Kannada Vowels: The Swaras with Pronunciation

Kannada script is an abugida: each consonant carries an inherent vowel, and other vowels are added as signs. Learning the independent vowels, called ಸ್ವರಗಳು (swaragalu), is the first step.

The vowels

Kannada	Roman	Sound	Example
ಅ	a	like u in "but"	ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, mother)
ಆ	ā	like a in "father"	ಆನೆ (āne, elephant)
ಇ	i	like i in "bit"	ಇಲಿ (ili, mouse)
ಈ	ī	like ee in "feet"	ಈಗ (īga, now)
ಉ	u	like u in "put"	ಉಪ್ಪು (uppu, salt)
ಊ	ū	like oo in "moon"	ಊಟ (ūṭa, meal)
ಋ	ṛ	ru, mainly in Sanskrit words	ಋಷಿ (ṛṣi, sage)
ಎ	e	like e in "bed"	ಎಲೆ (ele, leaf)
ಏ	ē	like ay in "day"	ಏನು (ēnu, what)
ಐ	ai	like ai in "aisle"	ಐದು (aidu, five)
ಒ	o	like o in "obey"	ಒಂದು (ondu, one)
ಓ	ō	like o in "go"	ಓದು (ōdu, read)
ಔ	au	like ow in "cow"	ಔಷಧ (auṣadha, medicine)

Two extra signs

• ಅಂ (am): the anusvara, a nasal sound.
• ಅಃ (aha): the visarga, a breathy h sound.

They are traditionally listed together with the vowels.

Short and long

Kannada distinguishes short and long vowels, and the difference changes meaning. Pairs are ಅ/ಆ, ಇ/ಈ, ಉ/ಊ, ಎ/ಏ and ಒ/ಓ. Compare ಕಲ and ಕಾಲ, or ಮನ and ಮಾನ, by holding the long vowel roughly twice as long.

Learning tips

1. Learn vowels in pairs (short then long).
2. Say each aloud while writing it.
3. Link each vowel to a word such as ಅಮ್ಮ or ಆನೆ.
4. Use the dictionary to see the vowels in real words.

Common mistakes

• Treating ಎ and ಏ as the same sound.
• Ignoring vowel length.
• Skipping ಋ, which appears in Sanskrit-derived words.

Look up any word with English Kannada Dictionary →