Telugu Pronouns and Levels of Respect

Telugu pronouns show respect and who is included.

The main pronouns

Pronoun	Romanised	Meaning
నేను	naenu	I
నువ్వు	nuvvu	you (informal)
మీరు	meeru	you (formal or plural)
అతను	athanu	he
ఆమె	aame	she
అది	adi	it, that
వారు	vaaru	they (people)
అవి	avi	they (things)

Informal and formal you

• నువ్వు is for friends, children and younger relatives.
• మీరు is for elders, strangers and formal situations. It is also the plural.

మీరు ఎలా ఉన్నారు? is polite. నువ్వు ఎలా ఉన్నావు? is casual.

Two kinds of we

Pronoun	Meaning
మనం	we, including the listener
మేము	we, excluding the listener

• మనం వెళ్దాం. Let's go (you and I).
• మేము వెళ్తున్నాము. We are going (but not you).

English has no such distinction, so it is worth noticing.

Respect forms

Telugu also has respectful forms for third persons. వారు can mean "they" and is also used to refer to one respected person.

Gender in he and she

Telugu pronouns separate he (అతను) from she (ఆమె), while for things and animals, అది is used.

Verbs and pronouns

Telugu verbs take endings that match the pronoun, which means the pronoun can often be dropped.

Tips

1. Use మీరు with strangers and elders.
2. Notice మనం and మేము.
3. Use the dictionary to check pronoun forms.

Look up any Telugu word with English Telugu Dictionary →