭu ganṭe āyitu? - What time is it? 
(Number) ಗಂ• ಆŽG. - (Number) ganṭe āyitu. - It’s (number) o’clock. 
Sನ‡/Sಮ`‡ ಎŒƒ ವಷ6 ಇ>bಯ? - Ninage/nimmage eṣṭu varṣa iddiya? - How old are you?
ನನ‡ (number) ವಷ6 ಇe. - Nanage (number) varṣa ide. - I am... years old.
*It should be noted that these words are somewhat “contrived”, in the sense that they are words
made to be equivalents to English or Western expressions. Most Kannada speakers will never use
such expressions, at least outside of formal speech. There are many such words in Kannada,
created to address relatively new concepts, most of which include words involving technology.
Kannada speakers often use English words in everyday conversation, but learning these words in
Kannada are important learn in order to comprehend texts and news in Kannada. Using these
expressions will be seen as somewhat odd, but not misunderstood.
Vocabulary: Sports
L{•ಂ•ಟ - kālcenḍāṭa - football/soccer

9;&‚ - krikeṭu - cricket 
ಕಬ‹’ - kabaḍḍi - kabaddi (an Indian sport)
Vocabulary: Food and Drink
nಂಸ - māṃsa - meat 

“•ƒ - moṭṭe - egg 
Q” - sūpu - soup 
ಹ•–/LŽ - haṇṇu/kāyi - fruit (ripe/unripe) (wé can only be attached to the name of a fruit)
E;— - drākśi - grape
•˜(ಹ•–/LŽ) - bāḷe(haṇṇu/kāyi) - banana/plantain
™ೕš- sēbu - apple
ಎ{›ೕ„/›ೕ„‡ೕœ’ - elekōsu/kōsugeḍḍe - cabbage
•„ - jūsu - juice
SೕR - nīru - water 
-ನಕ - pānaka - lemonade
E;ˆರಸ/ಮದf - drākśārasa/madya - wine
_ಂಡ - heṇḍa - alcohol
Vocabulary: Verbs
nತ2Š - mātanāḍu - to talk/speak

_ೕ/ - hēḷu - to say 
ಓ• - ōḍu - to run 
ನœ - naḍe - to walk
@RZ - tirugu - to turn 
ಈ /ಈ„ - īju/īsu - to swim 
ಬ¡ - bare - to write 
ಆಟnŠ/ಆ‹„ - āṭamāḍu/āḍisu - to play 
^‹„/•k„ - nuḍisu/bārisu - to play (music) ಅ-ನéÇ - to play/enact (drama/play) 
¢Š - hāḍu - to sing
ನತ6ಿ„/2ಟfnŠ - nartisu/nāṭyamāḍu/kuṇi - to dance 
@^* - tinnu - to eat 
£‹ - kuḍi - to drink 
gಸ] ¤‹/¥‰ |ೕŠ/ಆ¦;S„ - vāsane hiḍi/mūsi nōḍu/āghrāṇisu - to smell
™ೕ§ೕnŠ/&ಲಸnŠ - sēvēmāḍu/keḷasamāḍu - to serve (as in to help or work for)
ಬ‹„ - baḍisu - to serve (food)
Iೕ^¤‹ - mīnuhiḍi - to fish
Vocabulary: Question Words
lR - yāru - who
ಏ^ - ēnu - what
lವ• - yāvadu - which
lgಗ - yāvāga - when

ಎŒƒ - eṣṭu - how much
_ೕ‡ - hēge - how
ಎ0j - elli - where 
l& - yāke - why
l& ಅಂದ¡ - yāke andare - because
ಎದ&' - edakke - for what
Vocabulary: Days of the Week and Seasons
SIಷ - nimiṣa - second 

ಗಂ• - ganṭe - hour 
>ನ - dina - day 
gರ - vāra - week 
@ಂಗ/ - tingaḷu - month 
ವಷ6 - varṣa - year 
ಶತnನ - śatamāna - century
©ೕಮgರ - sōmavāra - Monday
ಮಂಗಳವರ - mangaḷavāra - Tuesday
šಧgರ - budhavāra - Wednesday
ZRgರ - guruvāra - Thursday
uಕ;gರ - śukravāra - Friday
ಶSgರ - śanivāra - Saturday
«^gರ - bhānuvāra - Sunday
ವಸಂತ - vasanta - spring 
…ೕ‰‡ - bēsige - summer
ಶರ¬'ಲ - śaratkāla - autumn/fall
ಚ0-ಲ - caligāla - winter
Note: All months are all in English, unless indicated on the Indian traditional calendar, which has
separate names for the months.
ಕನ#ಡ ಅ&'ಸ - Kannaḍa Abhyāsa - Kannada Practice
A. To practice writing Kannada letters, take each individual letter, and write 2-3 lines of each
character, in groups of 5. After you finish each group of 5, write all the sets you’ve done so
far. You should be able to reproduce the entire alphabet (vowels and consonants) from
memory after you’ve reached the final set.
For vowel and consonant diacritics, practice by using them on different characters repeatedly.
Note: use computer software to type Kannada letters to see what they look like with their
diacritics; some letters do not undergo obvious changes to their shapes when diacritics are
attached.
B. Practice writing the following words after completing the first exercise.
1. sēbu
2. ācaraṇe
3. gōḍe
4. manuṣya
5. mattu
6. rakta
7. raita
8. mūle
9. ṛsī
10. mṛtyū
11. mara
12. īga
13. mēle
14. amṛtā
15. lēkhani
16. arasa
17. nīliya
18. svaccha
19. kālu
20. nālkane 
Section 2: School and People
Vocabulary: School
{ೕಖS - lēkhani - pen 

¯ೕಲ - cīla - bag 
ಕ@; - kattari - scissor 
”ಸ:ಕ - pustaka - book 
Lಗದ - kāgada - paper 
tಪ°± - ṭippaṇi - note/comment
ಗಣಕಯಂತ; - gaṇakayantra - calculator
²{ - śāle - school
-ಠ - pāṭha - lesson
-;ಥIಕ ²{ - prāthamika śāle - primary/elementary school (often K-8 in India)
³;ಢX{ - prauḍhaśāle - high school
²µ - śākhe - department/branch 
(7ಶ?)7Efಲಯ - (viśva)vidyālaya - university/college 
¬0~ ¶] - tālimu khāne - gym 
”ಸ:ಕ ಭಂ•ರ/ಗ;ಂ·ಲಯ - pustaka bhaṇḍāra/granthālaya - library 
ಪ;¸ೕ-ಲಯ - prayōgālaya - laboratory 
ಮ]/ಗೃಹ - mane/gṛha - house (D/S) 
Sgಸ - nivāsa - residence 
ವಗ6 - varga - class/category 
ದಜ6ೆ - darje - rank/grade 
7ಷಯ/ವ„: - viṣaya/vastu - subject/material (7ಷಯ is broad in usage)
ಉಪwfಯ/ಅwfಪಕ/»ˆಕ - upādhyāya/adhyāpaka/śikṣaka - teacher 
ZR - guru - mentor/teacher (not necessarily academic) 
7Efಥ6ಿ - vidyārthi/śiṣya - student 
ವf9: - vyakti - person (somewhat bookish) 
nನವ - mānava - human 
ಮ^ಷf - manuṣya - man 
_ಂಗ„ - hengasu - woman 
»u/ಹ„˜/¼„ - śiśu/hasuḷe/kūsu - baby (human only) (ìZ most common) ಮZ - magu - child 
½ೕರ - pōra - brat 
(¾Šಗ/•ಲಕ)/(¾Ša/•ಲ9) - (huḍuga/bālaka)/(huḍugi/bālaki) - boy/girl (D/S)
»;ೕn¿/»;ೕಮ@ - śrīmān/śrimati - mister/miss (somewhat formal) 
ಅಪ°/ಅಮ`- appa/amma - dad/mom 
ತಂe/¬Ž - tande/tāyi - father/mother (indirect address only) 
ಮ]‡ಲಸ - manegelasa - housework 
²{-ಠ - śālepāṭha - schoolwork
ರಸಪ;À* - rasapraśne - quiz 

ಪkೕˆ - parīkśa - test 
¸ೕಜ] - yōjane - project/plan
ಪ;ಬಂಧ - prabandha - essay/thesis
ಪತ; - patra - card
Eಖ{ ಪತ; - dākhale patra - admission document
ಪ;nಣ ಪತ; - pramāṇa patra - certificate 
ZRG ಪತ; - gurutu patra - ID card 
ಅಂಕ - aṅka - score/grade (as in marks in school)
=ŠU/7yಮ - biḍuvu/virāma - break/leisure (D/S)
ರಜ - raja - vacation/holiday
ಗ±ತ(²ಸÁ) - gaṇita(śāstra) - mathematics
ಕಲನ(²ಸÁ) - kalana(śāstra) - calculus
=ೕಜಗ±ತ - bījagaṇita - algebra
(ಅಂಕ)ಗ±ತ - (aṅka)gaṇita - arithmetic
7ÀjೕಷÂ - viślēṣaṇe - research/analysis
ಅಂ9 - aṅki - figure/data
ಸಂಖfಸಂಗ;ಹಣ - sankhyāsaṅgrahaṇa - statistics 
ಅಂ9/ಸಂಖf - anki/sankhya - number (D/S) 
ಇಂajŒ - iṅgliṣu - English 
ಬರಹ/{ೕಖನ - baraha/lēkhana - writing/composition/article (D/S)
ಕೃ@ - kṛti - work/opus
aೕತರಚ] - gītaracane - lyrics 
7Ãನ - vijñāna - science 
ರXಯನ 7Ãನ - rasāyana vijñāna - chemistry
Äತ7Ãನ - bhautavijñāna - physics
Åೕವ7Ãನ - jīvavijñāna - biology 
«Æ - bhāṣe - language 
ಅ«fಸ - abhyāsa - practice 
9;ೕ• - krīḍā - sports 
ಕ{ - kale - art 
ಸಂaತ - saṅgīta - music
ÄÇಳ ²ಸÁ - bhūgoḷa śāstra - geography
ಚk\;/ಇ@¢ಸ - caritre/itihāsa - history
Vocabulary: Household and School Objects
Èಗ/XÉನ - jāga/sthāna - place (D/S)

zೕ - mēju - table 
ಇ0zೕ - iḷimēju - desk 
Çೕœ - gōḍe - wall
ಅ‹‡ಮ] - aḍigemane - kitchen 

eೕವರಮ] - dēvaramane - altar/shrine (in one’s house)
gfಸಂಗದ ›ೕÂ - vyāsangada kōṇe - study room/study lounge
ಹಲ‡/ಫಲಕ - halage/phalaka - board 
9ಟ9 - kiṭaki - window 
•aË - bāgilu - door 
£ಚ6ಿ - kurci - chair 
“ೕಡ - mōḍa - stool 
•Uಟ/ಧ?ಜ - bāvuṭa/dhvaja - flag 
štƒ - buṭṭi - basket 
ಗ‹lರ - gaḍiyāra - clock 
ಪಂoಂಗ - pancānga - calendar (Indian traditional calendar)
>ನQ¯ - dinasūci - calendar (Gregorian calendar) 
XÂ - sāṇe - sharpener 
=ೕಗದ &ೖ/9ೕ0&ೖ - bīgada kai/kīlikai - key
Vocabulary: Adjectives
Sೕರಸ - nīrasa - boring/dry (can also be literally “dry”)

„ಲಭ - sulabha - easy 
ಕಷƒgದ - kaṣṭavāda - difficult 
]¯•ನ - neccina - favorite/preferred
ಮÈ/ಸಂqಷ - majā/santoṣa - fun 
£ÍಹಲLk- kutūhalakāri - interesting 
Îೕಚಕ - rōcaka - exciting 
d2*a/ಸkla - cennāgi/sariyāgi - well/good (adverb)
ಬಹಳ/Gಂಬ - bahaḷa/tuṃba - rather/very
ಸ°ಷƒga - spaṣṭavāgi - clearly/fluently
ಒ˜Ð/ಸkl/d2* - oḷḷe/sariyā/cennā - good
ಮ\:ಮ\:/ಪeೕಪeೕ - mattematte/padēpadē - often
7ರಳga - viraḷavāgi - rarely
ಸರಳgದ - saraḷavada - simple/uncomplicated
ಸಂ9ೕಣ6/ಜ@ಲ - sankīrṇa/jaṭila - complex/complicated
Vocabulary: Numbers
Like many Indian languages, Kannada has its own symbols for numbers, which you should learn
as well. They work exactly like numbers in English. See examples of how they work below.
೦ - ©]*/Òನf - sonne/śunya - 0
೧ - ಒಂ• - ondu - 1
೨ - ಎರŠ - eraḍu - 2
೩- ¥R - mūru - 3
೪ - 2Ë' - nālku - 4
೫ - ಐ• - aidu - 5
೬- ಆR - āru - 6
೭ - ಏ/ - ēḷu - 7 
೮ - ಎಂ‚ - eṇṭu - 8 
೯ - ಒಂಬG: - ombattu - 9 
೧೦ - ಹG: - hattu - 10 
೧೧ - ಹ|*ಂ• - hannondu - 11
೧೨ - ಹ]*ರŠ- hanneraḍu - 12 
೧೩ - ಹ>¥R - hadimūru - 13
೧೪ - ಹ>2Ë' - hadinālku - 14
೧೫ - ಹ>]ೖ• - hadinaidu - 15
೧೬ - ಹ>2R - hadināru - 16 
೧೭ - ಹ>]ೕ/ - hadinēḷu - 17 
೧೮ - ಹ>]ಂ‚ - hadineṇṭu - 18
೧೯ - ಹq:ಂಬG: - hattombattu - 19
೨೦ - ಇಪ°G: - ippattu - 20 
೨೧ - ಇಪ°q:ಂ• - ippattondu - 21
೨೨ - ಇಪ°\:ರŠ - ippatteraḍu - 22
೨೩ - ಇಪ°ತ:¥R - ippattamūru - 23
... 
೩೦ - ¥ವG: - mūvattu - 30 
೪೦ - ನಲವG: - nalavattu - 40 
೫೦ - ಐವG: - aivattu - 50 
೬೦ - ಅರವG: - aravattu - 60 
೭೦ - ಎಪ°G: - eppattu - 70 
೮೦ - ಎಂಬG: - embattu - 80 
೯೦ - qಂಬG: - tombattu - 90
೧೦೦ - ÝR - nūru - 100 
೨೦೦ - ಇÝ*R - innūru - 200 
೩೦೦ - ~Ý*R - munnūru - 300 
೪೦೦ - 2Ë' ÝR - nālku nūru - 400 
೫೦೦ - ಐÝR - ainūru - 500 
೬೦೦ - ಆR ÝR - āru nūru - 600 
೭೦೦ - ಏ/ ÝR - ēḷu nūru - 700 
೮೦೦ - ಎಂ‚ ÝR - eṇṭu nūru - 800 
೯೦೦ - ಒಂsೖÝR - ombhainūru - 900 
೧೦೦೦ - X7ರ - sāvira - 1,000 
೧೦,೦೦೦ - ಹG: X7ರ - hattu sāvira - 10,000
೧೦೦,೦೦೦ - ಲˆ - lakśa - 100,000 

೧,೦೦೦,೦೦೦ - ಹG:ಲˆ - hattulakśa - 1,000,000
೧೦,೦೦೦,೦೦೦ - ›ೕt - kōṭi - 10,000,000
Vocabulary: Ordinal Number Adjectives
“ದಲ - modala - 1st

ಎರಡ] - eraḍane - 2nd
~ರ] - murane - 3rd
2ಲ'] - nālkane - 4th 
ಐದ] - aidane - 5th 
ಆರ] - ārane - 6th 
ಏಳ] - eḷane - 7th 
ಎಂಟ] - enṭane - 8th
ಒಂಬತ:] - ombattane - 9th
ಹತ:] - hattane - 10th
ಇಪ°ತ:] - ippattane - 20th
¥ವತ:] - mūvattane - 30th
ನಲವತ:] - nalavattane - 40th
ಐವತ:] - aivattane - 50th
ಅರವತ:] - aravattane - 60th
ಎಪ°ತ:] - eppattane - 70th
ಎಂಬತ:] - embattane - 80th
qಂಬತ:] - tombattane - 90th
Ýರ] - nūrane - 100th
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಕ0„/_ೕÞ›Š - kalisu/hēḷikoḍu - to teach

ಕ0G›/Ð - kalitukoḷḷu - to learn
ಅಥ6n‹›/Ð - arthāmaḍikoḷḷu - to understand
£/G›/Ð - kuḷitukoḷḷu - to sit 
YZ - hōgu - to go 
ಬR - baru - to come
ಇR - iru - to be (located)/wait/(auxiliar verb function)
YರŠ - horaḍu - to leave (as in depart) 
=Š - biḍu - to leave/let go/release 
&ೕ//7ok„ - kēḷu/vicārisu - to ask (D/S)
nŠ - māḍu - to do/make 
ಎಂ• - endu - to be (permanent conditions) 
ಓ•/ಪß„ - ōdu/paṭhisu - to read (D/S) 

Ç@:R/ಅk/@Þ - gottiru/ari/tiḷi - to know (factual information or abilities)
Ãಪಕ7‚ƒ›/Ð/]ನ1Š - jñāpakaviṭṭukoḷḷu/nenapiḍu - to remember/know (people/places)
|Š/L•- nōḍu/kāṇụ - to see 
&ಲಸnŠ - kelasamāḍu - to work/function 
ಗಮS„ - gamanisu - to watch/notice/heed 
-ಠ ಓ• - pāṭha odu - to study 
~a„/›]-±„ - mugisu/konegāṇisu - to finish/terminate/complete 
¸ೕ¯„ - yōcisu - to think/consider 
ಭ7„ - bhāvisu - to believe 
\‡•›/Ð - tegedukoḷḷu- to take 
ಆZ - āgu - to happen/become 
ಒ1°›/Ð - oppikoḷḷu - to admit 
¤‹/Xa„ - hiḍi/sāgisu - to carry 
Xa„ - sāgisu - to move 
ತR - taru - to bring 
ಆk‰›/Ð - ārisikoḷḷu - to choose 
ಒ”° - oppu - to agree/consent 
ಇಷƒಪŠ - iṣṭapaḍu - to prefer 
&ೕ/ - kēḷu - to listen/hear 
¯@;„ - citrisu - to draw 
ಮ¡ - mare - to forget 
“ೕಸnŠ - mōsamāḍu - to cheat/fool/trick/deceive 
ಎS„ - eṇisu - to count 
{ಕ'nŠ/ಗ±„ - lekkamāḍu/gaṇisu - to calculate (D/S)
The Nominative, Accusative, and Declensional Class
The nominative case (“first case”) and accusative case (“second case) are easily the two most
important cases to learn in Kannada, for they are necessary to express many basic sentences.
For the nominative case, the only information one needs to know on how to use it is whether
there is any other information being associated with the noun in question. Is the noun anything
other than the subject of a verb? Is something coming from the noun, being given to the noun, or
is something in the noun? If none of such relationships to the noun apply, then the noun is in the
nominative case, and needs to be that way.
The accusative case is the other part of the basic sentence. It marks a noun as being the object of
a verb, meaning that is being acted upon. In further discussions of the accusative and other cases,
one should know the difference between an intransitive and transitive verb. A transitive verb is
an action that acts upon an object, whereas an intransitive verb does not. For example, in the
sentence “I eat the apple”, the verb “to eat” is transitive, since “eat” acts upon “apple”. However,
in the sentence “I am eating”, the verb “to eat” is now intransitive, since it is not acting upon any
object.
However, there is something else one needs to know about case declension: it is key to identify
what declensional class a noun belongs to, since declensional sandhi, which are sound or spelling
changes that must be accounted for when a noun is declined a particular class. Fortunately, there
are relatively simple ways to figure out whether a noun is of a certain class. (Note: when a
complete vowel character is being given by itself in instructions, it refers to the sound, not the
letter itself. For example, if an instruction says to drop the final ಉ, it means to drop the final u
sound from the stem. So dropping the ಉ from ಬR would make it ಬà.)
1. First class nouns include all masculine and feminine that end in ಅ (a). These nouns drop the
final ಅ before adding markers and declensional endings.  
2. Second class nouns include all neuter nouns that end in ಅ. These nouns drop the final ಅ
before adding markers and declensional endings.  
3. Third class nouns include all nouns that end in ಇ (i), ಈ (ī), ಎ (e), ಏ (ē), or ಐ (ai). These
nouns add a final á (y) before adding markers and declensional endings. Merge the letter
with the ending.  
4. Fourth class nouns include all nouns that end in ಉ (u), ಊ (ū), ಋ (ṛ), ೠ (ṝ), ಓ (ō), or ಔ
(au). These nouns add a final å (v) before adding markers and declensional endings. Merge
the letter with the ending.
a. Most nouns in native Kannada end in ಉ, and many nouns that have had that ಉ
normalized for euphony require the final å to be added. If the form in the dictionary or
vocabulary list has ಉ at the end, then it has been normalized.
Both the nominative case and accusative case have endings to be attached to a noun to decline it,
which are all slightly different for each class. Below is a table of the endings (without alterations
listed above) for each class. The two versions given are simply variations that occur, and both are
acceptable. Then are some examples to contrast the classes and case declensions.
1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class 4th Class

