Malayalam alphabet for kids മലയാളം അക്ഷരമാല

Malayalam alphabet chart with pictures

48 letters · tap 🔊 to hear each one.

Picture	Letter	Word	Meaning	Listen
	അ	അമ്മ	mother	🔊
	ആ	ആന	elephant	🔊
	ഇ	ഇല	leaf	🔊
	ഈ	ഈച്ച	fly	🔊
	ഉ	ഉറുമ്പ്	ant	🔊
	ഊ	ഊഞ്ഞാൽ	swing	🔊
	ഋ	ഋഷി	sage	🔊
	എ	എലി	rat	🔊
	ഏ	ഏണി	ladder	🔊
	ഐ	ഐസ്ക്രീം	ice cream	🔊
	ഒ	ഒട്ടകം	camel	🔊
	ഓ	ഓന്ത്	garden lizard	🔊
	ഔ	ഔഷധം	medicine	🔊
	അം	അംബരം	sky	🔊
	ക	കപ്പൽ	ship	🔊
	ഖ	ഖഡ്ഗം	sword	🔊
	ഗ	ഗരുഡൻ	eagle	🔊
	ഘ	ഘടികാരം	clock	🔊
	ങ	മാങ്ങ	mango	🔊
	ച	ചക്ക	jackfruit	🔊
	ഛ	ഛത്രം	umbrella	🔊
	ജ	ജനൽ	window	🔊
	ഞ	ഞണ്ട്	crab	🔊
	ട	ടയർ	tyre	🔊
	ഡ	ഡോക്ടർ	doctor	🔊
	ഢ	ഢക്ക	big drum	🔊
	ണ	മണി	bell	🔊
	ത	തത്ത	parrot	🔊
	ഥ	കഥ	story	🔊
	ദ	ദോശ	dosa	🔊
	ധ	ധനുസ്സ്	bow	🔊
	ന	നക്ഷത്രം	star	🔊
	പ	പശു	cow	🔊
	ഫ	ഫലം	fruit	🔊
	ബ	ബസ്	bus	🔊
	ഭ	ഭരണി	jar	🔊
	മ	മയിൽ	peacock	🔊
	യ	യന്ത്രം	machine	🔊
	ര	രഥം	chariot	🔊
	ല	ലഡു	laddu	🔊
	വ	വള്ളം	boat	🔊
	ശ	ശംഖ്	conch	🔊
	ഷ	ഷർട്ട്	shirt	🔊
	സ	സിംഹം	lion	🔊
	ഹ	ഹംസം	swan	🔊
	ള	വള	bangle	🔊
	ഴ	മഴ	rain	🔊
	റ	റോസാപ്പൂവ്	rose	🔊

The Malayalam alphabet is called the അക്ഷരമാല (aksharamala), which means "garland of letters". This page shows it the way a child meets it on a classroom chart: each letter with one easy word and a picture. Tap a letter card above to hear the letter and its word, like "ആ, ആന" (aa, aana, elephant). When a few letters feel familiar, switch to Find it and let Golu ask for them one by one, or play Memory to match pairs. It works in any browser, is free, and needs no sign-up.

What is the Malayalam aksharamala?

Malayalam is written in its own script, descended from the old Grantha letters of South India. Children learn it in groups. First come the vowels, സ്വരാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ (swaraksharangal). Then the consonants, വ്യഞ്ജനാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ (vyanjanaksharangal), arranged in neat rows by where the sound is made in the mouth: ക ഖ ഗ ഘ ങ, then ച ഛ ജ ഝ ഞ, and so on. After the consonants come the ചില്ലക്ഷരങ്ങൾ (chillaksharangal), the five "pure consonant" letters ൺ ൻ ർ ൽ ൾ that end words like കപ്പൽ (kappal, ship) and മയിൽ (mayil, peacock). Joined letters, കൂട്ടക്ഷരങ്ങൾ (koottaksharangal) such as ക്ക or ന്ത, come later, once single letters are secure.

People count the Malayalam alphabets number differently, from 51 to 56, depending on whether rare letters like ൠ and ഌ are included. For a young child, that does not matter; hearing the letters inside real words, like the body parts in Malayalam, matters far more. The chart here uses the letters children actually need first.

Malayalam vowels with words (swaraksharangal)

Notice the short and long pairs: അ/ആ, ഇ/ഈ, ഉ/ഊ, എ/ഏ, ഒ/ഓ. Malayalam has both a short e and a short o, which Hindi does not, so say these pairs slowly and let your child hear the difference in length.

Consonants with picture words

The full set of consonants, including ഖ ഘ ഛ ഢ ഥ ധ ഫ ഭ, is in the game above. A few letters, such as ങ and ണ, never start a Malayalam word, so the chart uses a word where they sit in the middle: മാങ്ങ (maanga, mango) and മണി (mani, bell).

