Kannada Consonants: The Vyanjanas Organised by Sound

Kannada consonants, called ವ್ಯಂಜನಗಳು (vyanjanagalu), are arranged in a logical table by place of articulation. Once you see the pattern, the whole chart becomes easier to remember.

The five classes

Each row goes from unvoiced to voiced, and from unaspirated to aspirated, ending with a nasal:

Class	1	2	3	4	Nasal
Velar (throat)	ಕ ka	ಖ kha	ಗ ga	ಘ gha	ಙ ṅa
Palatal (palate)	ಚ ca	ಛ cha	ಜ ja	ಝ jha	ಞ ña
Retroflex (tongue curled)	ಟ ṭa	ಠ ṭha	ಡ ḍa	ಢ ḍha	ಣ ṇa
Dental (teeth)	ತ ta	ಥ tha	ದ da	ಧ dha	ನ na
Labial (lips)	ಪ pa	ಫ pha	ಬ ba	ಭ bha	ಮ ma

Semi-vowels and others

Kannada	Roman
ಯ	ya
ರ	ra
ಲ	la
ವ	va
ಶ	śa
ಷ	ṣa
ಸ	sa
ಹ	ha
ಳ	ḷa (retroflex l)

The letter ಳ is distinctive in Kannada and is used in many everyday words, such as ಕಳ್ಳ (kaḷḷa, thief).

Retroflex versus dental

English speakers often blur the retroflex and dental rows:

• ಟ ಠ ಡ ಢ ಣ — tongue curled back to touch the roof of the mouth.
• ತ ಥ ದ ಧ ನ — tongue against the back of the teeth.

Compare ತಲೆ (tale, head) with ಟಪಾಲು (ṭapālu, post).

Aspirated letters

The aspirated letters (ಖ, ಘ, ಛ, ಝ and so on) carry a puff of air. They appear mainly in Sanskrit-derived words. Many native Kannada words use only the unaspirated letters.

Learning tips

1. Learn one row at a time.
2. Say the sound with the inherent vowel: ka, kha, ga, gha.
3. Practise the retroflex/dental contrast slowly.
4. Use the dictionary to see the letters in words.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up ಟ and ತ.
• Skipping ಳ.
• Overlooking the aspirated letters when reading Sanskrit-derived words.

Look up any word with English Kannada Dictionary →