Nominative -^ -U -ಉ -ಉ
Accusative -ನ^*/ನನ* -ವ^*/ವನ* -(ಅ)^*/(ಅ)ನ* -(ಅ)^*/(ಅ)ನ*
Ex.
2) ™ೕಬ)# @^*\:ೕ].
Nānu sebannu tinnuttēne.
I eat an apple.
(Note: Case endings in bold.) As one can see, the personal pronoun “I” (2 - nā) has been
declined into the nominative case, though the rules about declension are slightly different for
pronouns. The accusative contrasts with the nominative, as “I” is the subject with no other
information attached to it, whereas “apple” is being acted upon by “to eat”. ™ೕš is a fourth class
declension noun, but since the euphonic ಉ is already in the word in its dictionary form, there is
no need to attach the final å.
Ex.
2^ •aಲ^* \‡æ\:ೕ].
Nānu bāgilannu tegeyuttēne.
I open the door.
As in the previous example, the subject “I” (2 - nā) is in the nominative because it is the agent,
the person doing the verb. The object “door” (•aË - bāgilu) is in the accusative because it is
being acted upon by the subject through the verb “to open”. obœ is a fourth class noun, with no
need for the final å, due to its default form having a normalized euphonic ಉ.
Present Tense
As mentioned before, verbs conjugate with respect to person, tense, plurality, and gender (in the
third person). But before we learn the present tense, we need to know the personal pronouns. It
was said earlier in the explanation of the nominative and accusative cases that personal pronouns
decline into cases as well. However, they do so in slightly different ways, and only for certain
cases. The nominative case, for example, is the base form; 2 (nā) is not a valid word by itself,
for example, and one must instead say 2^ (nānu) The table below shows the personal pronouns
in the nominative and accusative cases. Memorize these pronouns so that you can learn the
meaning of their declined forms quickly.
2^/ನನ*^* - nānu/nannannu - I ****ಅ•/ಅದ^* - adu/adannu - it
Sೕ^/Sನ*^* - nīnu/ninnannu - you 2U/ನಮ`^* - nāvu/nammannu - we

(SೕU/¬U)/(Sಮ`^*/ತಮ`^*) - (nīvu/tāvu)/ SೕUಗ//SೕUಗಳ^*- nīvugaḷu/nīvugaḷannu -
(nimmannu/tammannu) - you (polite) you all
***ಅವ^/ಅವನ^* - avanu/avanannu - he ***ಅವR/ಅವರ^* - avaru/avarannu - they (m/
f; polite 3rd person)
***ಅವ//ಅವಳ^* - avaḷu/avaḷannu - she ಅU/ಅವ^* - avu/avannu - they (neuter)
*****¬ನ/¬ನ^* - tāna/tānannu - oneself
*Don’t use Sೕ^ with people whose social status is unknown or ambiguous to oneself, as it can
be rude. However, one can never ask to use Sೕ^ after SೕU is the established form of address. It
is also good manners to insist on using SೕU, even if the person has invited one to use Sೕ^.
**¬U (tāvu) is an archaic, more polite version of SೕU , used primarily in reference to God, in
sarcastic or humorous expressions, and in older texts. It uses the same conjugations as SೕU, and
declines in similar ways, replacing Sೕ with ¬.
***These pronouns contain the prefix ಅ- (a-), which means “that”, and have equivalents using
the prefix ಇ- (i-), meaning “this”: ಇವ^, ಇವ/, ಇವR, which would mean “this he,”, “this she,”
and “this they”, literally. 
****Also means “that”; when used as a pronoun, one can think of it as “that thing”; ಇ (idu)
meaning “this thing” can be used similarly; ಅ• will be used in conjugation tables.
*****This pronoun can only be used in reference to a previously mentioned subject. It is used to
express that one does something independently. There is some ambiguity between this and the
vocative case, which will be explained later on.
To conjugate verbs in Kannada, one must take the root form given in dictionaries and in the
vocabulary lists. However, just as with nominal declensional sandhi, there is also sandhi for verb
inflection. Before continuing on, we must cover a few verbal terms. First is the root form, which
is the dictionary form of the verb. Then there’s the crude form, which is the base of most verb
conjugation. The way a verb conjugates changes slightly based on the crude form. There are two
classes of verbs, with one subclass, according to how they obtain their crude form.
1. First class verbs end in ಅ or ಉ; drop this final vowel if the suffix added begins with a
vowel.
2. Second class verbs end in ಇ, ಎ, or ಆ; add a euphonic á before adding suffixes that begin
with a vowel.
a. Subclass verbs are non-crude verb forms ending in ಇ or ಎ; drop this final vowel if the
suffix added begins with a vowel.
One may need or not need to remove certain sounds to obtain the crude form in order to
conjugate a verb in a certain way. From there, obtain the present adverbial participle of the verb,
by simply adding ಉತ: to the crude form. The example verb is nŠ (māḍu), becoming nŠತ:
(māḍutta). This form is the base for all verb forms in the present tense.
2^ nŠ\:ೕ] - nānu māḍuttēne - I do ಅ• nŠತ:e - adu māḍuttade - it does
Sೕ^ nŠ@:ೕç - nīnu māḍuttīye - you (non- 2U nŠ\:ೕ§ - nāvu māḍuttēve - we do

polite)
SೕU/¬U nŠ@:k - nīvu/tāvu māḍuttiri - ಅವR nŠ¬:¡ - avaru māḍuttāre - they (m/
you (polite) do f; polite 3rd person) do
ಅವ^ nŠ¬:] - avanu māḍuttāne - he does ಅU nŠತ:§ - avu māḍuttave - they (n) do
ಅವ/ nŠ¬:˜ - avaḷu māduttāḷe - she does
Unlike in some other languages, Kannada distinguishes only between past and non-past. The
future tense is a latter development that is primarily used in literary works. For all intents and
purposes, the present tense (as shown as above) is also the future tense, depending on the
context. Words indicating the future can be used to imply the future.
Asking Questions
Kannada’s method of asking questions is fairly straightforward. Nearly all the time, it simply
involves changing the ending of the word (this includes nouns) to the vowel ಅ. In some
situations, one can add ನ, ಅಲjವ, or ಇಲjವ to the end of a sentence to make a statement a question,
with the meaning of “isn’t it/right?” Look at the examples below.
Ex.
Sೕ^ •ಂ„k ಊ>@:ಯ?

Nīnu bānsuri ūdittiya?
Do you play the bansuri?
ನನಗ?
Nanaga?
For/to me?
But:
lರ•?
Yāradu?
Who is it?
Question words do not change form. Only non-question words take the final ಅ for the
interrogative form. Note that if there is a question word already in a sentence, it is not necessary
to change the ending of other words.
A. Decline the following nouns into the nominative and accusative cases.
1. {ೕಖS (lēkhani)
2. ಅwfಪಕ (adhyāpaka; teacher)
3. ನ7Ë (navilu)
4. ಆ] (āne)
5. ಮರ (mara)
6. zೕ (mēju)
7. Sgಸ (nivāsa)
8. 9ೕ0&ೖ (kīlikai)
9. ಪ•b (paddu; a type of food)
10. y™: (rāste)
B. Conjugate the following verbs in the present tense for the given pronouns.
1. I, =Š
2. He, ಬ¡
3. They (person), ಈ
4. We, ¸ೕ¯„
5. She, ಮ¡
6. You (polite), nŠ
7. You (non-polite), £‹
8. It (singular), ¤‹
9. They (non-person), ಇR
10. You (honorific), ಓ• 
C. Translate the following sentences into Kannada.
1. I eat the apple.

2. We write books.
3. They (person) bring fruits.
4. She reads.
5. It works/functions.
6. You (polite) sleep (Se;nŠ/ಮಲZ; to sleep).
7. You (non-polite) hold a pen.
8. You all think.
9. She remembers you (honorific).
10. They (non-person) see us.  
Section 3: Foods and Health
Vocabulary: Foods, Mealtime, Etc.
2ಷƒ - nāṣṭa - breakfast (uncommon)

@ಂ‹ - tinḍi - meal/breakfast/snack
èೕ™ - dōse - dosa 
ಇ‹j - iḍli - idli
ಪಲf - palya - curry (without qualification, does not contain meat)
¾Þ - huḷi - a type of stew 
XR - sāru - a type of broth/soup 
“ಸR - mosaru - yogurt
ಭತ: - bhatta - unhusked rice 
ಅ9' - akki - uncooked rice 
ಅನ* - anna - cooked rice
ರ§ - rave - semolina
¤‚ƒ - hiṭṭu - flour
ಅ9' ¤‚ƒ - akki hiṭṭu - rice flour
zೖದ - maida - wheat flour 
ಊಟ - ūṭa - meal (“dinner” without qualification)
ಆé‡œ’ - ālūgeḍḍe - potato
©”° - soppu - spinach 
Sಂ…ಹ•– - nimbehaṇṇu - lemon 
9ತ:˜ಹ•– - kittaḷehaṇṇu - orange
¥ಸಂ= - mūsambi - sweet lime (an Indian variety of lime)
ಕಮE;—/ಕಪy— - kamadrākṣi/kaparākṣi - starfruit
(êೕರಲ/‰ೕ…)ಹ•– - (pērala/sībe)haṇṇu - guava
dೕêLŽ - cēpekāyi - raw guava
ಖಬ6ೂಜ - kharbūja - muskmelon/cantaloupe
EÞಂ…ಹ•– - dāḷimbehaṇṇu - pomegranate
ಪರಂaಹ•– - parangihaṇṇu - papaya
ಅ2ನಸ - anānasa - pineapple
ಕಲjಂಗ‹ಹ•– - kallaṃgaḍihaṇṇu - watermelon
ಹಲ‰ನಹ•– - halasinahaṇṇu - jackfruit
ಎ{›ೕ„/›ೕ„‡œ’ - elekōsu/kōsugeḍḍe - cabbage
ì›ೕ„ - hūkōsu - cauliflower
¢ಗಲLŽ - hāgalakāyi - bitter gourd
¾ರÞLŽ - huraḷikāyi - green beans
í•£ಂಬಳLŽ - būdukuṃbaḷakāyi - bitter melon/ash gourd
©ೕ¡LŽ - sōrekāyi - bottle gourd
ಬದ]LŽ - badanekāyi - eggplant
‰ೕz ಬದ]LŽ - sīme badanekāyi - chayote squash

èÂ– zನ‰ನLŽ - doṇṇe menasinakāyi - bell pepper
ಗಜîk - gajjari - carrot
ï\LŽ - sautekāyi - cucumber
^‡ðLŽ - nuggekāyi - drumstick
…ಂœLŽ - beṃḍekāyi - okra/lady’s finger
ಬñ± - baṭāni - peas
òzೕò - ṭomēṭo - tomato
ಉ1°ನLŽ - uppinakāyi - pickle (many varieties in India) 
‰ê° - sippe - peel (of a fruit or vegetable) 
=ೕಜ - bīja - seed/pit (of a fruit) 
›ೕÞ nಂಸ - kōḷi māṃsa - poultry (“chicken meat”)
Çೕnಂಸ - gōmāṃsa - beef 
ಹಂ>ಯ nಂಸ - handiya māṃsa - pork 
IೕSನ nಂಸ - mīnina maṃsa - fish (the food)
Iೕ^ - mīnu - fish (the animal) 
›ೕÞ - kōḷi - chicken 
ಸ~E;¢ರ - samudrāhāra - seafood 
ಕರಟLŽ - karaṭakāyi - nut 
ಕಡ{ೕLŽ - kaḍalēkāyi - peanut 
•EI - bādāmi - almond 
Çೕದಂ= - goḍaṃbi - cashew 
¢Ë - hālu - milk 
oಹ - chahā - tea 
ತ•ƒ - taṭṭe - plate 
-\; - pātre - pan-vessel 
ಬಟƒË - baṭṭalu - bowl-vessel 
óೕಟ - lōṭa - cup 
~/Ð ಚಮಚ - muḷḷu camaca - fork 
o£/ôೕk - cāku/cōri - knife
ಚಮಚ - camaca - spoon 
ಎÂ– - eṇṇe - oil 
…Â–/ನವSೕತ - beṇṇe/navanīta - butter (D/S) 
ಮX{ - masāle - spice 
zಣ„ - meṇasu - pepper 
zಣ‰ನLŽ - meṇasinakāyi - chili pepper 
ಉ”° - uppu - salt 
…/ÐÞÐ - beḷḷuḷḷi - garlic 
ಒಗðರÂ - oggaraṇe - a heated mix of spices 
”>ನ ©”° - pudina soppu - mint 
›ತ:ಂಬk ©”°/=ೕಜ - kottambari soppu/bīja - coriander leaves/seed
Gಳ‰ - tuḷasi - basil 

ಇಂZ - iṇgu - asafoetida 
ಸಕ'¡ - sakkare - sugar 
ಏಲ9' - elakki - cardamom 
uಂt/uಂß - śunṭi/śunṭhi - ginger (both are accepted pronunciations)
zಂತf - mentya - fenugreek
ಅರ‰ನ - arasina - turmeric (often colloquially pronounced ಅಶ6ನ - arśna)
X‰§ - sāsive - mustard
Åೕk‡ - jīrige - cumin
ಲವಂಗ - lavanga - clove
ìU - hūvu - star anise
ಏಳ9' - ēḷakki - cardamom
ಮXಲ ಎ˜ - masāla eḷe - bay leaf
ಚ&' - cakke - cinnamon
¾±™ಹ•– - huṇisehaṇṇu
ಎ/Ð - eḷḷu - sesame
\ಂaನLŽ - tenginakāyi - coconut
›=; - kobri - dried coconut
…ೕ˜ - bēḷe - lentil
ಕಡ˜ …ೕ˜ - kaḍaḷe bēḷe - chana dal/Bengal gram
ಉ>bನ …ೕ˜ - uddina bēḷe - black gram/urad dal
qಗk …ೕ˜ - togri bēḷe - yellow lentil/toor dal
_ಸR …ೕ˜ - hesaru bēḷe - green gram/mung bean 
”‹ - puḍi - powder 
-ಕ7wನ/-ಕQತ; - pākavidhāna/pākasūtra - recipe
R¯ಕರgದ - rucikaravāda - tasty 

ಅಸಹfಕರ - asahyakara - disgusting 
ಸê°lದ/R¯Žಲjದ - sappeyāda/ruciyillada - bland/dry
¶ರgದ - khāravāda - spicy/pungent
‰¤lದ - sihiyāda - sweet 
¾Þlದ - huḷiyāda - sour 
ಕ¤lದ - kahiyāda - bitter 
=‰lದ - bisiyāda - hot (temperature) 
ತಣ–]lದ - taṇṇaneyāda - cold 
ಒ‡ðlದ - oggeyāda - wet 
„gಸ]ಯ - suvāsaneya - pleasant/fragrant 
•ವ6ಾಸ]ಯ - durvāsaneya - bad-smelling/foul 
ಆÎೕಗfಕರ - ārōgyakara - healthy 
ಅ2Îೕಗfಕರ - anārōgyakara - unhealthy 

²L¢k - śākāhāri - vegetarian 
nಂಸ - māṃsāhāri - non-vegetarian (lit. “meat-eating”)
Vocabulary: Health
ಆÎೕಗf - ārōgya - health 

ತರLk - tarakāri - vegetable 
LŽ{/¶Ž{ - kāyile/khāyile - sickness
]ಗ‹ - negaḍi - cold 
ಜ?ರ - jvara - fever 
&~` - kemmu - cough 
&~` ಔಷಧ - kemmu auṣadha - cough medicine
QÅಮ•b - sūjimaddu - injection 
ಲ‰& - lasike - vaccine 
ಔಷಧ - auṣadha - medicine 
•ಚS‡ - bācanige - hairbrush/comb
Vocabulary: Colors
ಬಣ–/ವಣ6 - baṇṇa/varṇa - color (D/S)

ಬಣ–ದ - baṇṇada - to be colored 
ಕk - kari - black 
Sೕಲಯ - nīliya - blue
ಹ‰R - hasiru - green 
í• - būdu - grey 
9ತ:{ಯ - kittaḷeya - orange 
Zi= - gulābi - pink 
&S*0 - kennili - purple 
&ಂ” - keṃpu - red 
ರಕ:ವಣ6ದ - raktavarṇada - blood-red
=0ಯ - biḷiya - white
ಹಳ> - haḷadi - yellow 
ŽÞಯ - tiḷiya - clear/light/pale
ಕ”° - kappu - dark
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಕತ:k„ - kattarisu - to cut 

‰ê° „0 - sippe suli - to peel 
7K„ - vidhisu - to prescribe/impose/levy
&~` - kemmu - to cough 
ಸ?ಚönŠ - svacchamāḍu - to clean 
q˜ - toḷe - to wash 
-Ë nŠ - pālu māḍu - to share
ಅŠ‡ nŠ - aḍuge māḍu - to make food 
…ೕæ - bēyu - to cook (in any way, including frying, roasting, etc.) 
ಇŠ - iḍu - to put/place 
@^* - tinnu - to eat 
@S*„ - tinnisu - to feed 
Y•ƒaಲje (Xæ/XŽ„) - hoṭṭegillade (sāyu/sāyisu) - to starve (intr./tran.) 
›Š - koḍu - to give 
…ೕLaR - bēkāgiru - to need/require (something) 
(noun in dative case) ಹ‰U ಆZ - (...) hasivu āgu - to be hungry (3rd person singular only) (noun
in dative case)
•lk& ಆZ - (...) bāyārike āgu - to be thirsty (3rd person singular only) 
(noun in dative case) Se; ಬR - (...) nidre baru - to be sleepy (3rd person singular only)
ಇe/ಇ§ - ide/ive - there is/are (singular, plural)
Additional Vocabulary: The Body
ಶkೕರ - śarīra - body 

_ಣ/ಶವ - heṇa/śava - dead body (D/S)
&ೖ - kai - arm/hand 
ತಲ - tale - head 
¼ದË - kūdalu - hair 
Gt - tuṭi - lips 
¥Z - mūgu - nose 
97 - kivi - ear 
~ಖ - mukha - face 
•Ž - bāyi - mouth 
2Þ‡ - nālige - tongue 
ಕ‚ƒ - kattu - neck 
ಗಂಟË - ganṭalu - throat
ಹËjಗ/ - hallugaḷu - teeth
ಕ•–ಗ/ - kaṇṇugaḷu - eyes
¾š÷ - hubbu - eyebrow
I•Ë - miduḷu - brain
øಜ - bhuja - shoulder 
“ಣ&ೖ - moṇakai - elbow 
ಎe - ede - chest 
…^* - bennu - back 
ಪ&'Ëš - pakkelubu - ribs
ಹೃದಯ - hṛdaya - heart
²?ಸ›ೕಶ - śvāsakōśa - lungs
&ೖ…ರ/ - kaiberaḷu - finger
LË - kālu - foot/leg
Lಲ…ರ/ - kālaberaḷu - toe
ಕಣL/ - kaṇakālu - ankle
¤ಮ`‹ - himmaḍi - heel
ಮSಕ‚ƒ - maṇikaṭṭu - wrist
Y•ƒ - hoṭṭe - stomach/belly
ಉZR - uguru - nail
The Instrumental-Ablative Case and Dative Case
The instrumental-ablative case is somewhat complicated, as it combines two different cases into
one declension. We will first cover the instrumental definition, which means “through, by way
of,” or “using”. The ablative definition means “from, away/moving from, since,” or “beginning
at”.

-Sಂದ ->ಂದ -ಇಂದ -ಇSಂದ
Ex.
ಮರ*ಂದ ಹ•– ಬRತ:e.

Maradinda haṇṇu baruttade.
Fruit comes from the tree.
2U ಈ ರ™:-ಂದ ಬಂ>ebU. 
Nāvu ī rasteyinda bandiddevu. 
We came through/by way of this road.
The dative case is similar to the accusative case, in that it marks the noun that is being acted
upon by a verb. However, it is for a different kind of verb; the dative case marks a noun that is
recipient. The dative case roughly translates to “to, for,” or “on the behalf of”. It is used with
verbs that have meanings like “give, teach,” or “tell”. However, it has another use, usually with
the ablative function of the instrumental-ablative case. In this situation, the dative case can mean
“to,” or “toward” in a directional sense.

-S‡ -&' -‡ -ಇ‡
Ex.
Sೕ^ ಅವ./ _ೕÞ›Š@:ೕç. 

Nīnu avanige hēḷikoḍuttīye. 
You teach him. (Think: You give to him instruction).
ಅವ/ ಇ01ಂದ eೕವXÉನ23 YೕZ¬:˜.

Avaḷu illinda dēvasthānakke hoguttāḷe.
She goes to(ward) the temple from here.
There is yet another use of the dative case in Kannada, one which is purely idiomatic. Many
sensations and feelings conveyed using the dative case and the verbs ಆZ (āgu - to become/
happen) and ಇe/ಇ§ (ide/ive - there is/are). Look at the examples below.
Ex.
ಅವk‡ Gಂಬ ಜ?ರ ಇe. 

Avarige tuṃba jvara ide. 
He/she (polite) has a a high fever. 
lit. With/for him/her (polite) there is much fever.
ನಮ` L{•ಂ•ಟ ಇಷƒ ಆZತ:e. 