Sounds to practise: ഴ, ള, റ and ര

The letter ഴ (zha) is the one every Malayali is proud of. It sits between an r and an l, made with the tongue curled back, and it appears in everyday words: മഴ (mazha, rain), പഴം (pazham, banana), വാഴ (vaazha, banana plant). Children growing up abroad often say "mala" for മഴ; just repeat it correctly and cheerfully. Two r letters also need care: ര is soft, as in രഥം (ratham, chariot), and റ is a firmer tap, as in റോസാപ്പൂവ് (rose).

Old and new script

In 1971 Kerala introduced a reformed script for school books that splits many joined shapes into simpler pieces, for example writing the u and uu signs separately. Printed books, newspapers and phone keyboards today mix both styles, so your child will see Malayalam alphabets old and new side by side. Neither is wrong. Start with whatever your child's school or Malayalam class uses.

How to teach the Malayalam alphabet step by step

1. Hear before you see. Say letter words aloud in daily life for weeks before showing the shapes.
2. Vowels first, a few at a time. Three or four new letters a week is a good pace for a four-year-old.
3. Trace big. Draw letters in sand, rice or on a steamy mirror. This is how Vidyarambham begins, with ഹരിശ്രീ written in rice on Vijayadashami.
4. Write in two lines. For writing practice, most Kerala schools use two-line or four-line copy books; keep the round letters sitting on the line.
5. Print this page and stick the vowel table on the fridge, then play one round of Find it a day.

For numbers next, try numbers in Malayalam. For picture words that match many of these letters, see animals in Malayalam, or go back to the Learn Malayalam hub.

A quick guide for parents

What is Malayalam aksharamala? It is simply the set of letters, and the game above is Malayalam alphabets for kids made playable. Parents look for Malayalam alphabets with words, Malayalam aksharamala with words, Malayalam aksharamala with pictures and Malayalam alphabets with pictures; the game gives all four, since every card is part of a Malayalam alphabet chart with pictures and audio. Unlike a printed Malayalam alphabets chart or Malayalam aksharamala chart, it also speaks. The vowel table shows Malayalam alphabets in English letters too, like a Malayalam aksharamala with English, and doubles as Malayalam alphabets with pronunciation.

Malayalam alphabets pronunciation matters most for the Malayalam aksharamala swaraksharangal, the Malayalam alphabets swaraksharangal in the vowel table. After those, children meet the vowel signs, the Malayalam aksharamala chinnangal seen in കാ കി കീ, and later the Malayalam aksharamala koottaksharangal.

How to learn Malayalam alphabets? How to learn Malayalam alphabets easily? How to teach Malayalam alphabets? The answer is the same: listen, play, then trace. Malayalam alphabets for beginners should mean a few letters a week. For Malayalam alphabets writing, do Malayalam alphabets writing practice in a Malayalam aksharamala in two line copy book. Malayalam letters for kids and Malayalam letters for LKG students start with vowels only.

A Malayalam alphabet game or Malayalam aksharamala game like the one above lets you learn Malayalam aksharamala online. Sing any Malayalam alphabets song or Malayalam aksharamala song your family knows. For Malayalam letters for kids printable sheets, print this page. A good Malayalam letters activity: hide letter cards around the room and ask your child to find them. Malayalam has no "Malayalam alphabets a to z", but the idea is the same: start at അ and go step by step.

അക്ഷരം പഠിപ്പിക്കുമ്പോൾ

കുട്ടികൾ ആദ്യം അക്ഷരങ്ങളുടെ ശബ്ദം കേട്ടു പഠിക്കട്ടെ. "അ, അമ്മ", "ആ, ആന" എന്ന് പാട്ടുപോലെ പറഞ്ഞാൽ അവർ വേഗം ഓർക്കും. ഒരു ദിവസം ഒന്നോ രണ്ടോ അക്ഷരം മതി.

സ്വരാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ പഠിച്ചശേഷം വ്യഞ്ജനാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ തുടങ്ങാം. അതിനുശേഷം ചില്ലക്ഷരങ്ങളും, പിന്നെ കൂട്ടക്ഷരങ്ങളും. ധൃതി വേണ്ട. മണലിലോ അരിയിലോ വിരൽകൊണ്ട് എഴുതാൻ കുട്ടികൾക്ക് വലിയ ഇഷ്ടമാണ്.

തെറ്റു പറ്റിയാൽ വഴക്കു പറയരുത്. ശരിയായ ശബ്ദം സന്തോഷത്തോടെ ഒന്നുകൂടി പറഞ്ഞുകൊടുത്താൽ മതി.

How to use this page at home

Say it, then find it

Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: malayalam words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.

Ten minutes is enough

Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.

Use both languages

Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.

Now do it for real

When the screen goes off, do something with your hands. Try ✂️ Shape collage — an easy craft for ages 2-5, with every step read aloud in your language. You will need old magazines or coloured paper, glue; nothing that needs a trip to a shop.

There are 56 more on the things to do at home page, and free printable worksheets if you would rather have something on paper. Ten minutes on a screen and twenty minutes off it is a good shape for a day at this age.

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