Nammage kālceṇḍāta iṣṭa āguttade. 
We like soccer. 
lit. To/for us, soccer becomes much pleasure.
Personal Pronouns - Instrumental-Ablative and Dative Cases
ನS*ಂದ/ನನ‡ - nanninda/nanage ಆದbkಂದ/ಅದk&. - āddarinda/adarike
SS*ದ/Sನ‡ - ninninda/ninage ನI`ಂದ/ನಮ`‡ - namminda/nammage

(SI`ಂದ/ತI`ಂದ)/(Sಮ`‡/ತಮ`‡) - SೕUಗÞಂದ/SೕUಗÞ‡ - nīvugaḷinda/nīvugaḷige
(nimminda/)/(/nimmage)
ಅವSಂದ/ಅವS‡ - avaninda/avanige ಅವkಂದ/ಅವk‡ - avarinda/avarige
ಅವÞಂದ/ಅವÞ‡ - avaḷinda/avaḷige ಅವಗÞಂದ/ಅವಗÞ‡ - avagaḷinda/avagaḷige
¬Sಂದ/¬ನ‡ - tāninda/tānage - oneself
The Negative Form
A peculiar feature of Kannada grammar is that negated verbs do not indicate person, gender, or
plurality, or tense. To form this, simply append -ಉವ>ಲi to the base form. For second class
verbs, add a final á, and then append -ಉU>ಲj instead.
Ex.
2^ ಬ¡æU>ಲj.
Nānu bareyuvudilla.
I do not write.
2^ YೕZವ>ಲj.
Nānu hōguvadilla.
I do not go.
Demonstratives
Demonstratives in Kannada are only “this” and “that”. The root forms of these two determiners
are ಈ (ī - this) and ಆ (ā - that). Unlike other adjectives, the demonstratives do decline for case,
though one could say that the demonstrative pronouns are the nouns that decline. Below is a
table for all the forms. All cases will be shown here, since it will be fairly useful later on. Special
meanings will be indicated as necessary.
Form “This" “That"

Adjectival ಈ-ī ಆ-ā
Pronoun/Nominative ಇ• - idu ಅ• - adu

Accusative ಇದ^* - idannu ಅದ^* - adannu
Instrumental-Ablative ಇದkಂದ/ಇದbkಂದ - idarinda/ ಆದkಂದ/ಆದbkಂದ - ādarinda/

iddarinda āddarinda
Dative ಇದk& - idarike ಅದk& - adarike
Genitive ಇದರ•b - idaraddu ಅದರ•b - adaraddu

Locative ಇ0j - illi “here” ಅ0j - alli “there”
Vocative ಇeೕ - idē ಅeೕ - adē
1. Decline the following nouns into the instrumental and dative cases.
2. ಅwfಪಕ (adhyāpaka)
3. ನ7Ë (navilu)
4. ಆ] (āne)
5. ಮರ (mara)
6. zೕ (mēju)
7. Sgಸ (nivāsa)
9. ಪ•b (paddu)
10. ರ™: (rāste)  
C. Write the following verbs in the negative form.
1. ತ¡
2. ನœ
3. YೕZ
4. ಈ
5. „0
6. q{
7. ಕತ:k„
8. ಎ±„
9. ಬR
10. ಕ¡ 
D. Translate the following sentences into Kannada.
1. He takes from the bowl.

2. We go home from school.
3. I come from America.
4. They (person) go to India.
5. It gives me food.
6. Āsha (female) gives Ramā (female) an apple.
7. They (non-person) come from the south (dakṣina).
8. We go from the kitchen to the altar.
9. You (non-polite) write for me.
10. You all go from here to there. 

Section 4: Conditions and Feelings
Vocabulary: Postpositions
ಬÞಯ0j/ಹ@:ರ/ಪಕ'ದ0j - baḷiyalli/hattira/pakkadalli - beside/next to

*ಹ@:ರ - hattira - near 
&ಳ‡ - keḷage - under/down 
ಅ‹ - aḍi - under/on the ground/at one’s feet
~ಂe - munde - in front
¤ಂe - hinde - behind/back/ago
zೕ{ - mēle - on top/upon/above/up/after
n‹/ಮಹ‹ - māḍi/mahaḍi - upstairs/up there 
ùರ - dūra - far/distant 
„ಟƒ - sutta - around 
ಒಳ‡ - oḷage - inside 
Yರಗœ - horagaḍe - outside 
~ಂd - munce - before 
ಆzೕ{/(ಅ)ನಂತರ - āmēle/(a)nantara - after
ತಂಕ/ರವ¡‡ - tanka/ravarege - until/till 
ú\ - jote - with 
ಇಲje - illade - without 
£kತ/ಬ‡ð/7ಷಯ - kurita/bagge/viṣaya - about/concerning
ನŠ§ - naḍuve - between
*Unlike other postpositions, it does not use the locative case to indicate the physical relationship.
By placing it after a noun in the genitive case, one can express possession.
Vocabulary: Conditions
„X:Z - sustāgu - tired 

¾ûR - huṣāru - well 
¾ûRವ>ಲj - huṣāruvadilla - sick
üM - khuṣi - happy
•ಃಖ - duhkha - sad 
Lಯ6ಮಗ* - kāryamagna - occupied/busy
ಸ?ಚö/u¯lದ - svaccha/śuciyāda - clean
›ಳLದ - koḷakāda - dirty 
…ೕಗ - bēga - fast 
Swನ - nidhāna - slow 
ಪ;@ಭವಂತ - pratibhāvanta - talented
Xnನf - sāmānya - ordinary
„nyದ - sumārāda - mediocre

>ಟƒ - diṭṭa - daring 
ಶಕ: - śakta - capable 
ದˆ - dakṣa - clever
&ಟƒ - keṭṭa - bad 
•ಷƒ - duṣṭa - evil 
9k9kUಂ‚ - kirikirivunṭu - annoying
LŠU - kāḍuvu - bothersome
Gಂ=ದ - tumbida - full 
¶0lದ - khāliyāda - empty 
Xಧf - sādhya - possible
Vocabulary: Animals
-;± - prāṇi - animal 

…£' - bekku - cat 
2Ž - nāyi - dog 
ಹಂ> - handi - pig/swine 
ಹ„ - hasu - cow 
›ೕÞಯ - kōḷiya - chicken
ಹ9'/ಪ— - hakki/pakṣi - bird (D/S)
Åಂ& - jinke - deer
ಕರ‹ - karaḍi - bear ̧ É - gūbe - owl
£ಂ>0 - kundili - rabbit
ಅÞË - aḷilu - squirrel
ಇ0 - ili - mouse/rat
ಕ1 - kapi - monkey 
ಹಂಸ - haṃsa - swan
‰ಂಹ/‰ಂಗ - sinha/singa - lion 
•G›ೕÞ - bātukōḷi - duck 
¾0 - huli - tiger 
ನk - nari - fox 
¢U/ಸಪ6 - hāvu/sarpa - snake (D/S) 
ಆ]/ಗಜ - āne/gaja - elephant (D/S) 
£k - kuri - sheep 
£•¡/ಅಶ?? - kudure/aśva - horse (D/S) 
¾/ - huḷu - insect/bug 
ಮ˜ ¾/ - maḷe huḷu - rain bug (a type of insect that appears in wet areas in India)
þೕ^ ¾/ - jēnu huḷu - bee 
þೕಡ(ರ) (¾/) - jēḍa(ra) (huḷu) - spider
ಕಣಜ (¾/) - kaṇaja hụlu - wasp 

¯•ƒ/ಪತಂಗ (¾/) - ciṭṭe/patanga (huḷu) - butterfly
>ೕಪದ ¾/ - dīpada huḷu - moth 
©˜Ð (¾/) - soḷḷe (huḷu) - fly
*You can also add -ಮk (-mari) to make nouns small, young, and/or cute.
Additional Vocabulary: The Weather and the Sky
ಹ§ - have - weather 
Lಲ/ಸಮಯ - kāla/samaya - time 
ಕˆಣ - kakṣaṇa - moment 
ಆLಶ - ākāśa - sky 
Qಯ6 - sūrya - sun 
ಚಂದ; - candra - moon 
ನˆತ; - nakṣatra/tāre - star 
ಗ;ಹ - graha - planet 
“ೕಡ/zೕಘ - mōḍa/mēgha - cloud
“ೕಡಕ7ದ - mōḍakavida - cloudy
-Þ - gāḷi - wind 
=R-Þ - birugāḷi - storm
ಚಂಡnRತ - caṇḍamāruta - hurricane
ಇಬ÷S - ibbani - mist 
ಮಂ - manju - fog 
ತಂಗÞ - tangāḷi - breeze 
Iಂ! - mincu - lightning 
ZŠZ - guḍugu - thunder 
ಒeblದ - oddeyāda - humid/wet
=‰Ë - bisilu - heat 
ಉû–ನ" - uṣṇānśa - temperature
¤ಮ - hima - ice/snow 
ಮ˜ - maḷe - rain
‰ಡË - siḍalu - lightning bolt
*The word for anything just about anything ice-related in Kannada is just ¤ಮ, which means
“ice/snow” in Sanskrit. The only place in India that really gets any ice is the Himalayas, a
mountain range at a very high elevation that includes Mt. Everest.
For most weather phenomena the verb ಬS (baru - to come) is used after the name of the weather
to say that it is occurring. For example, ಮò ಬS (maḷe baru) means “to rain”.
The Locative Case and Postpositions
The locative case is an important case to learn for describing the positions of nouns, especially
considering that the words that are prepositions in English are actually postpositions in Kannada.
This means that the word describing the location is placed after the noun, rather than before. The
locative case is required for this as well. The table below shows how to decline each class of
noun.

-ನ0j -ದ0j -ಅ0j -ಇನ0j
Ex.
êtƒ‡ ಒಳ‡ಯ0j êಂ‰ಲಗ/ ಇRತ:§.

Peṭṭige oḷageyalli pensilagaḷu iruttave.
There are pencils in the box.
ನನ* ¬Ž Yರಗœಯ0j ಇR¬:¡.

Nanna tāyi horagaḍeyalli iruttāre.
My mother is outside.
In colloquial spoken Kannada, the locative case is sometimes omitted from prepositions, but not
from other locations.
The Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect is essentially an affix that denotes a verb being ongoing or in progress at
the time indicated by the tense. It is important to recognize that tense and aspect are two separate
components of a verb. The progressive aspect is marked by the affixation of the auxiliar form of
the verb ಇR (iru), conjugated in the appropriate tense. In order to make the present progressive,
for example, take the present adverbial participle and attach the present tense conjugated form of
auxiliar ಇR. ಇR is an irregular verb in its auxiliar form:
2^ ಇebೕ] - nānu iddēne ಅ• ಇeb - adu idde

Sೕ^ ಇ>bೕç - nīnu iddīye 2U ಇebೕ§ - nāvu iddēve
SೕU/¬U ಇ>bk - nīvu/tāvu iddīri ಅವR ಇEb¡ - avaru iddāre

ಅವ^ ಇEb] - avanu iddāne ಅU ಇದb§ - avu iddave
ಅವ/ ಇEb˜ - avaḷu iddāḷe - she does

Note: There is mostly defunct spelling rule for the present tense of this form of ಇR, using ಇ•# as
the base of the verb. However, modern speakers and writers would pronounce and even write this
using ಇ•b.
Ex.
nŠತ: + ಇebೕ] = nŠ@:ebೕ] 

māḍutta + iddēne = māḍuttiddēne 
present adverbial participle + 1st person singular form of ಇR
Ex.
2^ ಊಟ nŠ@:ebೕ].
Nānu ūṭa māḍuttiddēne*.
I am eating a meal.
ಅವ^ ಅವÞ‡ ಒಡ§ ›Š@:Eb].

Avanu avaḷige oḍave koḍuttiddāne.
He is giving her jewelry.
*Even though @^* (tinnu) does mean “to eat”, ಊಟ nŠ (ūṭa māḍu) is a specific expression
that means “to eat/take a meal”. The latter is the preferred way of talking about eating a meal.
However, for the past and the future tense, one needs to pay closer attention, as now, ಇR must
conjugated in the past and future tenses, respectively. However, the present adverbial participle
and the conjugated form of ಇR are still elided together.
Ex.
2^ @^*@:e.b
Nānu tinnuttidde.
I was eating.
SೕU YೕZ@:R7k. 
Nīvu hōguttiruviri. 
You (polite) will be going.
The Relative Clause

The relative clause in English is also called the dependent clause. It is a part of the sentence that
can be a phrase but not a complete sentence. For example, take the sentence “The girl that kicks
the ball”. The part after the word “that” is the dependent clause, and serves to describe
the girl. In Kannada, the equivalent is a single word, and is a complete thought in and of itself.
However, when there are multiple relative clauses, things get complicated. Kannada speakers,
even with simple one-clause constructions, avoid this part of speech, preferring the equivalent of
“That girl, she kicks the ball”.
To make this construction, consider the tense, and then find the appropriate adjectival participle.
Then simply attach the pronoun at the end. Look below for the Kannada version of the previous
example sentence.
Ex.
dಂಡ^* ಒeæವ/
Ceṇḍannu odeyuvaḷu 
This girl that kicked the ball
Preferred:
ಈ ¾Ša/ಇವ/, dಂಡ^* ಒeæ¬:˜.

Ī huḍugi/īvaḷu, ceṇḍannu odeyuttāḷe.
While this wouldn’t be wrong or even necessarily non-native sounding, many people avoid this
construction simply because the more information there is, the more complicated it gets. This
form can only be used in the third person, and is used to specify a particular subject that isn’t
present. A common pronoun used to refer to the subject of a relative clause is ಎಂಬ, which
essentially translates as “he/she/they who (verb)…”.
Also, notice that the euphonic ಯ is added before the pronoun. An important skill is to recognize
the patterns that require a euphonic ಯ or ವ.
The Imperative Forms
In Kannada, there are several types of commands, each with a separate connotation, and for a
different person. The low imperative distinguishes male and female, with a somewhat dismissive
connotation if used with young adults and older people. The standard imperative fits all people,
though it is not polite. The polite imperative is used for people of higher status and worthy of
respect or politeness, as well as a group of people. The honorific imperative is a very polite form,
but can have connotations of pushiness or dismissiveness. There are also the optative and
hortative forms, whose endings are affixed to the verb’s base form. The optative form is used
only in the 3rd person (“shall/may...?”/“let...”) and the hortative is only used in the 2nd person
plural (“let’s...). The example verb is nŠ.
Low (male) n}ೕ - māḍō

Low (female) nœ - māḍe
Standard nŠ - māḍu
Polite n‹ - māḍi
Honorific n‹k - māḍiri

Optative nಡ0 - māḍali
Hortative n}ೕಣ - māḍōṇa
Note: The low (male/female), standard, polite, and honorific forms of ಬS are irregular: •Îೕ
(bārō), •¡ (bāre), • (bā), ಬS* (banni), ಬS*k (banniri).
*The hortative requires the euphonic á for second class verbs.
Supplemental Vocabulary: Clothing and Shopping
ಬÈR - bajāru - supermarket/bazaar (F) 

ಔಷಧದ ಅಂಗ‹ - auṣadhada aṅgaḍi - pharmacy/drug store 
9y± ಅಂಗ‹ - kirāṇi angaḍi - general/grocery store 
ಒಡ§/ಆಭರಣ ಅಂಗ‹ - oḍave/ābharaṇa aṅgadi - jewelry store
Îtƒಯಂಗ‹ - roṭṭiyangaḍi - bakery 
1ೕ$ೕಪಕರಣಗಳ ಅಂಗ‹ - pīṭhōpakaraṇagaḷa aṅgadi - furniture store
ಬ•ƒಯ ಅಂಗ‹ - baṭṭeya aṅgadi - clothing store 
ದಜ6ಿ - darji - tailor/outfitter 
%kಕ/ಹÈಮ - kṣaurika/hajāma - barber (S/F)
Vocabulary: Items for Sale and Other Terms
ರತ*/ಮ± - ratna/maṇi - jewel (D/S) 

ಒಡ§/ಆಭರಣ - oḍave/ābharaṇa - jewelry (D/S) 
ಅಲಂLರ - alankāra - decoration/ornament 
ಉಂZರ/ಅಂZ0ೕಯ - ungura/angulīya - ring (D/S) 
&ೖಬ˜ - (kai)baḷe - bangle/bracelet 
ಕಂಠ¢ರ/ರತ*¢ರ - kanṭhahāra/ratnahāra - necklace 
ಸರ - sara - chain (usually for jewelry; can also be a very plain necklace) 
ಓ˜/ಕಡ£ - ōḷe/kaḍaku - earring 
&ೖಗ‹lರ - kaigaḍiyāra - wristwatch 
(ಬ•ƒ/ಉŠ‡)/ವಸÁ - (baṭṭe/uḍuge)/vastra - clothing (D/S) (ಬ•ƒ can also just mean “cloth”)
£ತ6 (êೖÈಮ) - kurta (paijāma) - kurta (Indian menswear) (êೖÈಮ refers to the pants)
‰ೕ¡ - sīre - sari (Indian womenswear)
ಪtƒ - paṭṭi - belt 
ಲಂಗ - langa - skirt
&ೕತ;/ಪಂd - dhotra/pance - a cloth worn by men around the waist
d‹’ - ceḍḍi - underwear 
&ೖಗವ„ - kaigavasu - glove 
ಚಪ°0 - chappali - sandal
ನŠವಂa/ಕವಚ - naḍuvangi/kavaca - coat/jacket
þೕš/9™ - jēbu/kise - pocket (S/F) 
'ೖ0/&ೖ¯ೕಲ - thaili/kaicīla - purse/wallet (D/S)
úೕ‹ - jōḍi - pair/set
¢‰‡/-> - hāsige/gādi - bed 
ಶçf - śayye - bedding 
“ೕಡ - mōḍa - a type of cylindrical stool
>ಂš - diṃbu - pillow/cushion 
ಜಮ¶] - jamakhāne - carpet 
oê - cāpe - mat 
ಚದರ ={j - cadara bille - tile 
…{/9ಮ`G: - bele/kimmattu - price (D/F) 
ಆç' - āyke - choice 
ಲಭ/ಸಂ-ದ] - lābha/sampādane - profit 
ವಟƒ/©ೕ‹ - vaṭṭa/sōḍi - discount 
ಖಚ6ು - kharcu - expense 
ಡಂಡ/)ರ - ḍaṇḍa/caura - waste of money 
ಮ•b/ಔಷಧ - maddu/auṣadha - medicine (D/S) 
QÅ ¯9\* - sūji cikitse - acupuncture 
ಆæವ6ೇದ - āyurveda - traditional Indian medicine
nyಟ/=ಕk/gf-ರ - mārāṭa/bikari/vyāpāra - sale (transaction)
Vocabulary: Verbs
@ಮ6ಾS„ - tirmānisu - to decide 

ಸಂKnŠ - sandhimāḍu - to negotiate 
)L»- caukāśi - to bargain 
ಸklaR/ಒ”° - sariyāgiru/oppu - to fit/look good
ಆk„ - arisu - to choose
A. Decline the following nouns into the locative case.  
1. n‹
2. 2Š
3. ಮ‰ೕ>
4. ಮ]
5. =R-Þ
6. Èಗ
7. ಆLಶ
8. ಅಂಗ‹
9. ¤nಲಯ
10. ಬÈR
B. Conjugate the following verbs in the present progressive for the given pronoun.  
1. ತ¡, I
2. ನœ, you (non-polite)
3. YೕZ, they (non-person)
4. ಈ , it
5. „0, we
6. q{, you all
7. ಕತ:k„, she
8. ಎ±„, he
9. ಬR, they (person)
10. ಕ¡, you (honorific)  
C. Conjugate the following verbs in the given imperative form.
1. ತ¡, optative
2. ನœ, low (male)
3. YೕZ, polite
4. ಈ , low (female)
5. „0, hortative
6. q{, honorific
7. ಕತ:k„, standard
8. ಎ±„, polite
9. ಬR, standard
10. ಕ¡, hortative 
Section 5: Travel and Tourism
Vocabulary: Modes of Travel and Signs
-‹ - gāḍi - car 
•‹‡ LË - bāḍige kālu - taxi 
¡ೖË -‹ - railu gāḍi - train (a normalized word meaning “rail vehicle”)
gಹಣ - vāhaṇa - vehicle
èೕ± - dōṇi - boat/ferry
LË§ - kāluve - canal
Vocabulary: Giving Directions
>£'/ಕœ - dikku/kaḍe - direction (ಕú also means “side”)

ಉತ:ರ(>£') - uttara(dikku) - north (>§/ is optional)
ದ—ಣ - dakṣiṇa - south 
ಪ»•ಮ - paścima - west
+ವ6 - pūrva - east
ಬಲಗœ - balagaḍe - right
ಎಡಗœ - eḍagaḍe - left
Äಪಟ - bhūpaṭa - map 
ರ™: - raste - road/street 
ôೕHÜ/ಸಂಕ - sētuve/sanka - bridge
Vocabulary: Attractions and Tourism
ಪ;g©ೕದfಮ - pravāsōdyama - tourism 

ಪ;g‰ - pravāsi - tourist 
ಸಂ™É - sansthe - agency 
¥ತ6ಿ - mūrti - form/statue (usually religious)
»ಲ° - śilpa - statue
Yೕ•Ë - hōṭelu - restaurant/hotel (the word “hotel” can mean a restaurant in India)
ಹಬ÷ - habba - festival/parade 
¯ತ;ಮಂ>ರ - citramandira - movie theater (lit. “picture temple”) 
2ಟಕ²{ - nāṭakaśāle - theater
ಬÈR - bajāru - market/bazaar
ಅಂಗ‹ - angaḍi - store 
ರಜ - raja - vacation/holiday ಜನ - jana - people
X`ರಕ- smāraka - monument
ಸಂಗ;¢ಲಯ - sangrahālaya - museum
Vocabulary: Domestic/International Travel
ಹÞÐ ಕœ/-;nಂತರ ಪ;eೕಶ - haḷḷi kaḍe/grāmāntara pradēśa - countryside (D/S)

eೕಶ - dēśa - country 
yಷ, - rāṣṭra - nation 
yಜf - rājya - state
2Š - nāḍu - province 
l@;ಕ - yātrika - traveler/farer 
ಪ;lಣ/ಪ;gಸ - prayāṇa/pravāsa - travel 
@ೕಥ6lತ; - tīrthayātra - pilgrimage 
ಪರgನa - paravānagi - license 
ರಹEk ಪತ;/-ರಪತ; - rahadāri patra/pārapatra - passport 
êtƒ‡ - peṭṭige - suitcase 
ಪ;lಣದ ¯ೕt - prayāṇada cīṭi - ticket (for transport) 
ಪ;eೕಶದ ±ೕr - pradēśada cīṭi - ticket (for entry) 
ಪ;l±ಕ - prayāṇika - passenger 
yಯ«ರ - rāyabhāra - embassy 
*ಪಟƒಣ/ಶಹR/ನಗರ - paṭṭaṇa/śaharu/nagara - city 
½0ೕ„ (ದಳ) - polīsu (daḷa) - police 
Ek - dāri - space/path/way 
ಪ;§ೕಶ - pravēśa - entrance 
ದ?ರ - dvāra - gate 
Sಗ6nನ - nirgamana - exit 
7nನ - vimāna - plane 
7nನ Sibಣ - vimāna nildāṇa - airport 
7nನlನ ಸಂ™É - vimānayāna sansthe - airline 
ಹಣ/Îಕ'/ಧನ/•Š’ - haṇa/rokka/dhana/duḍḍu - money 
--Ž - rūpāyi - rupee 
êೖ™ - paise - 100th of a rupee 
2ಣf - nāṇya - coin
01 - lipi - script/writing system 
ಅˆರ - akṣara - letter (of the alphabet) 
ಪತ; - patra - letter (written message)
ùರg±/•0.ೋ^ - dūravāṇi/ṭelifōnu - telephone (the word •0.ೋ^ is normalized)
“…ೖË - mobailu - cell phone (normalized) 
7Sಮಯ - vinimaya - exchange/trade
*These are all words for “city”, ಪಟƒಣ and ನಗರ being present in the names of many places.
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಪ;lಣ nŠ - prayāṇa māḍu - to travel 

7Sಮಯ n‹›/Ð - vinimaya māḍikoḷḷu - to exchange/trade
7ತರÂ nŠ - vitaraṇe māḍu - to distribute 
ಹಂ! - hancu - to share 
ತË1„ - talupisu - to deliver 
ಕ/¤„/ರgS„ - kaḷuhisu/ravānisu - to send (D/S)
¢R/¢kYೕಂ• - hāru/hārihōndu - to fly 
ಸ0j„ - sallisu - to pay 
›ಂŠ›/Ð/ಖkೕ>„ - konḍukoḷḷu/kharīdisu - to buy (D/F)
nR - māru - to sell 
=ಕk nŠ - bikari māḍu - to vend 
nyಟ9'Š - mārāṭakkiḍu - to offer (for purchase) 
SೕŠ - nīḍu - to offer 
…{lZ - beleyāgu - to cost 
ಖಚ6ು - kharcu - to spend 
ತË”/ಆಗI„ - talupu/āgamisu- to arrive/reach (D/S)
«ಷಂತk„/ಅ^g>„ - bhāṣāntarisu/anuvādisu - to translate
ಓ‹„/oಲ] nŠ - oḍisu/cālane māḍu - to drive 
ಕ¡ತR - karetaru - to bring (someone) 
0ೕ^ nŠ - fōnu māḍu - to call by telephone (normalized)
Se;nŠ/ಮಲZ - nidremāḍu/malagu - to sleep
ಒಳYೕZ/ಪ;§ೕ»„ - oḷahogu/pravēśisu - to enter
SÆK„/ಪ;@ಬಂK„ - niṣēdhisu/pratibandhisu - to forbid/prohibit
~!•/~¯•› - muccu/mucciko - to close/seal 
\¡/\‡ - tere/tege - to open 
•‹‡ ›Š - bāḍige koḍu - to rent/lease out 
•‹‡ \‡•›/Ð - bāḍige tegedukoḷḷu - to rent 
@RZ - tirugu - to turn 
„ತ:YೕZ - suttahōgu - to go (all the way) around 
ನZ/ನ£' - nagu/nakku - to laugh 
ನ„ನZ - nasunagu - to smile 
Ãಪ‰ು - jñāpisu - to remind 
ಅS„/qೕR - anisu/tōru - to seem/appear (like)
*ಖkೕ>„ (kharīdisu) is a loan from Hindi, which in turn borrowed it from Farsi. Though not as
many, there is a sizable group of words in Kannada borrowed from Farsi. Some are primarily
used by Muslim speakers of Kannada, though some have entered common parlance. 
**~¯•› (mucciko) has a very specific meaning, usually in the context of closing something
that is attached to oneself. It can also have somewhat dismissive or rude connotations.
Useful Adverbs:
ಎ1ƒೕ - eṣṭō - so (adverb) 

„ಮ`] - summane - just/simply 
-ತರಹ - -taraha - like/similar to (attach to word being compared; ôೕö ತರಹ = “like an apple”) mತ<
-nತ; - mātra - only (a postposition) 
ಅÆƒೕ - aṣṭē - enough 
ಇÝ* - innū - more 
ಕI - kami - less 
ಸ?ಲ° - svalpa - some (also means “a little”) 
2R - cūru - some (also means “a little”; something that can be broken into pieces) 
&Ë - kelu - some 
_ೕ-ದ- - hēgādarū - somehow 
ಏ2ದR - ēnādaru - any/anyhow 
lyR - yārāru - someone/whoever 
ಏ]ೕ^ - ēnēnu - something/whatever 
SಜgಗË - nijavāgalu - actually/in truth 
ಖಂ‹ತ - khanḍita - sure/of course
§ೕಗga - vēgavāgi - quickly
Swನga - nidhānavāgi - slowly
Affirmative Words
ಸE/lgಗé/Sರಂತರ - sadā/yāvāgalū/nirantara - always

(nominative case of nouns) - also/even
ಎಲj - ella - all/everything 
ಎij- - ellarū - everyone
Negative Words
Unlike many other languages, Kannada has no semantically negative words. This is to say that
there no words that are innately negative, such as the words never or nothing. In order to convey
such meanings, one must negate the affirmative version of the word. Notice that some words are
slightly different.
lR ಇಲj - yāru illa - no one 

ಏ^ ಇಲj - ēnu illa - none/nothing 
(vocative case of nouns) - not even (will be covered later on)
lವG: ಇಲj - yāvattu illa - never/ever
Dismissive Words
Kannada has a special category of words that have dismissive, insistent, and/or impatient
undertones, all derived from the question words.
ಏ]ೕ|ೕ - ēnēnō - something 

lyÎೕ - yārārō - someone 
ಎójೕ/ಎ{jójೕ - ellō/ellellō - somewhere 
_ೕ‡ೕÇೕ - hēgēgō - however/somehow/some way
ಇÆƒೕŒƒ/ಅÆƒೕŒƒ - iṣṭēṣṭu/aṣṭēṣṭu - only this/that much
The Past Tense
The past tense, just like the present tense, is based off of attaching various stems to an adjectival
participle. The past adverbial participle is slightly more complicated than the present, because
there are verbs with irregular forms. However, the common way of forming the past adverbial
participle is to add ಇ to the crude form of a verb whose base form ends in ಉ. If it ends in any
other vowel, then attach >.
Ex.
 
nŠ (māḍu) -> n‹ (māḍi)
\‡ (tege) -> \‡• (tegedi)
 
The following verbs have G appended to the past adverbial participle instead of ಇ/• :
ಕವË - kavalu - to branch (out)/differentiate

ಮಡË - maḍalu - to grow (as in crops or plants)
ಬ0 - bali - to ripen/grow strong (for foods) 
ಕ0 - kali - to learn (by practicing) 
YೕË - hōlu - to resemble/be similar to 
XË - sālu - to be enough/sufficient 
©ೕË - sōlu - to lose/fall short/fail 
_ೕË - hēlu - to shit (vulgar) 
ÝË - nūlu - to spin thread/thread for sewing
¯ZR - ciguru - to sprout 
…ವR - bevaru - to sweat 
ಅ/ - aḷu - to cry 
ಉ/ - uḷu - to be similar to 
9ೕÞ - kīḷi - to drag/move forcefully 
ಚÞ - caḷi - to chill 
“˜ - moḷe - to grow/spread (organic things)
ಅk - ari - to know (factual information)
Certain final consonants are replaced with other consonants before the “•” or the “G” of the
past participle. Before '•': 3 → 4; 5 → 4; G’: 6 → 7; 8 → 7. (Note: ಱ (ẓa) is an
obsolete character, only used in the transcription and translation of Tamil.)
It should be noted that the past adverbial participle is used only for the 3rd person neuter
conjugation. The rest use the past adjectival participle, formed from the past adverbial participle.
If the past adverbial participle of a verb ends in ಉ, add ಅ to the end of the past adverbial
participle. If the past adverbial participle of a verb ends in ಇ, add ದ to the end of the past
adverbial participle.
Irregular past adjectival participles include: ಆದ, from crude verb root ಆZ; ½ೕದ, from crude
verb root ½ೕZ; and Yೕದ, from crude verb root YೕZ. ಬR is also irregular, becoming ಬಂದ,
as well as @^*, which becomes @ಂದ. ›Š becomes ›ಟƒ. The example verb below is nŠ,
whose past adjectival participle is n‹ದ.
2^ n‹e^ - nānu māḍidenu - I did ಅ• n‹G- adu māḍitu - it did

Sೕ^ n‹e - nīnu māḍide - you did 2U n‹eU - nāvu māḍidevu - we did
SೕU/SೕUಗ/ n‹>k - nīvu/nīvugaḷu ಅವR n‹ದR - avaru māḍidaru - they (m/f;

māḍidiri - you (polite)/you all did polite 3rd person) did
ಅವ^ n‹ದ(^) - avanu māḍida(nu) - he did ಅU n‹ದU - avu māḍidavu - they (n) did
ಅವ/ n‹ದ(/) - avaḷu māḍida(ḷu) - she did
Modal Expressions: “Must”, “Should,” and “Might/Could”
In Kannada, the modal expressions, “might”, “should”, and “must”, are used exclusively in the
third person singular. Take the base form of a verb and change the final vowel to ಅ. To express
“must”, the subject must be in the nominative case, and the verb must have …ೕ£ suffixed to it.
You should remember that …ೕLaR means “to need/require (something)”, and while this is true,
it comes across as somewhat formal and most people would still just say …ೕ£ instead.
Sometimes, {ೕ is also added to the verb for emphasis.* For “should”, the concept is conveyed by
suffixing ಬ¾• . Note that it can also carry the connotation of strong possibility or suggestion.
Ex.
2^ ಮ]Žಂದ gಪಸ(Yೕಗ…ೕ£/Yೕಗ{ೕ…ೕ£).
Nānu maneyinda vāpasa(hōgabēku/hōgalēbēku).
I (have to/must) go back from my house.
2U +ಜ nಡಬ¾•. 
Nāvu pūja māḍabahudu. 
We should perform the ritual/It is possible for us to perform the ritual.
*The emphatic {ೕ can be attached to many words, to call attention to it, and contrast it. For
example: ಈಗ{ೕ Yೕಗ…ೕಕ? (Īgalē hōgabēka? - Go now (as opposed to later)?”
The form expressing “might/could” is slightly different, and is referred to as the contingent-
future. To construct the stem of this form, take the polite imperative form of the verb, and attach
ಯ to the end. The example verb is nŠ, whose stem is ಮ‹ಯ.
2^ n‹çೕ^ - nānu māḍiyēnu - I might ಅ• n‹ŽೕG - adu māḍiyītu - it might do

do
Sೕ^ n‹çf - nīnu māḍīyye - you might do 2U n‹çೕU - nāvu māḍiyēvu - we might
do
SೕU/SೕUಗ/ n‹Žೕk - nīvu/nīvugaḷu ಅವR n‹lR - avaru māḍiyāru - they (m/
māḍiyīri - you (polite)/you all might do f; polite 3rd person) might do
ಅವ^ n‹l^ - avanu māḍiyānu - he ಅU n‹lU - avu māḍiyāvu - they (n)
might do might do
ಅವ/ n‹l/ - avaḷu māḍiyāḷu - she
might do
The Genitive Case and Idiomatic Expressions
The genitive case denotes possession or relation. The declensions are given in the table below.
A handy way to remember the genitive case is to take the locative case declension, and drop the
0j. Now, look at some examples of the genitive case.

-ನ -ದ -ಅ -ಇನ
Ex.
ನನ* £‚ಂಬ
Nanna kuṭuṃba
My family
ಕನ*ಡದ ”ಸ:ಕ
Kannaḍada pustaka 
A “Kannada” book (a book in Kannada)
ಅವನ* ಹ@:ರ ¥R ™ೕšಗ/ ಇe. 

Avanna hattira mūru sēbugaḷu ide. 
He has three apples. (Lit. There are three apples near him.)
The Comparative Case
To make comparisons in Kannada, there is a special pseudo-case that is used, which we’ll call
the comparative case. The comparative case is a pseudo-case in that it is a formally recognized
declensional form, but behaves much like one. It is very similar to the dative case in how it forms
each ending. Look at the table below.

-Saಂತ -9'ಂತ -aಂತ -ಇaಂತ
Ex.
ಈ ಹ•– ಆ ಹ•–4ಂತ ಇÝ* ‰¤lae.

Ī haṇṇu ā haṇṇuginta innū sihiyāgide.
This fruit is sweeter than that fruit.
2^ Sಮ`4ಂತ ಕI Sಶ"ಬbgaebೕ].
Nānu nimmaginta kami niśśabdavāgiddēne.
I am less quiet than you (polite).
It should be noted that in colloquial Kannada, simply adding -aಂತ to the end of a noun often
suffices for forming the comparative case.
ನನaಂತ - nanaginta ಅದ9'ಂತ/ಅದk9'ಂತ - adakkinta/adarikkinta
Sನaಂತ - ninaginta ನಮàಂತ - nammaginta

Sಮàಂತ/ತಮàಂತ - nimmage SೕUಗÞaಂತ - nīvugaḷiginta
ಅವSaಂತ - avaniginta ಅವkaಂತ - avariginta

ಅವÞaಂತ - avaḷiginta ಅವಗÞaಂತ - avagaḷiginta
¬ನaಂತ - tānaginta

 
A. Conjugate the following verbs in the past tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತ¡, I
4. ಈ , it
5. „0, we
6. q{, you all
7. ಕತ:k„, she
8. ಎ±„, he
10. ಕ¡, you (honorific)
B. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using modal expressions.
1. I have to eat dinner right now.

2. She had to sleep.
3. We need to leave.
4. It might be possible.
5. He should study.
6. They (non-person) might go from here.
7. I might go home.
8. They (person) should run.
9. You all need to cook.
10. You (polite) might sing.  
C. Decline the following nouns into the genitive case.
3. ನ7Ë (navilu)
4. ಆ] (āne)
5. ಮರ (mara)
6. zೕ (mēju)
7. Sgಸ (nivāsa)
9. ಪ•b (paddu)
10. ರ™: (rāste) 
D. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using the comparative form. Note: ಇ^# (innu -
more), ಕJ (kami - less)
1. This is harder than that.

2. I have more work than you (non-polite).
3. She is prettier than you (polite).
4. They are less hungry than we are.
5. There is less of this here than there.
6. We have fewer apples than you all do.
7. The deer is quieter than the rabbit.
8. The tiger is smaller than the bear.
9. (That) They (non-person) eat more than (this) they (non-person) do.
10. You (non-polite) are more boring than I am.  
Section 6: Events and Celebrations
Vocabulary: Events and People
ಮ•§/7gಹ - maduve/vivāha - wedding (D/S) 

X?ಗತ - svāgata - reception/welcome (the reception comes before the wedding in India)
ಆಚರÂ - ācaraṇe - celebration/festivity/ceremony 
+þ - pūje - (religious) ritual
¾ಟƒದ ಹಬ÷ - huṭṭada habba - birthday
@: - tithi - death anniversary
ಉಪನಯನ/~ಂÅ - upanayana/munji - Hindu rite of passage (similar to a bar mitzvah) 
ಹಬ÷ - habba - festival 
&;ೖಸ: eೕgಲಯ/ಇಗಜ6ಿ - kraista dēvālaya/igarji - church 
eೕವXÉನ/eೕgಲಯ - devasthāna/dēvālaya - temple 
ಮ‰ೕ> - masīdi - mosque 
çìದfರ +ಜಮಂ>ರ - yehūdyara pūjāmandira - synagogue 
*ಸಂaೕತ/2ಟf/ಅ$ನಯ ಪkೕ; - sangīta/nāṭya/abhinaya parīkśe - audition (music/dance/acting)
Lಯ6ಕ;ಮ - kāryakrama - show/event/program 
-ನÇೕMN - gānagōṣṭhi - concert 
ನೃತf/ನತ6ನ/2ಟf - nṛtya/nartana/nāṭya - dance 
ಆಟ - āṭa - game 
ತnÆ/¢ಸf - tamāṣe/hāsya - joke/humor (D/S) 
dೕÆƒ - chēṣṭe - mischief 
ಪಂದf/ಸ°6< - pandya/spardhe - match 
ವರ - vara - groom 
ವ= - vadhu - bride 
X*ತಕ - snātaka - bachelor/bachelorette 
(‡˜ಯ/‡ಳ@)/(™*ೕ¤ತ/Iತ;) - (geḷeya/geḷati)/(snēhita/mitra) - friend (D (m/f)/S)
¢Š-ರ/ಸಂaೕತ-ರ - hāḍugāra/sangītagāra - musician (D/S) 
ನಟ - naṭa - actor/actress 
ಸ?ತಂತ; >ನ - svantantra dina - Independence Day 
ಗಣಪ@ ಹಬ÷ - gaṇapati habba - Gaṇapati Habba 
ಗ]ೕಶ +þ - gaṇēśa pūje - Ganesh Puja 
ಸಂL;ಂ@ - sankrānti - Sankranti 
Zಗ6ಾ +þ - durgā pūje - Durga Puja 
ಸತf2yಯಣ +þ - satyanārāyaṇa pūje - Satyanarayan Puja 
ನವy@; - navarātri - Navaratri 
ಉ-> - ugādi - Indian New Year
ನವವಷ6 - navavarṣa - New Year 
ಬ9;ೕ4 - bakrīd - Eid al-Adha 
ಈ4 ಅ3-.ಿತೃ - īd al-fitṛ - Eid al-Fitr 
9;ಸ:ಜಯಂ@/9;ಸ`> ಹಬ÷ - kristajayanti/krismas habba - Christmas 

ಈಸƒà ಹಬ÷ - īsṭar habba - Easter 
~ಖgಡ - mukhavāḍa - mask 
zರವ±‡ - meravaṇige - parade/procession
Vocabulary: Adverbs of Time
ಈವG: - īvattu - today (lit. “this day”)

ಆವG: - āvattu - that day 
2˜ - nāḷe - tomorrow 
]]* - nenne - yesterday
2Þ•b - nāḷiddu - day after tomorrow 
“]* - monne - day before yesterday 
…ಳ‡ - beḷage - daytime/early day 
XಯಂLಲ - sāyankāla - evening
ಇR//(y@;/SÀ) - iruḷu/(rātri/niśe)- night (D/S)
ಮwfಹ*/ನŠಹಗË/ಅಪyಹ* - madhyāhna/naḍuhagalu/aparāhṇa - afternoon
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಮಜ nŠ - maja māḍu - to have fun 

¢ಜyZ - hājarāgu - to attend 
«ಗವ¤„/-óð/Ð - bhāgavahisu/pālgoḷḷu - to participate 
nG ›Š/g-bನ nŠ - mātu koḍu/vāgdāna māḍu - to promise 
ಕ¡/¼Z - kare/kūgu - to call 
ಆ?gS„/ಆಮಂ@;„ - āhvānisu/āmantrisu - to invite 
¾Š£ - huḍuku - to look for 
ಕಂŠ¤‹ - kaṇḍuhiḍi/sigu - to find 
ಚ9ತÇÞ„ - cakitagoḷisu - to surprise 
ಆZ - āgu - to take place/happen/occur 
ಹರ• YŠ - haraṭe hoḍe - to gossip (ಹರç alone means “nonsense/gossip”)
‡Ëj/ಜŽ„ - gellu/jayisu- to win (D/S) 
©0„/ಅಪಜಯÇÞ„ - sōlisu/apajayagoḷisu - to defeat/beat (D/S)
The Perfective Aspect
The perfective aspect is a suffix that adds the meaning of something having been already
completed. This includes tenses such as the present and past perfect, “have done” and “had
done”, respectively. To give the perfective aspect to a verb, take the past adverbial participle and
affix the conjugation of ಇR, similar to the progressive aspect. Look at the example.
Ex.
2^ @ಂ>ebೕ].
Nānu tindiddēne.
I have eaten.
 
The verb can be broken down the same way the progressive forms were:
@ಂದ + ಇebೕ] = @ಂ>ebೕ] 

tinda + iddēne = tindiddēne 
past adverbial participle + 1st person singular present tense of ಇR
Here’s an example of the past perfect:
2^ @ಂ>eb^.
Nānu tindiddenu.
I had eaten.
Remember that ಇR is an irregular verb in its auxiliary function. For your reference, the past and
present tenses are shown below to highlight the differences between the conjugations.
Present
2^ ಇebೕ] - nānu iddēne ಅ• ಇeb - adu idde
Sೕ^ ಇ>bç - nīnu iddiye 2U ಇebೕ§ - nāvu iddēve
SೕU/¬U ಇ>bೕk - nīvu/tāvu iddīri ಅವR ಇEb¡ - avaru iddāre
ಅವ^ ಇ67] - avanu iddāne ಅU ಇದb§ - avu iddave

ಅವ/ ಇ67˜ - avaḷu iddāḷe - she does
Past
2^ ಇeb^ - nānu iddenu ಅ ಇG: - adu ittu

Sೕ^ ಇeb - nīnu idde 2U ಇebU - nāvu iddevu
SೕU/SೕUಗ/ ಇ>bk - nīvu/nīvugaḷu iddiri ಅವR ಇದbR - avaru iddaru

ಅವ^ ಇದb^ - avanu iddanu ಅU ಇದbU - avu iddavu
ಅವ/ ಇದb/ - avaḷu iddaḷu

For the past tense, you can drop the gender marking ^ and / from the end if it is obvious from
context who you are talking about.
It’s important to know that the present perfect is more commonly heard in Kannada than the past
perfect. The past perfect (and also the future perfect) is fairly uncommon, but it’s still good to
know. The basic patterns for the progressive and perfective aspects are as follows:
present adverbial participle + auxiliary ಇR in desired tense = (tense)

progressive past adverbial participle + auxiliary ಇR in desired tense = (tense) perfect
The Prohibitive
To give negative commands, Kannada has a separate set of five prohibitive verb forms, each with
a slightly different nuance. The example verb is mä.
Dismissive/Insistent/Low “don’t” (Male/ nಡ…ೕ}?ೕ/nಡ…ೕœ?ೕ (māḍabēḍvō/

Female) māḍabeḍvē)
Non-polite “don’t” nಡ…ೕಡ (māḍabēḍa)
Polite “please don’t” nಡ…ೕ‹ (māḍabēḍi)
Recommending “shouldn’t”/strong nಡ•ರ• (māḍabāradu)

discouragement
Forbidding “mustn’t” nಡ£ಡ• (māḍakūḍadu)
Ex.
È‰: ಸ&; @ನ*•ರ•. 

Jāsti sakre tinnabāradu. 
You shouldn’t eat too/so much sugar.
²{‡ gಪಸYೕಗ…ೕಡ!
Śālege vāpasahōgabēḍa!
Don’t go back to the school!
Modal Expressions - “Can” and “In Order To”
In Kannada, the verb ಆZ (āgu) expresses the meaning of “able to”. In order to use it, you have
to use the conjunctive form, which, by itself, often means “in order to”. To make the conjunctive
form, change the last vowel of the base form to ಅ, and then attach &'. Place the conjunctive form
of the verb and then the third person singular form of ಆZ. The subject pronoun declined in the
dative case should be included, unless obvious from context. Look at the example.
Ex.
Sನ‡ Yೕಗ&' ಆZತ:ದ? 

Ninage hōgakke aguttada? 
Can you go? (lit. “Does it happen that you go?”)
The conjunctive form can also be used in other ways:
Ex.
ಪ•bವ^* nಡ&', …ೕಯ…ೕ£.
Padduvannu māḍakke, bēyabēku. 
To make paddu*, you must cook/fry it.
*Paddu is a fried food, similar to takoyaki. It is more widely by its Tamil name, paniyaram.
There is another way to say “can”, though with a different meaning. In Kannada, you can use
ಬR to express that you can do something because you have the skills or the knowledge. Look at
the example below.
Ex.
ನನ‡ ಕನ*ಡ ಬRತ:e. 

Nanage Kannaḍa baruttade. 
I can speak Kannada. (lit. “Kannada comes to me.”)
When you include the pronoun or noun, then you have to put it in the dative case. For knowing
how to do actions, you need to change the verb into its conjunctive form.
ಅವÞ‡ ಅ‹‡ nಡ&' ಬRತ:e.

Avaḷige aḍige māḍakke baruttade.
She can cook.

 
A. Conjugate the following nouns in the given perfective tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತ¡, present perfect, I

2. ನœ, present perfect, you (non-polite)
3. YೕZ, past perfect, they (non-person)
4. ಈ , past perfect, it
5. „0, past perfect, we
6. q{, present perfect, you all
7. ಕತ:k„, past perfect, she
8. ಎ±„, present perfect, he
9. ಬR, past perfect, they (person)
10. ಕ¡, present perfect, you (honorific)
B. Translate the following sentences into Kannada, using the prohibitive forms.
1. Please don’t eat that!

2. Rāṇi (female), don’t go to sleep yet (insistent). (Hint: “yet” = ಇÝ*)
3. You (non-polite) shouldn’t run so fast.
4. We mustn’t eat so much.
5. Rāju, don’t go home.
6. It is forbidden to smoke (ôೕ - sēdu).
7. He shouldn’t sleep so much.
8. Don’t play here (insistent; to male)!
9. They (person) aren’t allowed to come in.
10. You all shouldn’t leave.
C. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using modal expressions.
1. Can you (polite) sleep here?

2. In order to go to school, you go here.
3. What do I need to do to use this?
4. We know how to play this game.
5. She couldn’t sleep last night.
6. They (non-person) can’t eat rice.
7. My mother can’t speak Hindi.
8. You (non-polite) used this to read.
9. Our families went by plane to go to India.
10. You (polite) paid money to play here.  
Section 7: Family
Vocabulary: Family-Related Words
Åೕವ/-;ಣ - jīva/prāṇa - life (D/S) 

XU/(ಮರಣ/ಮೃGf) - sāvu/(maraṇa/mṛtyu) - death (D/S) 
£‚ಂಬ/ಸಂXರ - kuṭumba/sansāra - family (D/S) 
ವಂಶ ವೃˆ - vanśa vṛkṣa - family tree 
ವಂಶಸÉ/ವಂಶಜ - vanśastha/vanśaja - descendant 
+ವ6ಜ/+ವ6ಿಕ - pūrvaja/pūrvika - ancestor 
¤kಯ - hiriya - the elderly 
¥ಲ”Rಷ - mūlapuruṣa - forefather 
ವಂ²ವÞ/1ೕÞ‡ - vanśāvaḷi/pīḷige - lineage 
ಅಮ`/ಅಪ° - amma/appa - mother/father (direct address) 
ತಂe/¬Ž - tande/tāyi - mother/father (indirect address) 
ಅI`/ಅಬ÷ - ammi/abba - mother father (direct address; Muslim variant) 
mಾವ - māva - maternal uncle/father-in-law 
ಅ\: - atte - paternal aunt/mother-in-law 
ಅÞಯ - aḷiya - son-in-law 
©™ - sose - daughter-in-law 
¯ಕ'ಪ° - cikkappa - father’s younger brother/mother’s younger sister’s husband 
¯ಕ'ಮ` - cikkamma - mother’s younger sister/father’s younger brother’s wife 
èಡ’ಪ° - doḍḍappa - father’s elder brother/mother’s elder sister’s husband 
èಡ’ಮ` - doḍḍamma - mother’s elder sister/father’s elder brother’s wife 
zೖ•ನ - maiduna - husband’s younger brother 
2>S - nādini - younger brother’s wife
ಭವ - bhāva - brother-in-law 
ಅ@:‡ - attige - sister-in-law 
ಮಕ'/ - makkaḷu - children 
ತಂe¬Ž - tandetāyi - parents 
ಮಲತಂe - malatande - stepfather 
ಮಲ¬Ž - malatāyi - stepmother 
ಅಜî/ಅÅî - ajja/ajji - grandfather/grandmother 
~ತ:ಜî/~ತ:Åî - muttajja/muttajji - great-grandfather/great-grandmother 
èಡ’ಜî/èಡ’Åî - doḍḍajja/doḍḍajji - great-uncle/great-aunt (older than the grandparent)
¯ಕ'ಜî/¯ಕ'Åî - cikkajja/cikkajji - great-uncle/great-aunt (younger than the grandparent)
¾ಟƒ/ಜನನ - huṭṭa/janana - birth (D/S) 
ಸYೕದರ/ಸYೕದk - sahōdara/sahōdari - sibling (male/female) 
ಅಣ– - aṇṇa - older brother/male cousin 
ಅಕ/ - akka - older sister/female cousin 
ತಮ` - tamma - younger brother/male cousin
ತಂa - tangi - younger sister/female cousin 

ಮಲಸYೕದರ/ಮಲಸYೕದರ - malasahōdara/malasahōdari - stepbrother/stepsister
ಮಗ/”ತ; - maga/putra - son (D/S) 
ಮಗ//”@; - magaḷu/putri - daughter (D/S) 
“ಮ`ಗ/“ಮ`ಗ/ - mommaga/mommagaḷu - grandson/granddaughter
ಮk(“ಮ`ಗ/“ಮ`ಗ/) - mari(mommaga/mommagaḷu) - great-grandson/great- granddaughter 
ಮಲಮಗ - malamaga - stepson 
ಮಲಮಗ/ - malamagaḷu - stepdaughter 
ಗಂಡ/ಪ@ - gaṇda/pati - husband (D/S) 
_ಂಡ@/ಪ@* - heṇḍati/patni - wife (D/S) 
ಮ•§ಯ ರದ#@/7gಹ 7döೕದನ - maduveya raddhati/vivāha vicchēdana - divorce (D/S)
ಆ‰:/ಸ?G:/ಸಂಪG:/ಜIೕ^ - asti/svattu/saṃpattu/jamīnu - property 
ಉŽË/ಮೃGfಪತ; - uyilu/mṛtyupatra - will (the document) (D/S) 
ಸಂಪ;Eಯ/-@ - saṃpradāya/rūḍhi - tradition/custom 
ವಯ„* - vayassu - age
À;ೕಷN - śrēṣṭha - excellent/perfect 

£0ೕನ - kulīna - noble 
ಬಡವ2ದ/kಕ:/Sಗ6@ಕ - baḍavanāda/rikta/nirgatika - poor
‰kವಂತ/ಹಣವಂತ - sirivanta/haṇavanta - rich 
yಜನ - rājana - royal 
ಅ@~ಖf/ಪ;~ಖ - atimukhya/pramukha - important 
ಪ7ತ; - pavitra - holy 
£-ಪದ - kurūvada - ugly 
dËgದ/„ಂದರfದ - celuvāda/sundaravāda - beautiful/handsome (D/S)
ಅಂದgದ/~Ebಡ - andavāda/muddāda - cute/pretty 
ಹ˜ಯ - haḷeya - old (of things) 
ವಯX*ದ - vayassāda - old (of people) 
-;ಯದ/Aವನದ - prāyada/yauvanada - young 
Yಸ/ನವ - hosa/nava - new (D/S) 
ಪ;¯ೕನ/”yತನ - prācīna/purātana - ancient 
(ಅeೕ/ಒಂeೕ)/ಏಕಪ;Lರದ - (adē/ondē)/ekaprakārada - same (D/S)
Sಜgದ/ಸತfgದ - nijavāda/satyavāda - true (D/S) 
„ಳÐದ/¾‰lದ - suḷḷāda/husiyāda - false/untrue 
7Sೕತ/ಸಭf - vinīta/sabhya - courteous/humble 
ಮೃ•/ದlಪರ - mṛdu/dayāpara - nice/good-hearted/sweet-tempered
š>#ವಂತ2ದ/Èಣ - buddhivantanāda/jāṇa - intelligent/smart 
zೖಗಳÐ2ದ - maigaḷḷanāda - lazy
(ಅಸಭf/ಅ7ನಯದ)/ಮಯ6ಾeŽಲjದ - (asabhya/avinayada)/maryādeyillada - rude (D/S)
ಕRÂŽಲjದ - karuṇeyillada - unkind 

¥ಢ/êದb/ದಡ’ - mūḍha/pedda/daḍḍa - stupid/idiotic/foolish
ಶಂತ - śānta - calm/peaceful
ಸnÅಕ - samājika - social/sociable 
ಗಂ$ೕರgದ - gambhīravāda - composed/humble
_ದRವ - hedaruva - timid/scared
ಅಹಂLರದ/ಜಂಬದ - ahankārada/jaṃbada - arrogant
«ರgದ - bhāravāda - heavy 
ಹZರgದ - haguravāda - light 
èಡ’ - doḍḍa - large/big 
ಸಣ–/”ಟƒ/¯ಕ' - saṇṇa/puṭṭa/cikka - small 
ùರದ/ùರgದ - dūrada/dūravāda - far 
ಉದbgದ - uddavāda - long 
ಬಲ²0lದ - balaśāliyāda - strong 
ಗtƒ - gaṭṭi - solid/firm/hard 
ದಪ° - dappa - fat 
ಸಣ– - saṇṇa - fine (as in thickness) 
\ಳÐ]ಯ - teḷḷaneya - thin 
ಎತ:ರ•ದ - ettaravāda - tall/high 
£/Ð - kuḷḷu - short/low
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಮ•§ n‹„ - maduve māḍisu - to marry (as in to cause someone else to get married)
ಮ•§ nŠ - maduve māḍu - to get married/have a wedding 
ಅ1°›/ತ=÷› - appiko/tabbiko - to hug 
~G:›Š - muttukoḍu - to kiss
*ಇಷƒಪŠ/(1;ೕ@„/ê;ೕI„) - iṣṭapaḍu/(prītisu/prēmisu) - to love (D/S)
X?ಗ@„/ಅ$ವಂ>„ - svāgatisu/abhivandisu - to greet/welcome
~G: - muṭṭu - to touch 
ಬ•ƒ ¢9› - baṭṭe hākiko - to get dressed
ಬ•ƒ ಕಳ! - baṭṭe kaḷacu - to undress 
ಬಳ„/ಉಪ¸ೕa„ - baḷasu/upayōgisu - to use (D/S) 
X*ನ nŠ/Iೕæ - snāna mādu/mīyu - to take a bath
OೕÞ„/%ರnŠ - bōḷisu/kṣauramāḍu - to shave
ತ{/¼ದË •¯› - tale/kūdalu bāciko - to comb one’s hair
ê‚ƒ n‹› - peṭṭu māḍikō - to hurt/injure oneself
dೕತk‰›/Ð - cētarisikoḷḷu - to recover/get better 
¾tƒR - huṭṭiru - to be born 
…˜/èಡ’gZ - beḷe/doḍḍavāgu - to grow (up)
ತ-e nŠ/ವy\ ìŠ - tagāde māḍu/varāte hūḍu - to demand
L±„/qೕk„ - kāṇisu/tōrisu - to show 

Ek qೕk„ - dāri tōrisu - to lead/guide (lit. “to show the way”)
ನœ•› - naḍeduko - to behave
sೕtnŠ - bhēṭimāḍu - to meet 
ZR@„ - gurutisu - to recognize 
(ಮ•§ ರ•b/7gಹ 7döೕದ) nŠ - (maduve raddu/vivāha vicchēda) māḍu - to divorce (D/S)
]ನ1Š - nenapiḍu - to remember/recall 
Ãಪಕಯ0j ಇŠ› - jñāpakayalli iḍuko - to remember (keep in mind) 
ಮ¡ - mare - to forget 
ಏ//ಎ•b - ēḷu/eddu - to get up (out of bed) 
…ೕಸk„/µೕದಪŠ - bēsarisu/khēdapaḍu - to regret 
_ದR - hedaru - to fear 
›ೕಪ ಆZ - kōpa āgu - to get angry 
ಕಷƒಪŠ - kaṣṭapaḍu - to struggle/make an effort 
…ೕÈR nŠ› - bējāru māduko - to be worried 
…ೕÈR ಆZ - bējāru āgu - to be bored/sad 
ತ”° nŠ - tappu māḍu - to make a mistake 
ಅ±lZ/‰ದ#gaR/ತlyaR - aṇiyāgu/siddhavāgiru/tayārāgiru - to be/get ready (D/S/F)
ಅ±ÇÞ„/‰ದ#ÇÞ„/ತlR nŠ - aṇigoḷisu/siddhagoḷisu/tayāru māḍu - to prepare (D/S/F)
*Use sparingly. These words very often have romantic implications, and can seem excessive
when used without proper context. Most Kannada speakers do not use these words, even though
they’re the only words meaning “to love”, as a kind of cultural norm.
Derived Verb Forms
In Kannada, a convenient way to “create” new verbs is to learn how to derive new verbs from
existing ones. There are seven types of derived verbs in Kannada: causative I, causative II,
benefactive, reflexive, andative, venitive, and energetic. A causative verb is one that compels or
causes someone to do something. Causative I is a verb that causes someone to do something,
such as “to feed”, or literally, “to cause to eat”. Causative II is a verb that causes something to
cause something else to do something; “to cause to feed”.
A benefactive verb is one that does something for someone or for their benefit. The reflexive
form indicates an action done unto oneself. The andative form indicates the meaning of “go and
(verb)”, such as “she went and slept”. Similarly, the venitive form indicates the meaning of
“come and (verb)”: “she came and slept”. The energetic form suggests force, suddenness, or
instantaneousness: “she just fell asleep”, “she knocked right out”.
Consider the verb nŠ (māḍu), meaning “to do”. The causative I form is n‹„ (māḍisu),
which means “to cause to do” or “compel to do”. The causative II form suggests a second level
of causation, meaning “to cause to compel to do”, which is n‹‰„ (māḍisisu). The benefactive
form is nಡ›Š (māḍakoḍu), which means “to do for someone”, or literally, “to do and give”.
The reflexive form is n}'ಂŠ (māḍkoṇdu), “to do to/for oneself”. The andative form is
nŠ(ವ)YೕZ (māḍu(va)hōgu), meaning “to go and do”. The venitive form is nŠ(ವ)ಬR
(māḍu(va)baru). The energetic form is n‹÷Š (māḍbiḍu). The basic pattern for deriving verbs
is described below:
1. Causative I: Replace the final vowel with -ಇ„. 

Causative II: Delete the final vowel and add -ಇ„.
2. Benefactive: Change the final vowel to ಅ and then add -›Š.
3. Reflexive: Delete the final vowel and then add -›ಂŠ.
4. Andative: Take the present-future adjectival participle and then add YೕZ.
5. Venitive: Take the present-future adjectival participle and then add ಬR.
6. Energetic: Delete the final vowel and then add -=Š.
One will notice that some of these verbs seem like two verbs combined, and some of them are
indeed like that, and as such, one needs to conjugate that verb accordingly. However, not all
verbs can be put into all of these forms. One example is ಬ¡ (bare), “to write”. There are
ಬ¡Ž„ (bareyisu), ಬರ›Š (barakoḍu), ಬಕ6ೊಂŠ (barkoṇḍu), but no motional form.
A good rule of thumb is that all verbs have a causative form (I and II), nearly all have a
benefactive and reflexive form (check to see if the concept of such a verb is strange; if so, then it
probably doesn’t exist), only transitive verbs (ones that take direct objects) can have andative,
venitive, and energetic forms. Below are examples of different forms for the verb mä in
sentences, with their translations.
Ex.
ನಂದ ತಂe¬Ž ಅŠ‡ n‹„¬:¡.

Nanda tandetāyi aḍuge mādisuttāre.
My parents are having the meal made.
ನಂದ ಅಜî-ಅÅî ನಂದ ತಂe¬Žಯನ* ಅŠ‡ n‹‰„¬:¡. 

Nanda ajja-ajji nanda tandetāyiyanna aḍuge māḍisisuttāre.
My grandparents are making my parents have the meal made.
™ೕವಕR ನಮ`‡ ಅŠ‡ ತಂದ ›ಟƒR. 

Sēvakaru nammage aḍuge tanda koṭṭaru.
The servants brought (and gave) us the meal.
2U Yೕದ ಬಂeU.
Nāvu hōda bandevu. 
We went and came back.
ಅವ^ ê‚ƒ n}'ಂಡ^.

Avanu peṭṭu māḍkoṇḍanu.
He hurt himself/He got hurt.
ಅವ/ ಊR‡ gಪಸYೕಗ=ಟƒಳ?! 

Avaḷu ūruge vāpasahōgabiṭṭaḷa?! 
She went back to the city?!/She just up and left for the city?!
Coordinating Sentences
In Kannada, complicated sentences with a lot of information can be difficult to construct without
coordinating conjunctions. These are words such as “and, or, but, if,” or “while/when”. In
Kannada, some of these are postpositions, making them a little different from how they’re used
in English.
To include two thoughts in the same sentence using “and”, use ಮG: (mattu) in between the
clauses. However, it is possible to omit ಮG:; from the sentence, using a pause or given context.
Ex.
ಅವS ಊಟ @ಂದR ಮG: Yರಗœ‡ YೕದR.

Avaru ūṭa tindaru mattu horagaḍege hōdaru.
They ate dinner and went outside.
SೕU -ಠ ಓ•@:k, ಮ]‡ಲಸ nŠ@:k.

Nīvu pāṭha ōduttiri, manegelasa māḍuttiri.
You study, (and) do housework.
To include two thoughts and contrast them using “or/otherwise”, use ಅಥವ (athavā).
Ex.
SೕUಗ/ nಂಸ @^*@:ರ, ಅಥವ (ಬk ತರLk/ತರLk nತ;)?

Nīvugaḷu māṃsa tinnuttira, athavā (bari tarakāri/tarakāri mātra)?
Do you eat meat, or only vegetables?
Sೕ^ ಒಂ• ಆಟದ Xn^ ›ಂŠ›ಳÐಬ¾•, ಅಥವ ಏ^ ›ಂŠ›/Ðವ>ಲj.

Nīnu ondu āṭada sāmānu koṇḍukoḷḷabahudu, athavā ēnu koṇdukoḷḷuvadilla.
You can get one toy, or you can’t buy anything.
For “but”, use ಆದ¡ (ādare). Note that just like ಮG:, it is possible to omit it with intonation,
phrasing, or context.
Ex.
—•, 2U ಮ]‡ gಪಸYೕಗ…ೕ£.

—ಆದ¡ ನನ‡ Yೕಗ…ೕ9ಲj.
—Bā, nāvu manege vāpasahōgabēku.
—Ādare nanage hōgabēkilla.
—Come, we have to go home. 

—But I don’t want to go.
To use “if” in Kannada is a peculiar construction, as it only accounts for tense and aspect. To use
it, change the final syllable of the base form to -ದ¡.
Ex.
Sೕ^ -ಠ d2*a ಓದ¡, ಒ˜Ð 7Efಲಯ‡ YೕZ@:ೕç.

Nīnu pāṭha cennāgi ōdare, oḷḷe vidyālayage hōguttīye.
If you study well, you’ll go to a good university.
2^ ಅಂಗ‹‡ Yೕaದb¡, ಹ•–ವ•– ›ಂŠ›/Ð ಆaರಬ¾•.

Nānu angaḍige hogiddare, haṇṇuvannu koṇḍukoḷḷu āgirabahudu.
If I had gone to the store, I could have bought a fruit.
To say that something is happening while something else is happening, Kannada’s construction
does not account for tense, aspect, or anything else. To use this construction, suffix -gಗ to the
end of the base form of a verb.
Ex.
2U @^*gಗ, ಮಹ‹ಯ&' YೕZ.

Nāvu tinnuvāga, mahaḍiya hōgu.
While/when we eat, go upstairs.
Sೕ^ &ಲಸ nŠgಗ, 2^ ಮಲaeb. 

Nīnu kelasa māḍuvāga, nānu malagidde.
While/when you were working, I was sleeping.
Note that the tense of the “while/when” construction is determined entirely by the conjugated
verb in the main clause.
ಕನ8ಡ ಅ&'ಸ - Kannaḍa Abhyāsa - Kannada Practice

 
A. Translate the following sentences into Kannada, using coordinating conjunctions. 
1. You (non-polite) either take the test, or you fail. (Note: “to take a test” = ಪkೕ; nŠ)
2. He was studying while you (polite) were at work.
3. I need to go the mosque and talk to the imam.
4. Do birds sing often, or rarely?
5. If we’re ready, we should get going.
6. They (person) would like to go, but they need to do housework first. (Hint: “would like to
go” Yೕಗ&' ಇಷƒ)
7. If you (polite) go to temple today, please go and get some darbha grass. (Hint: use
\‡ೕ•›ಂŠಬR for “to go and get”)
8. Don’t be so lazy! Otherwise your (polite) mother will be upset.
9. I’ll get eggs from the store, and you (non-polite) buy the vegetables.
10. We’re tired right now, but after a little nap (Se; YŠ- nidre hoḍu), we’ll come.  
Section 8: The Arts
Vocabulary: Fine Arts Terminology
Lಲ - kāla - era/time period 

ಕ{ - kale - art 
ಸಂಸ'ೃ - sanskṛti - culture 
ಅ$ನಯ - abhinaya - pantomime 
ಅ«fಸ - abhyāsa - rehearsal/practice 
•ಂ„k - bānsuri - Indian bamboo flute
X¤ತf/gಙ`ಯ - sāhitya/vāṅmaya - literature
Lದಂಬk - kādambari - novel 
ಇಂ”/n=ಯ6 - iṃpu/mādhurya - melody (D/S)
¬ಳ/ಛಂèೕಗ@ - tāḷa/chandōgati - rhythm (D/S) ಪದ - pada - word/lyric
¢Š - hāḍu - song 
Lವf/ಕವನ - kāvya/kavana - poetry 
ವ„:²ಸÁ - vāstuśāstra - architecture 
¯ತ;ಕ{/ವಣ6¯ತ; - citrakale/varṇacitra - painting 
»ಲ°/7ಗ;ಹ/¥ತ6ಿ - śilpa/vigraha/mūrti - sculpture/statue 
ಬಣ–-ರ/(ವಣ6Lರ/ವಣ6¯ತ;Lರ) - baṇṇagāra/(varṇakāra/varṇacitrakāra) - painter (D/S)
»0°/¥ತ6ಿLರ - śilpi/mūrtikāra - sculptor 
g„:»0°/ಸÉಪ@ - vāstuśilpi/sthapati - architect 
ಕ7/Lವfಕತ6 - kavi/kāvyakarta - poet 
7ಮಶ6ೆ - vimarśe - critique/review 
ಕ' - kathe - story 
³y±ಕ ಕ' - paurāṇika kathe - mythology 
ಕ0°ತ - kalpita - fantasy/fiction 
Z‚ƒ/ರಹಸಸf - guṭṭu/rahasya - secret (ರಹಸe also can mean “mystery) 
ಭlನಕ - bhayānaka - horror 
ಅರಸ/ರಜ - arasa/rāja - king (D/S) 
ಅರ‰/y± - arasi/rāṇi - queen (D/S) 
yಜ£nರ/yಜ£nk - rājakumāra/rājakumāri - prince/princess
(nಟ-ರ/nಟ-@)/ಮಂ@;ಕ - (māṭagāra/māṭagāti)/māntrika - magician (D/S) 
…ೕ•-ರ/gfಧ - bēṭegāra/vyādha - hunter (D/S)
->; - pādri - Christian priest 
”Èk - pūjāri - Hindu priest 
ಇn~ - imāmu - imam 
çìದf ಪಂ‹ತ- yehūdya panḍita - rabbi 
eೕವ/eೕ7 - dēva/dēvi - god/goddess (eೕ7 can refer to the supreme female form of God as well)
eೕವR - dēvaru - God (there are many words for God, but this fits most purposes)
ಪ•ƒEರ - pattēdāra - detective 

ಅಪyK/•ಷ'6I aparādhi/duṣkarmi - criminal 
yˆಸ - rākṣasa - demon/monster 
ಋM - rṣi - sage/wise person 
ಮ¢Ãನ - mahājñāna - genius 
™ೖSಕ/æದ#7ೕರ - sainika/yuddhavīra - warrior 
™ೖನf - sainya - army 
SK - nidhi - treasure 
ಐಶ?6ಯ - aiśvarya - wealth 
ಉijಸ/ಸಂqೕಷ - ullāsa/santōṣa - joy (D/S) 
„ಖ - sukha - happiness 
“ೕ‹ nಟ/ಮಂತ;7ದf mōḍi māṭa/mantravidya - magic
ಶG;/7ÎೕK - śatru/virōdhi - enemy 
„/Ð/ಅನೃತ - suḷḷu/anṛta - lie (D/S) 
‡ËU/7ಜಯ - geluvu/vijaya - victory (D/S)
©ೕË/ಅಪಜಯ - sōlu/apajaya - defeat/loss (D/S)
Vocabulary: Verbs
ಬಣ– ಬÞ - baṇṇa baḷi - to paint 

…ಳa„/ಪ;L»„ - beḷagisu//prakāśisu - to illuminate/light up/brighten (D/S)
»ಲ? Sಮ6ಿ„ - śilva nirmisu - to sculpt 
Sಮ6ಿ„ - nirmisu - to construct/weave 
úೕ‹„ - jōḍisu - to assemble 
ಅ«fಸ nŠ - abhyāsa māḍu - to practice/rehearse/train 
ಪ;ಯ@*„/ಪ;ಯತ* nŠ mä - prayatnisu/prayatna māḍu - to try 
ಪ;ಕt„ - prakaṭisu - to publish 
›Ëj/XŽ„ - kollu/sāyisu - to kill (D/S) 
*Xæ - sāyu - to die 
Yೕa=Š - hōgibiḍu - to pass away 
•//Åೕ7„ - bāḷu/jīvisu - to live 
g‰„/]{ೕ„ - vāsisu/nelesu - to live (as in to inhabit or reside) (D/S)
ಪ\:ಹ!• - pattehaccu - to discover
ಕ˜•›/Ð - kaḷedukọḷḷu - to lose 
]!•/7²?‰Š - neccu/viśvāsaviḍu - to trust 
nಟnŠ - māṭamāḍu - to enchant (as in delight/charm) 
ÇಂದಲÇÞ„ - gondalagoḷisu - to confuse 
¡ೕa„/&ರÞ„ - rēgisu/keraḷisu - to anger/annoy/irritate
ಸಂqೕಷಪŠ/üMಪŠ - santoṣapaḍu/khuṣipaḍu - to rejoice (S/F)
ಬ•Ž›!•/ಜಂಬ ಪŠ - baḍāyikoccu/jaṃba paḍu - to brag/boast
ಅ//Îೕ>„ - aḷu/rōdisu - to cry
uR nŠ - śuru māḍu - to start 

~a - mugi - to end 
=ೕ//=/ - bīḷu/biḷu - to fall (both accepted pronunciations)
ಎಚ•k„/ಎ=÷„ - eccarisu/ebbisu - to wake up (someone)
SËj - nillu - to stand up
ನಂš/«7„ - nambu/bhāvisu - to believe (D/S)
¢¡ೖ„/ಆ»„ - hāraisu/āśisu - to hope/wish
**ಹರ& ಕ‚ƒ - harake kaṭṭu - to make a vow/bargain with God 
L-Š/ರ—„ - kāpāḍu/rakṣisu - to protect/defend/save (D/S)
@k/$;…ೕŠ - tiri/bhikṣebēḍu - to beg
§ೖರ¬Ë/e?ೕM„ - vairatāḷu/dvēṣisu - to hate 
ಅಪ°Â ನœೕ„/7<ಯ2aR - appaṇe naḍesu/vidhēyanāgiru - to obey
ಅಪ°ÂIR/ಅ7<ೕಯ2Z - appaṇemiru/avidhēyanāgu - to disobey
ಕ> - kadi - to steal 
-;ಥ6ಿ„ - prārthisu - to pray 
„/Ð _ೕ/ - suḷḷu hēḷu - to lie 
æದ#nŠ - yuddhamāḍu - to fight/battle/go to war 
gಪಸYೕZ - vāpasahōgu - to return (go back somewhere)
gಪಸ›Š - vāpasakoḍu - to return (give something back) 
ಒœ - oḍe - to break
*A very important cultural convention to observe in Kannada is that Kannada speakers (as well
as other Indians) avoid the direct mention or discussion of death as much as possible, because it
is seen as inauspicious and bad luck. Instead of using XÍ, most speakers opt for Yೕbâä. It is
similar to saying “to pass away” instead of “to die”.
**An idiomatic phrase that means to make promises to God in exchange for something, usually
in the context of desperation. It would be as if one said “I’ll give up dessert for a year if you’ll
give me one more chance”.
The Vocative Case and Contrast with the Nominative Case
The last case, the vocative case, is formally understood to be the form of noun used for
addressing or calling it. While this is a function of the vocative cases, there are other, more useful
meanings. In Kannada, the vocative case also serves as what might be called an “exclusionary”
case. This means that a noun declined in the vocative case excludes everything but the noun
itself. It would be something like “This thing, and nothing else”. Fortunately, the vocative case
declension for all nouns is simply changing the final vowel to ಏ (ē), and adding it, if there isn’t
already a vowel.
Ex.
—lR nŠ¬:¡?
—Sೕ] nŠ@:ೕç.
—Yāru māḍuttāre?
—Nīne māḍuttīye.
—Who will do it?

—You (alone/and no one else) will do it.
It can also be used to clarify something said.
Ex.
—lR n¬Š@:Eb¡? —2](]).
—Yāru mātāḍuttiddare? —Nāne(ne).
—Who is speaking? —It is I (and no other).
Through contextual clues, the first person is probably able to tell who the person on the other end
of the line, so the second person needs to give no further information than to say, “It is I”.
The vocative case contrasts with the nominative case, which as covered so far, is the base form
of all nouns. The nominative case has what might be called an “inclusionary” meaning, doing the
opposite of the vocative case.
Ex.
A: lR ಈ ¬:¡? B: yಮ ಈ ¬:]. C: 2^ ಈ \:ೕ].

A: Yāru ījuttāre? B: Rāma ījuttāne. C: Nanu ījuttēne.
A: Who swims? B: Rama swims. C: I, too, swim.
In this context, this the only conceivable meaning of the nominative case. The “inclusionary”
function of the nominative case is derived entirely from context.
It should be noted that one can extend the functions of the nominative-vocative contrast to
declined nouns. Just as changing the final vowel of a word to ಅ (a) gives most words to an
interrogative meaning, changing the ending of a noun to ಊ (ū) and ಏ (ē) gives the
“inclusionary” and “exclusionary” meanings to words, and even be combined, for another
meaning. See the example.
Ex.
ಇ{jೕ! (Locative + Vocative)

Illē! 
Here (and no other place)!
ನನZಅ? (Dative +Nominative + Interrogative)

Nanagu’a? 
For me as well?
ಅವನ]*ೕ! (Accusative + Vocative) 

Avanannē! 
Him (only)! (This would require context where the verb was acting on a direct object)
ಮ]ಯéj? (Locative + Nominative)

Maneyallū. 
In the house as well.
ನಮ`Zಏ? (Dative + Nominative + Vocative)

Nammagu’ē? 
Even for us?
Note: These are largely colloquial constructions and are not seen in written Kannada.
Earlier in the text, ¬ನ (tāna), the reflexive and impersonal pronoun, was explained to be
somewhat confusing with respect to the vocative case. ¬ನ can only be used after a subject has
been introduced, or to refer to an impersonal “you”, or “one”. Compare these two examples.
Ex.
ಅವ/ ¬ನ ²{‡ YೕZ¬:˜.

Avaḷu tāna śālegē hōguttāḷe.
She goes to school herself.
ಅವ˜ ²{‡ೕ YೕZ¬:˜.

Avaḷe śālegē hōguttāḷe.
(Only) She (alone) goes to school.
The first sentence differs in meaning from the second in that it calls attention to a different detail;
the sentence is referring to the fact that the “she” goes to school without assistance or company.
The second sentence refers to the fact that the “she” is the only one going to school, as opposed
to anyone else.
The Future Tense
As explained previously, the use of the future tense in Kannada is restricted primarily to literary
and formal contexts. The practical use of the future tense is understanding Kannada news, more
than Kannada literature. News in Kannada is notoriously difficult to understand if one is not used
to hearing and understanding it, especially with the use of the future tense. In everyday
conversation, the future tense is conveyed using the present tense with future context.
To construct the future tense stem, simply find the present-future adjectival participle. To
construct it, simply take the crude form, and affix ಉವ. Then add the appropriate endings.
2^ nŠ§^ - nānu māḍuvenu - I will do ಅ• nŠU• - adu māḍuvudu - it did

Sೕ^ nŠ§ - nīnu māḍuve - you will do 2U nŠ§U - nāvu māḍuvevu - we did
SೕU/SೕUಗ/ nŠ7k - nīvu/nīvugaḷu ಅವR nŠವR - avaru māḍuvaru - they (m/

māḍuviri - you (polite)/you all will do f; polite 3rd person) will do
ಅವ^ nŠವ^ - avanu māḍuvanu - he will ಅU nŠವU - avu māḍuvavu - they (n) did
do
ಅವ/ nŠವ/ - avaḷu māḍuvaḷu - she will
do
Ex.
2U »ವ“ಗð&' YೕZ§U. 
Nāvu śivamoggakke hōguvevu. 
We will go to Shivamogga (a city in central Karnataka).
ಅವR ಸಂaೕತ ಪಠ ಓ•ವR.

Avaru sangīta pāṭha ōduvaru.
They will study music.
A. Decline the following nouns into the vocative case.
3. ನ7Ë (navilu)
4. ಆ] (āne)
5. ಮರ (mara)
6. zೕ (mēju)
7. Sgಸ (nivāsa)
9. ಪ•b (paddu)
10. ರ™: (rāste)
B. Conjugate the following verbs in the past tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತ¡, I
4. ಈ , it
5. „0, we
6. q{, you all
7. ಕತ:k„, she
8. ಎ±„, he
10. ಕ¡, you (honorific) 
Section 9: The World
Vocabulary: The Natural World
ಪ;ಕೃ@/Sಸ6ಗ - prakṛti/nisarga - nature

ಪ;ಪಂಚ - prapanca - world 
ನ> - nadi - river 
ಸ“ೕವರ - samōvara - lake
ಕಡË/ಸ~ದ; - kaḍalu/samudra - sea
Xಗರ - sāgara - ocean
›ೕಳ - kōḷa - pond 
¾>Ë - hudilu - marsh 
ಜಲ-ತ/ಅ=÷ - jalapāta/abbi - waterfall
›0j/¶k - kolli/khāri - bay/gulf 
¾Ëj-ವË - hullugāvalu - meadow/grassland
¾Ëj - hullu - grass 
ಮRÄI - marubhūmi - desert 
LŠ/ಅರಣf - kāḍu/araṇya - forest (D/S)
ÄI - bhūmi - land 
]ಲ - nela - ground 
…ಟƒ/ಪವ6ತ - beṭṭa/parvata - mountain (D/S)
Zಡ’ - guḍḍa - hill
Vocabulary: The Man-made World
ಕಖ6ಾ] - kārkhāne - factory

ಅÂಕ‚ƒ/ಒ•b/ಏk - aṇekaṭṭu/oḍḍu/ēri - dam 
n0ನf - mālinya - contamination/pollution 
ಕಟƒಡ/ಭವನ - kaṭṭaḍa/bhavana - building 
nನವ¼ಲ/ಮ^ಷfವಗ6 - mānavakula/manuṣyavarga - humanity
‰ೕz - sīme - border 
ಉEfನವನ/ಉಪವನ - udyānavana/upavana - park 
™ೖನf/.ೌ - sainya/fauju - military (S/F) 
ಸಕ6ಾರ - sarkāra - government building 
ಸಂಸG: - sansattu - parliament 
ಮಂ@;ಮಂಡಲ - mantrimanḍala - cabinet/ministry
ಅರಮ]/yಜಗೃಹ/ಮಹË - aramane/rājagṛha/mahalu - palace (D/S/F)
¼ಟ/ಸಂಘ - kūṭa/sangha - association/organization/union (D/S)
ಸಮ™f/ಪ;À* - samasye/praśne - issue/problem 
ಕಷƒ - kaṣṭa - difficulty 
³ರ/2ಗkಕ - paura/nāgarika - citizen
³ರತ? - pauratva - citizenship 

gದ7gದ/gಗ?ದ - vādavivāda/vāgvada - debate
g¬ವರಣ - vātāvaraṇa - environment 
yಜf/ಅKಪತf - rājya/adhipatya - rkingdom 
Åಲj - jilla - district 
-;ಂತ/ಪ;eೕಶ - prānta/pradēśa - region
yಜf/yಷ,)/ಸಂXÉನ - rājya/rāṣṭra/sansthāna - state
yಜತ? - rājatva - monarchy 
ಹಂತ/‰É@/ಮಜË - hanta/sthiti/majalu - phase (D/S/F)
ಏಪ6ಾŠ/¸ೕಜ]] - ērpāḍu/yōjane - plan (D/S)
Sಯಮ/ಕ‚ƒಕಟƒ{ - niyama/kaṭṭukaṭṭaḷe - rule
Verbs:
ತlk„/ಉ¬°>„ - tayārisu/utpādisu - to produce 

¢/nŠ/(2ಶಪ‹„/ಧ?ಂಸnŠ) - hāḷumāḍu/(nāśapaḍisu/dhvansamāḍu) - to destroy (D/S)
=!• - biccu - to undo/remove 
ಹk - hari - to flow 
›˜ nŠ - koḷe māḍu - to pollute/contaminate 
ಲಂಚ @S*„ - lanca tinnisu - to corrupt 
ಸಂX'k„ - sanskarisu - to recycle 
gದ ಮಂ‹„/ಚಚ6ಿ„ - vāda maṇḍisu/carcisu - to debate/deliberate 
¤‹ತ - hiḍita - to control 
yಜf«ರ - rājyabhāra - to rule 
ಕಷƒ ಪœ - kaṣṭa paḍe - to make an effort
Speaking Colloquial Kannada
To speak colloquial Kannada requires some knowledge of the way written Kannada differs from
the spoken language. The majority of Kannada speakers will speak in a manner completely
different from the written form of the language. Pronunciation is the biggest difference, as it
involves the changing of vowel lengths and even the dropping of entire syllables. However,
when reading written Kannada aloud, such as from a book, it will be pronounced as written.
People from Mysore and Mangalore speak the most similar to the written form. Moreover,
certain people will speak with varying amounts of Sanskrit, Dravidian, and Perso-Arabic
influences, depending on where they’re from. This section will do the best possible to help make
spoken Kannada easier.
One of the distinctive and important features of spoken Kannada is the absence of a separate
future tense. Instead, Kannada speakers take the present adverbial participle, and use an partially
different set of endings. This conjugation is called the present-future tense, used for both present
and future tense.
2^ nŠ@:S - nānu māḍuttini ಅ• nŠತ::\: - adu māḍuttatte
Sೕ^ nŠ@:ಯ - nīnu māḍuttiya 2U nŠ@:7 - nāvu māḍuttivi

SೕU/SೕUಗ/ nŠ@:k - nīvu/nīvugaḷu ಅವR nŠ¬:¡ - avaru māḍuttāre
māḍuttiri
ಅವ^ nŠ¬:] - avanu māḍuttāne ಅU nŠತ:\: - avu māḍuttatte
ಅವ/ nŠ¬:˜ - avaḷu māḍuttāḷe
In questions, spoken Kannada frequently appends ನ to the ends of words declined in the vocative
case, for no particular reason.
Ex.
ಔ¡ೕನ?
Aurēna?
Them?
Now, to pronunciation. The change in pronunciation from written to spoken Kannada will be
called “reduction” from here on. Please keep in mind that these are not hard and fast rules; they
are the best approximations of spoken Kannada possible.
1. The general absence of aspirated consonants in rapid speech, despite their appearance in
writing. This is more true in the south of Karnataka, near the border with Tamil Nadu. In
the north, aspirated consonants will be pronounced almost all the time, and in most
standard spoken forms. Kannada speakers generally don't have consistent patterns as to
when they aspirate consonants and when they don’t.
2. Drop weak vowels such as ಉ and ಎ from a word, unless it makes the word
unpronounceable or odd.
3. Pronounce initial ಒ/ಓ and ಎ/ಏ with euphonic “w” and “y” sounds, respectively, at the
beginning.
4. Shorten ಆ to ಅ almost all the time, unless it sounds odd.
5. Frequently (though not all the time) destress tt, dd, ṭṭ, ḍḍ, to t, d, ṭ, and ḍ.
6. The syllables ಇವ (iva) and ಅವ (ava) are almost invariably changed to F (yū) and ಔ
(au) respectively. Many instances of ವ are dropped or become some kind of vowel. Ex.
ಇವR -> FವR -> FR
7. If two of the same vowel or vowels differing only in length occur together, merge them
into one long vowel. Ex. ಅಥ6 ಆZ is often pronounced ಅಥ6ಾZ
8. Foreign words (usually from English) take a final ಉ if the end in a consonant. After this,
all other rules in Kannada apply.  
Now, look at an example sentence of how a written sentence changes to its spoken form. Ex.
“We go to the store and buy fruit.
Ex.
2U ಅಂಗ‹‡ YೕZ\:ೕ§ ,ಹಣ–^* ›ಂ•›/Ð\:ೕ§/ಖkೕ>„\:ೕ§. 

Nāvu aṅgaḍige hōguttēve, haṇṇannu kharīdisuttēve.
2U ಅಂa’‡ Yೕa:7, ಹಣ–^* ›ಂ}'Þ:7/ಖkೕ>:7. 

Nāvu aṅgḍige hōgtivi, haṇṇannu kharīdtivi.
There are other changes that Kannada speakers can make to words, including nasalizing syllables
or even other variations on the conjugations of verbs. Here is another example: “She ate dinner
and went out with her friends.”
Ex.
ಅವ/ ಊಟ n‹ದ/, Yರಗœ‡ ™*ೕ¤ತR ú\ Yೕದ/.

Avaḷu ūṭa māḍidaḷu, horagaḍege snēhitaru jote hōdaḷu.
ಔ/ ಊಟ nಡbುÐ Yಗ6œ‡ ™*ೕ¤G; Yೕ•Ð.

Auḷu ūṭa māḍdlu matu horgaḍege snehitru jote hōdḷu.
As you might be able to tell, Kannada’s spoken and written forms differ considerably.
Unfortunately there’s no easy way to learn the spoken form without listening to people speak a
lot. The advantage to learning written Kannada before spoken Kannada is that you will be able to
acquire vocabulary from a wider variety of sources, and the majority of those educated in
Kannada will be able to understand you, even if that’s not the way they talk. 
Section 10: Perso-Arabic Vocabulary
Despite Muslims being a relative minority in India, the two languages traditionally spoken by
Muslims in India, Farsi (AKA Persian) and Arabic, have influenced the languages of India
considerably. Kannada is no exception, and there are quite a few words that have entered
common usage. The speakers of this Muslim variety of Kannada primarily reside in the north of
Karnataka, in the Mysore area, where the Nizams of Hyderabad, Aurangzeb, and other Islamic
rulers had once lived. It should be noted, however, that the language spoken by most Muslim
people in this area is not necessarily Kannada, but a variety of Urdu known as Dakhni.
Perso-Arabic loans in Kannada are peculiar cases in terms of spelling, because while many
Muslims can pronounce Arabic and Farsi words, it is difficult to write such words in Kannada,
because certain sounds in those languages do not exist in Kannada. You may notice that some of
the letters have two dots underneath them, reflecting that they are foreign sounds. Even though
the formatting of the Kannada is not quite right for these letters, you should know that things like
+ಾ should be read as fā, ಅಲ/಼ is read as alq, and so on.
The following list details the protocol for pronunciation. The corresponding Nastaliq letter will
be given, its Kannada equivalent, common pronunciation by non-Muslims and people unable to
pronounce the sounds, and then the IPA of each. Note: the pronunciation, for lack of better
methods, will be written in IPA. Pronunciation guides for IPA can be found here: http://
web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm.
Nastaliq [IPA] -> Muslim Kannada [IPA] (use two dots) -> Common Kannada [IPA] (no dots)
‫[ ف‬f] -> . [f] -> ಪ/ಫ [p/ph]

‫[ ص‬ṣ] -> ಷ [ṣ] -> ಷ [ʂ] 
‫[ ق‬q] -> E [q] -> ಕ [k]
‫[ ز‬z] -> ಜ [z] -> ಜ [j]
‫[ ث‬θ] -> ಥ [θ] -> ಥ [th]
‫[ و‬w] -> ವ [w] -> ವ [v]
‫[ خ‬χ] -> ಖ [χ] -> ಖ [kh]
‫[ غ‬ɣ] -> ಘ [ɣ] -> ಘ [gh]
‫[ ذ‬ð] -> ಧ [ð] -> ಧ [dh]
‫[ آ‬ɒ] -> ಔ [ɒ] -> ಔ [au]
‫[ ه‬h] -> ಃ [h] -> ಃ [ø]
The vocabulary list gives the pronunciation of words in Standard Kannada, in which only [f] and
[q] have separate characters to represent them. It should go without saying that Muslim Kannada
speakers with some knowledge of Arabic and/or Farsi will know how to pronounce a particular
word from these languages, even if the word is not written to reflect it.
Arabic Vocabulary
ಅHË - aqalu - wisdom 

ಅ&ೖS - akairu - end 
ಅತ:R - attaru - perfume 
ಅದ2 - adanā - ordinary 
ಆದಬ - ādaba - respect 
ಅದವ@ - adavati - enmity
ಅ.ೀ~ - afīmu - opium
ಅಮË - amalu - action
ಅnನG - amānatu - trust
ಅnS - amāni - irregular work
ಅIೕನ - amīna - trustworthy
ಅಷ;. - aṣrafa - a noble man
ಐ^ - ainu - original
ಔಇš - au’ibu - defeat 
ಅŽವ - ayivaju - reward 
ಅಲŽದ - alayida - separate 
ಅಲ'಼š - alqabu - title 
ಅವಲ - avala - best/first 
ಅಹವË - ahavalu - conditions 
ಆXI - āsāmi - person/fellow 
ಇಂLರ nŠ - inkāra māḍu - to deny 
ಇಜ - ija - trouble 
ಇಜîG - ijjatu - honor/reputation 
ಇತ•k - itabāri - confidence 
ಇಜ.ೆ - ijafe - addition 
ಇ@:ಲj - ittilla - information/report 
ಇ2~ - inamu - reward 
ಇ2ಯG - ināyatu - favor 
ಇಮರ@ - imarati - building 
ಇರXË - irasālu - sending 
ಇyದ - irāda - purpose 
ಇಲHೆ - ilaqe - territory 
ಇಲ - ilaju - remedy 
¤X¡ - hisāre - sign 
ಇಸ:H•_ - istaqabāhe - welcome/receiving a visitor
ಇ‰:¢ರ - istihāra - announcement/proclamation
ಊ• - ūdu - incense 
Hತ:ಲ - qattala - slaughter 
ಖG: - khattu - letter
H>ೕ~ - qadīmu - old 

Hಂ> - qandi - lantern 
Hಬರ - qabara - grave 
Híಲ - qubūla - acceptance
Hಲ~ - qalamu - pen
ಕಸš - kasabu - profession 
ಕಸರತ - kasarata - gymnastics 
ಕಸR - kasaru - deficiency 
ಕX{ - kasāle - disorder of the body
Lಯ~ - kāyamu - permanent
Hೈe - qaidē - rule
Hಿಸ~ - qisamu - division/kind (as in type)
HೌË - qaulu - agreement 
¶0 - khāli - empty 
ಖgË - khayālu - thought
ಗರ - garaju - need 
ಗkೕಬ - garība - poor 
ಗ0 - galiju - dirty 
ಜರ - jara - little 
ಜgಬ - javāba - reply 
ಜg¤R - javāhiru - gem/jewel 
Åz` - jimme - to charge 
Ë~ - julumu - to force 
ತ.‰Ë - tafasilu - details 
ತ.ಾವ@ - tafāvati - difference 
ತಬಲ - tabala - a type of Indian pitched drum
ತ=bಲ - tabdila - exchange
ತರಹ - taraha - like (as in “similar to”)
ತಸ0 - tasali - to salute 
¬k.ು - tārifu - praise 
G.ಾ^ - tufānu - storm
ತH:ು:; - taqttu - strength 
ದg - davā - medicine 
ನHË - naqalu - copy/transcript
ನ‰ೕš - nasību - luck/fortune
.ಿಕR - fikaru - anxiety 
.;ಸG: - frasattu - leisure 
.ೈಸಲ - faisala - settlement
.ಾU@ - fāvuti - death 
ಬರಕG: - barakattu - success
•Hಿ - bāqi - remainder/leftover
•ಬG - bābatu - with regard to 

ಮಜíG - majabūtu - strong 
ಮÈ£ - majāku - teasing/making fun of 
ಮಂ•R nŠ - manjūru māḍu - to accept 
ಮರಹಮ`ತ - marahammata - repair 
ಮಜ6ಿ - marji - wish 
ಮಲ.ೂ.ು nŠ - malafūfu māḍu - to cover 
ಮಸಲ - masala - for instance 
nÅ - māji - past 
ಮGಬk - matubari - trusted 
n0ಕ - mālika - owner 
nË - mālu - goods 
nËಮ - māluma - known 
Iರ‰ - mirasi - inheritance 
IಲHG: - milaqattu - meeting 
~ದb~ - muddamu - permanent 
~M'಼Ë - muṣkilu - difficult 
~X.ರ - musāfara - traveler 
~™:ೖe - mustaide - prepared 
zಹ*G - mehnatu - labor 
“9:lರ - moktiyāra - absolute/free 
ರH~ - raqamu - article 
ರ•b - raddu - to cancel 
yÅ - rāji - to agree 
ಇವ - ivāju - custom 
klಯ@ - riyāyati - concession 
0.ಾ.ಿ - lifāfi - envelope 
ವಜS - vajani - weight 
ವತನ - vatana - hereditary estate 
ವರ£ - varaku - leaf 
7Eಯ - vidāya - farewell 
XIಲ - sāmila - comprehension/understanding 
Kಕ - śauka - voluptuousness/litheness 
ಸಂ•H - sanduqa - box 
ಸíš - sabūbu - excuse 
ಸಲj - salla - peace 
ಸi~ - salāmu - salutation 
ಅಸ*i~ ಅ{ೖ£L - assalāmu alaikuṃ - Muslim greeting
ಸವಲG: - savalattu - facilities 
ಸgË - savālu - challenge 
XS - sāni - second/another
ಹH'಼ು - haqqu - truth 

ಹವ - hava - wind/air 
¢ಜk - hājari - present 
¤™* - hisse - part/share 
_ೖy^ - hairānu - restlessness/indecisiveness
Hೈ• - qaidu - prison
2ಯಬ - nāyaba - deputy 
“9:lರ 2ಮ - moktiyāra nāma - power of attorney 
“ಹಲ - mohala - neighborhood/borough/quarter 
¾£ಂ - hukuṃ - order 
ಹgಲ\ - havālate - transfer 
ಹಮಲ - hamāla - bearer 
‰&' - sikke - royal seal 
ಅಲjಲ ¤ಸš - allala hisabu - according to the contract 
ಇಜರ - ijara - contract 
Hಿ„: - qistu - installment 
ಮಲ - jumala - total 
MಲG: - daulattu - property 
ನ.ೆ - nafe - profit 
“ಬಲZ - mobalagu - sum/account 
“ಹತಫ6಼ - mohatarfa - tax imposed on traders 
“ಹಸ{ - mohasale - one who collects something 
ËHಸ~ - luqasamu - loss 
ವ„Ë/ವQË - vasulu/vasūlu - things collected as revenue/rent 
ಸy. - sarāfa - cashier 
ಹ‰Ë - hasilu - revenue/tax 
ಅದಲG - adalatu - justice/court 
HÅ - qaji - judge 
HಾÝ~ - qānūmu - law 
ಜ1: - japti - to confiscate 
~ebೖ - muddai - complaint 
~2ಸš - munāsabu - munsiff (an Indian low court handling civil cases)
ಸನ*• - sannadu - warrant 
ಅಕ6಼ - arqa - juice 
ಮš - mabuju - plantain 
~ರಬ÷ - murabba - jam 
ಹಲ? - halva - a kind of Indian sweet 
ಅಹûಂ - ahaṣāṃ - a group of military people 
kXË - risālu - a troop of horses 
šR - buruju - tower/bastion 
I2ರ - mināra - minaret
ಅij - allā - Allah 

£G= - kutubi - sermon 
1ೕರ - pīra - Muslim religious teacher
Persian Vocabulary
ಅಜnŽ‰ - ajamāyisi - to examine/estimate

ಅÈk - ajāri - disease 
ಅಂ•ರ - anjūra - fig tree 
ಅಂE - andāju - estimation
ಅಬR - abaru - honor 
ಅಂ•k - aṃbāri - howdah (a seat with a canopy placed on top of an elephant)
ಆŽ2 - āyinā - mirror 
ಅg - avāju - voice 
ಆy~ - ārāmu - rest/comfort 
ಆy~ £ಚ6ಿ - ārāmu kurci - easy chair/resting chair 
ಆಸnS - āsamāni - sky blue 
ಇ„`gರ - ismuvāra - according to names 
ಇ‰:¢R 2z - istihāru nāme - a written proclamation 
ಉzೕ• - umēdu - hope 
ಉzೕದgರ - umēdavāra - candidate 
ಎಕXಲ - ekasāla - one year 
H>I - qadimi - long standing 
ಕI - kami - less 
ಕn^ - kamānu - bow/arch 
ಕI` - kammi - deficiency 
ಕiಬG: - kalābattu - embroidery 
HiŽ - qalāyi - coating of the vessel 
ಖi‰ - khalāsi - seaman 
LರX:ನ - kārastāna - cleverness 
¶ಸEರ - khāsadāra - groom 
¶ವಂದ - khāvanda - master 
¶Xa - khāsāgi - private 
ಕ0ೕಜ - kalīja - liver 
92¡ - kināre - riverbed 
9yಯ - kirāya - rent 
£~£ - kumuku - help 
ü‰' - khuski - dry land 
£‰: - kusti - wrestling 
¼! - kūcu - march 
Hೈ• N] - qaidu khūne - prison
Hೊ~ OR - qomu vūru - caste-wise

¶] - khāne - house 
ü•b - khuddu - self 
NS - khūni - murder
Nš - khūbu - handsome 
ಗಜ - gaja - yard 
ಗಲjG - gallatu - mistake/incorrect 
ಗ‰: - gasti - going round 
-¡ - gāre - plaster 
aರಬbk - girabdari - to be involved in difficulty 
aಲj - gilla - complaint 
Zi= - gulābi - rose 
ZËj - gullu - noise/din 
ಚಮ`ರ - cammara - cobbler 
ಚರ= - carabi - fat 
oಕರ - cākara - servant 
ಆಮ• - āmadu - income 
Hಿ„:ಬಂ> - qistubandi - paying in installments 
ಖkೕ> - kharīdi - purchase 
ಗಲj - gallā - box used for money after sales 
ನಗ• - nagadu - ready cash 
ಅಜ6ಿ - arji - petition 
ಅಜ6ದ„: - arjadastu - written petition 
ಅಜ6ಿದರ - arjidara - petitioner 
-ಬLk - rūbakāri - written record of the case 
ûಇ>- ṣā’idi - witness at law 
ಅಂPರ - angūra - grape 
ಅ2 - anāju - grain 
ಕರíಜ - karabūja - muskmelon/cantaloupe 
üy£ - khurāku - nutritive diet 
ಗರಮ - garama - hot 
ಗರಮ ಮX{ - garama masāle - garam masala 
ಚ-@ - capāti - a type of leavened bread from wheat flour (also called Îtƒ - roṭṭi)
Å{ೕ= - jilēbi - a type of sweet (usually orange or yellow) 
ನಮ£ - namaku - salt 
ಪSೕR - panīru - paneer (Indian farmer’s cheese) 
”>ನ - pudina - mint leaves 
zೖದ - maida - wheat flour 
‰y - sirā - a type of sweet 
ಬಫ6಼ಿ - barfi - a type of sweet made from nuts such as almond and cashew
••Àೖ - bāduśai - a sort of sweet Indian sweet doughnut
ಲಷ'R - laṣkaru - army 

‰-Ž - sipāyi - soldier 
ಜnEರ - jamādāra - commander of troops 
ಥನಯ - thānaya - camp/encampment 
qೕ” - tōpu - cannon 
êೕದದ - pēda - infantryman/one who walks on their feet
ಬಕತರ - bakatara - armor 
ಬ¢ದರ - bahādara - warrior/courageous person
•ಸ6ಿ-Ž - bārsipāyi - foot soldier 
kXಲbರ - risāldara - commander of troops on horses
Z~k - gumuri - domet 
ಗk - gari - grave/tomb 
ಕರ¶] - karakhāne - square house 
>gಲ - divāla - wall 
ನn - namāju - prayer 
]ೕಕ - nēka - purity of heart 
•ಷಂದ - bāṣanda - may you live in peace 
Îೕಜ - rōja - fast (as in a period of not eating) 
™ೕš - sēbu - pir (a Muslim holy man) 
™ೕR - sēru - seer 
£iŽ - kulāyi - cap 
ತ.ಾ: - taftā - a kind of silk cloth 
Ggಲ - tuvāla - towel 
ಪರe - parade - veil 
Ëಂa - lungi - a kind of cloth
ûË - ṣālu - shawl 
Answer Key for Practice Questions
Section 1 
A. Practice writing the following words after completing the first exercise.
1. sēbu - ™ೕš
2. ācaraṇe - ಆಚರÂ
3. gōḍe - Çೕœ
4. manuṣya - ಮ^ಷf
5. mattu - ಮG:
6. rakta - ರಕ:
7. raita - ¡ೖತ
8. mūle - ¥{
9. ṛsī - ಋMೕ
10. mṛtyū - ಮೃÍf
11. mara - ಮರ
12. īga - ಈಗ
13. mēle - zೕ{
14. amṛtā - ಅಮೃ¬
15. lēkhani - {ೕಖS
16. arasa - ಅರಸ
17. nīliya - Sೕ0ಯ
18. svaccha - ಸ?ಚö
19. kālu - LË
20. nālkane - 2ಲ']
Section 2 
A. Decline the following nouns into the nominative and accusative cases.
1. {ೕಖSಯ^* (lēkhaniyannu)
2. ಅwfಪಕನ^* (adhyāpakanannu)
3. ನ7Ëವ^* (naviluvannu)
4. ಆ]ಯ^* (āneyannu)
5. ಮರವ^* (maravannu)
6. zೕ ವ^* (mējuvannu)
7. Sgಸವ^* (nivāsavannu)
8. 9ೕ0&ೖಯ^* (kīlikaiyannu)
9. ಪ•bವ^* (padduvannu)
10. ರ™:ಯ^* (rāsteyannu)
B. Conjugate the following verbs for the given pronoun. 
1. 2U =•\:ೕ]
2. ಅವ^ ಬ¡æ¬:]
3. ಅವR ಈ ¬:¡
4. 2U ¸ೕ¯„\:ೕ§
5. ಅವ/ ಮ¡æ¬:˜
6. SೕU nŠ@:k
7. ಅ• £‹æ@:ಯ
8. ಅ• ¤‹æತ:e
9. ಅU ಇRತ:§
10. ¬U ಓ•@:k  
1. 2^ ™ೕಬ^* @^*\:ೕ]. (Nānu sēbannu tinnuttēne.)

2. 2U ”ಸ:ಕವ^* ಮ¡æ\:ೕ§. (Nāvu pustakavannu mareyuttēve.)
3. ಅವR ಹಣ–ಗಳ^* ತ¡æ¬:¡. (Avaru haṇṇagaḷannu tareyuttāre.)
4. ಅವ) ಓŠ¬:˜. (Avaḷu ōduttāḷe.)
5. ಅ• &ಲಸ nŠ¬:e. (Adu kelasa māḍuttade.)
6. SೕU Se;nŠ@:k/ಮಲZ@:k. (Nīvu nidremāduttiri/malaguttiri).
7. Sೕ^ {ೕಖSಯ^* ¤‹æ@:ೕç. (Nīnu lēkhaniyannu hiḍiyuttīye).
8. SೕUಗ/ ¸ೕ¯„@:k. (Nīvugaḷu yōcisuttiri).
9. ಅವ/ ತಮ`^* Ãಪಕ7‚ƒ›/Ðತ:˜/]ನ1Šತ:˜. (Avaḷu tamannu jñāpakaviṭṭukoḷḷuttāḷe/
nenapiḍuttāḷe.)
10. ಅU ನಮ`^* |ೕŠತ:§. (Avu nammannu nōḍuttave.)
Section 3
A. Decline the following nouns into the instrumental and dative cases.
1. {ೕಖSŽಂದ/{ೕಖS‡ (lēkhaniyinda/lēkhanige)
2. ಅwfಪಕSಂದ/ಅwfಪಕS‡ (adhyāpakaninda/adhyāpakanige)
3. ನ7Ë7ಂದ/ನ7Ë7‡ (naviluvinda/naviluvige)
4. ಆ]Žಂದ/ಆ]‡ (āneyinda/ānege)
5. ಮರ>ಂದ/ಮರ&' (maradinda/marakke)
6. zೕ 7ಂದ/zೕ 7‡ (mējuvinda/mējuvige)
7. Sgಸ>ಂದ/Sವಸ&' (nivāsadinda/nivāsakke)
8. 9ೕ0&ೖŽಂದ/9ೕ0&ೖ‡ (kīlikaiyinda/kīlikaige)
9. ಪ•b7ಂದ/ಪ•b7‡ (padduvinda/padduvige)
10. y™:Žಂದ/y™:S‡ (rāsteyinda/rāstenige)  
B. Write the following verbs in the negative form.
1. ತ¡æವ>ಲj (tareyuvadilla)
2. ನœæವ>ಲj (naḍeyuvadilla)
3. YೕZವ>ಲj (hōguvadilla)
4. ಈ ವ>ಲj (ījuvadilla)
5. „0æವ>ಲj (suliyuvadilla)
6. q˜æವ>ಲj (toḷeyuvadilla)
7. ಕತ:k„ವ>ಲj (kattarisuvadilla)
8. ಎ±„ವ>ಲj (eṇisuvadilla)
9. ಬRವ>ಲj (baruvadilla)
10. ಕ¡æವ>ಲj (kareyuvadilla)
1. ಅವ^ ಬಟƒ0ಂದ \‡•›/Ð¬:]. (Avanu baṭṭalinda tegedukoḷḷuttāne.)

2. 2U ²{Žಂದ ಮ]‡ YೕZತ:§. (Nāvu śaleyinda manege hōguttave.)
3. ಅzೕkಕ>ಂದ ಬR\:ೕ]. (Amērikadinda baruttēne.)
4. ಅವR «ರತ&' YೕZ¬:¡. (Avaru bhāratakke hōguttāre.)
5. ಅ• ನನ‡ ಊಟ. (Adu nanage ūṭa koḍuttade.)
6. ಆಶ ರnS‡ ™ೕಬ^* ›Š¬:˜. (Āsha Ramānige sēbannu koḍuttāḷe.)
a. Note: Ramā ends in ಆ, and there is no special rule for this kind of nouns; these nouns are
usually people’s names.
7. ಅU ದ—ಣ>ಂದ ಬRತ:§. (Avu dakṣinadinda baruttave.)
8. 2U ಅ‹‡ಮ]Žಂದ eೕವರಮ]‡ YೕZ\:ೕ§. (Nāvu aḍigemaneyinda dēvaramanege
hōguttēve.)
9. SೕU ನನ‡ ಬ¡æ@:ೕç. (Nīvu nanage bareyuttīye.)
10. SೕUಗ/ ಇ0jಂದ ಅದk& YೕZ@:k. (Nīvugaḷu illinda adarike hōguttiri.)  
Section 4
A. Decline the following nouns into the locative case.
1. n‹ಯ0j (māḍiyalli)
2. ನŠ7ನ0j (nāḍuvinalli)
3. ಮ‰ೕ>ಯ0j (masīdiyalli)
4. ಮ]ಯ0j (maneyalli)
5. eೕವXÉನದ0j (dēvasthānadalli)
6. ಜಗದ0j (jāgadalli)
7. ಆLಸದ0j (ākāśadalli)
8. ಅಂಗ‹ಯ0j (angaḍiyalli)
9. ¤nಲಯದ0j (himālayadalli)
10. ಬÈR7ನ0j (bajāruvinalli) 
B. Conjugate the following verbs in the present progressive for the given pronoun.
1. ತ¡æ@:ebೕ] (tareyuttiddēne)
2. ನœæ@:>bç (naḍeyuttiddiye)
3. YೕZ@:eb (hōguttidde)
4. ಈ @:eb (ījuttidde)
5. „0æ@:ebೕ§ (suliyuttiddēve)
6. q˜æ@:>bk (toḷeyuttiddiri)
7. ಕತ:k„@:ದb˜ (kattarisuttiddāḷe)
8. ಎ±„@:ebೕ] (eṇisuttiddāne)
9. ಬR@:Eb¡ (baruttiddāre)
10. ಕ¡æ@:Eb¡ (kareyuttiddāre)
C. Conjugate the following verbs in the given imperative form.
1. ತರ0 (tarali)
2. ನ}ೕ (naḍō)
3. Yೕa (hōgi)
4. ಈþ (ījē)
5. „0¸ೕಣ (suliyōṇa)
6. qÞk (toḷiri)
7. ಕತ:k„ (kattarisu)
8. ಎ±‰ (eṇisi)
9. • (bā)
10. ಕ¡¸ೕಣ (kareyōṇa)  
Section 5
A. Conjugate the following verbs in the past tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತಂeೕ^ (tandēnu)
2. ನœe (naḍede)
3. YೕaದU (hōgidavu)
4. ಈÅG (ījitu)
5. „0eೕU (sulidēvu)
6. q˜>k (toḷediri)
7. ಕತ:k‰ದ/ (kattarisidaḷu)
8. ಎ±‰ದ^ (eṇisidanu)
9. ಬಂದR (bandaru)
10. ಕ¡ದR (karedaru) 
B. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using modal expressions.
1. 2^ ಈಗ{ ಊಟ nಡ…ೕ£. (Nānu īgale ūṭa māḍabēku.)

2. ಅವ/ Se;nಡ…ೕLaG:/ಮಲಗ…ೕLaG:. (Avaru nidremāḍabēkāgittu/malagabēkāgittu.)
3. 2U Yರಡ…ೕ£. (Nāvu hōraḍabēku.)
4. Xಧf ಆaŽೕG. (Sādhya āgiyītu.)
5. ಅವ^ -ಠ ಓದಬ¾•. (Avanu pāṭha ōdabahudu).
6. ಅU ಇ0jಂದ YೕalU. (Avu illinda hōgiyāvu.)
7. 2^ ಮ]‡ gಪಸYೕaçೕ^. (Nānu manege vāpasahōgiyēnu.)
8. ಅವR ಓಡಹ¾•. (Avaru ōḍabahudu.)
9. SೕUಗ/ ಅ‹‡ nಡ…ೕ£. (Nīvugaḷu aḍige māḍabēku.)
10. SೕU ¢‹Žೕk. (Nīvu hāḍiyīri.) 
C. Decline the following nouns into the genitive case.
1. {ೕಖSಯ (lēkhaniya)
2. ಅwfಪಕನ (adhyāpakana)
3. ನ7Ë7ನ (naviluvina)
4. ಆ]ಯ (āneya)
5. ಮರದ (marada)
6. zೕ 7ನ (mējuvina)
7. Sgಸದ (nivāsada)
8. 9ೕ0ಕಯ (kīlikaiya)
9. ಪ•b7ನ (padduvina)
10. y™:ಯ (rāsteya)
D. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using the comparative form. Note: ಇÝ* (innū
- more), ಕI (kami - less)
1. ಇ• ಅ•aಂತ ಇÝ* ಕಷƒgaeb (Idu aduginta innū kaṣṭavāgidde.)

2. ನನ‡ Sನaಂತ ಇÝ* &ಲಸ ಇe. (Nanage ninaginta innū kelasa ide.)
3. ಅವ/ Sಮàಂತ ಇÝ* ಅಂದgaEb˜/~EbaEb˜. (Avaḷu nimmaginta innū andavāgiddāḷe/  
muddāgiddāḷe.)
4. ಅವk‡ ನಮàಂತ ಕI ಹ‰U ಆZತ:e (Avarige nammaginta kami hasivu āguttade.)
5. ಇ0j ಅ0jaಂತ ಈ 7ಷಯ ಕI ಇe. (Illi alliginta ī viṣaya kami ide.)
6. ನಮ` ಹ@:ರ SೕUಗ/aಂತ ಕI ™ೕšಗ/ ಇ§. (Namma hattira nīvugaḷuginta kami sēbugaḷu
ive.)
7. Åಂ& £ಂ>0aಂತ ಇÝ* Sಶ"ಬbgaeb. (Jinke kundiliginta innū niśśabdvāgidde.)
8. ¾0 ಕರ‹aಂತ ಇÝ* ¯£'gaeb. (Huli karaḍiginta innū cikkuvāgidde.)
9. ಅU ಇUaಂತ ಇÝ* @^*ತ:§. (Avu ivuginta innū tinnuttave.)
10. Sೕ^ ನನ* ಇÝ* Sೕರಸga>bç. (Nīnu nannaginta innū nīrasavāgiddiye.)
Section 6
A. Conjugate the following nouns in the given perfective tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತಂ>eb^ (tandiddenu)
2. ನœ>>bç (naḍediddiye)
3. YೕaದbU (hōgiddavu)
4. ಈÅ>G: (ījidittu)
5. „0>ebU (sulididdevu)
6. q˜>>bk (toḷediddiri)
7. ಕತ:k‰>ದb/ (kattarisididdaḷu)
8. ಎ±‰>ebೕ] (eṇisididdēne)
9. ಬಂ>ದbR (bandiddaru)
10. ಕ¡>>bk (karediddiri)  
B. Translate the following sentences into Kannada, using the prohibitive forms.
1. ಅದ^* @ನ*…ೕ‹! (Adannu tinnabēḍi!)

2. y±, ಇÝ* Se;nಡ…ೕœ?/ಮಲಗ…ೕ}?ೕ. (Rāṇi, innū nidremāḍabēḍvē/malagabēḍvō).
3. Sೕ^ ಅŒƒ …ೕಗ ಓಡ•ರ• . (Nīnu aṣṭu bēga ōḍabāradu.)
4. 2U ಇ1ƒೕ @ನ*•ರ•. (Nāvu iṣṭō tinnabāradu.)
5. y , ಮ]‡ gಪಸYೕಗ…ೕಡ. (Rāju, manege vāpasahōgabēḍa).
6. ™ೕದ¼ಡ• . (Sēdakūḍadu.)
7. ಅವ^ ಅŒƒ Se;nಡ•ರ•/ಮಲಗ•ರದ•. (Avanu aṣṭu nidremāḍabāradu/malagabāradu.)
8. ಇ0j ಆñಡ…ೕ}?ೕ! (Illi āṭāḍabēḍvō!)
9. ಅವR ಒಳಗœ ಬರ£ಡ•. (Avaru oḷagade barakūḍadu.)
10. SೕUಗ/ Yರಡ•ರ•. (Nīvugaḷu horaḍabāradu.)  
C. Translate the following sentences into Kannada using modal expressions.
1. Sಮ`‡ ಇ0j Se;nಡ&'/ಮಲಗ&' ಆZತ:ದ? (Nimmage illi nidremāḍakke/malagakke āguttada?)

2. ²{‡ Yೕಗ&', ಇ0j‡ Yೕಗ…ೕ£. (Śālege hōgakke, illige hōgabēku.)
3. ಏ^ n•…ೕ£ ಇದ^* ಉಪ¸ೕaಸ&'? (Ēnu māḍabēku idannu upayōgisakke?)
4. ನಮ`‡ ಈ ಆಟಡ&' ಬRತ:e. (Nammage ī āṭa āṭāḍakke baruttade.)
5. ]]* ಅವÞ‡ Se;nಡ&'/ಮಲಗ&' ಆZವ>ಲj. (Nenne avaḷige nidremāḍakke/malagakke

āguvadilla.)
6. ಅU ಅ9' @ನ*& ಆZವ>ಲj. (Avu akki tinnakke āguvadilla.)
7. ನನ* ¬Ž‡/ಅಮ`S‡ ¤ಂ> ಬRವ>ಲj. (Nanna tāyige/ammanige Hindi baruvadilla.)
8. Sೕ^ ಇದ^* ಉಪ¸ೕaಸ&' ಓಡ&'. (Nīnu idannu upayōgiside ōdakke.)
9. ನಮ` £‚ಂಬಗR «ರತ&' Yೕಗ&' 7nನದ0j ಬR¬:¡. (Namma kuṭumbagaru Bhāratakke
hōgakke vimānadinalli baruttāre.)
10. SೕU •Š’ ›tƒk ಇ0j ಆñಡ&'. (Nīvu duḍḍu koṭṭiri illi āṭāḍakke.)
Section 7
A. Translate the following sentences into Kannada, using coordinating conjunctions.
1. ಪkೕˆ ›Š@:ç, ಅಥವ ©ೕË@:ç. (Parīkśa koḍuttīye, athava sōluttīye.)

2. ಅವ^ -ಠ ಓ•@:ದb^ SೕU &ಲಸ>ನ0j ಇRgಗ. (Avanu pāṭha ōduttiddanu nīvu kelasadinalli
iruvaga.)
3. 2^ n‰ೕ>‡ Yೕ…ೕ£, ಇn~ ú\ nತ2ಡ…ೕ£. (Nānu masīdige hōgabēku, imāmu
jote mātanāḍabēku.)
4. ಪ—ಗ/ ಮ\:ಮ\:/ಪeೕಪeೕ ¢Š¬:¡, ಅಥವ 7ರಳga? (Pakśigaḷu mattematte/padēpadē
hāḍuttāre, athava viraḷavāgi?)
5. 2U ಅ±laದ¡/‰ದ#gaದ¡/ತlyaದ¡, 2U Yರಡ…ೕ£. (Nāvu aṇiyāgidare/
siddhavāgidare/tayārāgidare, nāvu horaḍabāeku.)
6. ಅವk‡ Yೕಗ&' ಇಷƒ, ಆದ¡ “ದË/~ಂd ಮ]‡ಲಸ nಡ…ೕ£. (Avarige hōgakke iṣṭa, ādare
modalu/munce manegelasa māḍabēku.)
7. SೕU eೕವXÉನ&' Yೕದ¡, ಸ?ಲ° ದಭ6 \‡•›ಂಡಬS*. (Nīvu dēvasthānakke hōdare, svalpa
darbha tegedukonḍabanni.)
8. ಇŒƒ zೖಗಳÐ2aರ…ೕಡ! ಅಥವ Sಮ` ¬Ž/ಅಮ` ›ೕಪ ಆZ¬:¡. (Iṣṭu maigaḷḷanāgirabēḍa!  
Athava nimma tāyi/amma kōpa āguttāre.)
9. 2^ “•ƒಗಳ^* ›ಂŠ›/Ð\:ೕ]/ಖkೕ>„\:ೕ], Sೕ^ ತರLkಯ^* ›ಂŠ›/Ð@:ç/
ಖkೕ>„@:ç. (Nānu moṭṭegaḷannu konḍukoḷḷuttēne/kharīdisuttēne, nīnu tarakāriyannu
konḍukoḷḷuttīye/kharīdisuttīye.)
10. 2U „ಸ:gaebೕ§, ಆದ¡ ಸ?ಲ° Se; Yಡzೕ{ ಬR\:ೕ§. (Nāvu sustavāgiddēve, ādare svalpa
nidre hoḍamēle baruttēve.)
Section 8
A. Decline the following nouns into the vocative case.
1. {ೕಖSçೕ (lēkhaniyē)
2. ಅwfಪ&ೕ (adhyāpakē)
3. ನ7{ೕ (navilē)  
4. ಆ]çೕ (āneyē)
5. ಮ¡ೕ (marē)
6. zೕþೕ (mējē)
7. Sg™ೕ (nivāsē)
8. 9ೕ0&ೖçೕ (kīlikaiyē)
9. ಪebೕ (paddē)
10. y™:çೕ (rāsteyē)
 
B. Conjugate the following verbs in the future tense for the given pronoun.
1. ತR§^ (taruvenu)
2. ನŠ§ (naḍuve)
3. YೕZವU (hōguvavu)
4. ಈ U• (ījuvavu)
5. „Ë§U (suluvevu)
6. q/7k (toḷuviri)
7. ಕತ:k„ವ/ (kattarisuvaḷu)
8. ಎ±„ವ^ (eṇisuvanu)
9. ಬRವR (baruvaru)
10. ಕR7k (taruviri) 

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© 2016 Shashank Rao !

ಆರಂ$ಗ&' ಕನ*ಡದ -ಠಗ/

Section 1: Introduction to the Written Language and Grammar

Nouns (2ಮಪದ - nāmapada) are declined into one of seven cases:

nominative - ಕತ67ಭ9:/ಪ;ಥಮ7ಭ9: - kartāvibhakti/prathamavibhakti - 1st

Vocabulary: Basic Phrases

ನಮX'ರ - namaskāra - Hello

*uvೕದಯ - śubhōdaya - Good morning/day (formal and rare)

L{•ಂ•ಟ - kālcenḍāṭa - football/soccer

Vocabulary: Food and Drink

nಂಸ - māṃsa - meat

nತ2Š - mātanāḍu - to talk/speak

Vocabulary: Question Words

lgಗ - yāvāga - when

Vocabulary: Days of the Week and Seasons

SIಷ - nimiṣa - second

ಕನ#ಡ ಅ&'ಸ - Kannaḍa Abhyāsa - Kannada Practice

Section 2: School and People

{ೕಖS - lēkhani - pen

ರಸಪ;À* - rasapraśne - quiz

Vocabulary: Household and School Objects

Èಗ/XÉನ - jāga/sthāna - place (D/S)

ಅ‹‡ಮ] - aḍigemane - kitchen

Sೕರಸ - nīrasa - boring/dry (can also be literally “dry”)

೧೦೦,೦೦೦ - ಲˆ - lakśa - 100,000

Vocabulary: Ordinal Number Adjectives

“ದಲ - modala - 1st

ಕ0„/_ೕÞ›Š - kalisu/hēḷikoḍu - to teach

ಓ•/ಪß„ - ōdu/paṭhisu - to read (D/S)

The Nominative, Accusative, and Declensional Class

1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class 4th Class

2^/ನನ*^* - nānu/nannannu - I ****ಅ•/ಅದ^* - adu/adannu - it

Sೕ^/Sನ*^* - nīnu/ninnannu - you 2U/ನಮ`^* - nāvu/nammannu - we

2^ nŠ\:ೕ] - nānu māḍuttēne - I do ಅ• nŠತ:e - adu māḍuttade - it does

Sೕ^ nŠ@:ೕç - nīnu māḍuttīye - you (non- 2U nŠ\:ೕ§ - nāvu māḍuttēve - we do

ಅವ/ nŠ¬:˜ - avaḷu māduttāḷe - she does

Sೕ^ •ಂ„k ಊ>@:ಯ?

ಕನ#ಡ ಅ&'ಸ - Kannaḍa Abhyāsa - Kannada Practice

C. Translate the following sentences into Kannada.

1. I eat the apple.

Section 3: Foods and Health

Vocabulary: Foods, Mealtime, Etc.

2ಷƒ - nāṣṭa - breakfast (uncommon)

‰ೕz ಬದ]LŽ - sīme badanekāyi - chayote squash

Gಳ‰ - tuḷasi - basil

R¯ಕರgದ - rucikaravāda - tasty

ಅ2Îೕಗfಕರ - anārōgyakara - unhealthy

ಆÎೕಗf - ārōgya - health

ಬಣ–/ವಣ6 - baṇṇa/varṇa - color (D/S)

ಕತ:k„ - kattarisu - to cut

Additional Vocabulary: The Body

ಶkೕರ - śarīra - body

The Instrumental-Ablative Case and Dative Case

1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class 4th Class

ಮರ*ಂದ ಹ•– ಬRತ:e.

1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class 4th Class

Sೕ^ ಅವ./ _ೕÞ›Š@:ೕç.

ಅವ/ ಇ01ಂದ eೕವXÉನ23 YೕZ¬:˜.

ಅವk‡ Gಂಬ ಜ?ರ ಇe.

ನಮ` L{•ಂ•ಟ ಇಷƒ ಆZತ:e.

Personal Pronouns - Instrumental-Ablative and Dative Cases

ನS*ಂದ/ನನ‡ - nanninda/nanage ಆದbkಂದ/ಅದk&. - āddarinda/adarike

SS*ದ/Sನ‡ - ninninda/ninage ನI`ಂದ/ನಮ`‡ - namminda/nammage

nominative - ಕತ67ಭ9:/ಪ;ಥಮ7ಭ9: - kartāvibhakti/prathamavibhakti - 1st 

ನಮX'ರ - namaskāra - Hello 

*uvೕದಯ - śubhōdaya - Good morning/day (formal and rare) 

nಂಸ - māṃsa - meat 

SIಷ - nimiṣa - second 

{ೕಖS - lēkhani - pen 

ರಸಪ;À* - rasapraśne - quiz 

ಅ‹‡ಮ] - aḍigemane - kitchen 

೧೦೦,೦೦೦ - ಲˆ - lakśa - 100,000 

ಓ•/ಪß„ - ōdu/paṭhisu - to read (D/S) 

2^/ನನ^ - nānu/nannannu - I ****ಅ•/ಅದ^* - adu/adannu - it

Sೕ^/Sನ^ - nīnu/ninnannu - you 2U/ನಮ`^* - nāvu/nammannu - we

Gಳ‰ - tuḷasi - basil 

R¯ಕರgದ - rucikaravāda - tasty 

ಅ2Îೕಗfಕರ - anārōgyakara - unhealthy 

ಆÎೕಗf - ārōgya - health 

ಕತ:k„ - kattarisu - to cut 

ಶkೕರ - śarīra - body 

Sೕ^ ಅವ./ _ೕÞ›Š@:ೕç. 

ಅವk‡ Gಂಬ ಜ?ರ ಇe. 

ನಮ` L{•ಂ•ಟ ಇಷƒ ಆZತ:e. 

10. You all go from here to there. 

„X:Z - sustāgu - tired 

-;± - prāṇi - animal 

ಕಣಜ (¾/) - kaṇaja hụlu - wasp 

nŠತ: + ಇebೕ] = nŠ@:ebೕ] 

ಬÈR - bajāru - supermarket/bazaar (F) 

ರತ*/ಮ± - ratna/maṇi - jewel (D/S) 

@ಮ6ಾS„ - tirmānisu - to decide 

A. Decline the following nouns into the locative case.  

ಪ;g©ೕದfಮ - pravāsōdyama - tourism 

ಪ;lಣ nŠ - prayāṇa māḍu - to travel 

ಎ1ƒೕ - eṣṭō - so (adverb) 

lR ಇಲj - yāru illa - no one 

ಏ]ೕ|ೕ - ēnēnō - something 

ಅವನ* ಹ@:ರ ¥R ™ೕšಗ/ ಇe. 