Telugu alphabet for kids తెలుగు అక్షరమాల

Telugu alphabet chart with pictures

52 letters · tap 🔊 to hear each one.

Picture	Letter	Word	Meaning	Listen
	అ	అమ్మ	mother	🔊
	ఆ	ఆవు	cow	🔊
	ఇ	ఇల్లు	house	🔊
	ఈ	ఈగ	fly	🔊
	ఉ	ఉడుత	squirrel	🔊
	ఊ	ఊయల	swing / cradle	🔊
	ఋ	ఋషి	sage	🔊
	ౠ	ౠ	(letter sound)	🔊
	ఎ	ఎలుక	mouse	🔊
	ఏ	ఏనుగు	elephant	🔊
	ఐ	ఐదు	five	🔊
	ఒ	ఒంటె	camel	🔊
	ఓ	ఓడ	ship	🔊
	ఔ	ఔషధం	medicine	🔊
	అం	అంగడి	shop	🔊
	అః	అః	(letter sound)	🔊
	క	కప్ప	frog	🔊
	ఖ	ఖడ్గం	sword	🔊
	గ	గడియారం	clock	🔊
	ఘ	ఘంట	bell	🔊
	ఙ	ఙ	(letter sound)	🔊
	చ	చక్రం	wheel	🔊
	ఛ	ఛత్రి	umbrella	🔊
	జ	జింక	deer	🔊
	ఝ	ఝండా	flag	🔊
	ఞ	ఞ	(letter sound)	🔊
	ట	టమాటా	tomato	🔊
	ఠ	కంఠం	neck	🔊
	డ	డబ్బా	box	🔊
	ఢ	ఢక్కా	big drum	🔊
	ణ	బాణం	arrow	🔊
	త	తాబేలు	turtle	🔊
	థ	రథం	chariot	🔊
	ద	దీపం	lamp	🔊
	ధ	ధనుస్సు	bow	🔊
	న	నక్క	fox	🔊
	ప	పడవ	boat	🔊
	ఫ	ఫలం	fruit	🔊
	బ	బంతి	ball	🔊
	భ	భవనం	building	🔊
	మ	మామిడి	mango	🔊
	య	యంత్రం	machine	🔊
	ర	రైలు	train	🔊
	ల	లడ్డు	laddu	🔊
	వ	వంకాయ	brinjal	🔊
	శ	శంఖం	conch	🔊
	ష	షట్కోణం	hexagon	🔊
	స	సబ్బు	soap	🔊
	హ	హంస	swan	🔊
	ళ	తాళం	lock	🔊
	క్ష	క్షత్రియుడు	warrior	🔊
	ఱ	ఱ	(letter sound)	🔊

The Telugu alphabet for kids is called the అక్షరమాల (aksharamala), "garland of letters", and its letters are the అక్షరాలు (aksharalu). This page shows 52 letters: 16 అచ్చులు (achchulu, vowels) and 36 హల్లులు (hallulu, consonants), each with a picture word your child knows, like అ for అమ్మ (amma) and ఆ for ఆవు (aavu, cow). Tap a letter to hear it and its word, then play Find it or Memory.

How many letters are in the Telugu alphabet? (Telugu aksharalu enni?)

Parents often find different numbers, and there is a simple reason: some letters are old and rarely used today. Here is how the aksharamala is usually counted:

The traditional full count is usually given as 56. School charts for young children, like this page, focus on the letters children meet in words. ౠ and ఱ (bandi ra) are shown as sounds only, because modern words almost never use them. So if a book says 52, 53 or 56, none of them is wrong.

Achchulu: the 16 Telugu vowels with words

• అ అమ్మ mother · ఆ ఆవు cow · ఇ ఇల్లు house · ఈ ఈగ fly
• ఉ ఉడుత squirrel · ఊ ఊయల swing · ఋ ఋషి sage · ౠ sound only
• ఎ ఎలుక mouse · ఏ ఏనుగు elephant · ఐ ఐదు five
• ఒ ఒంటె camel · ఓ ఓడ ship · ఔ ఔషధం medicine · అం అంగడి shop · అః sound only

Telugu has short and long "e" and "o": ఎ-ఏ and ఒ-ఓ. Hindi has only the long ones, so children who know Hindi need to listen for this. Say the pairs with a short clap and a long clap: ఎలుక (short), ఏనుగు (long).

Hallulu: the consonants in groups of five

Like other Indian scripts, the first 25 hallulu come in rows of five, each made in a different part of the mouth. Chant them row by row:

The second and fourth letters of each row, like ఖ and ఘ, are the మహాప్రాణాలు (mahapranalu), sounds said with an extra puff of air. Hold a paper strip in front of your child's mouth: it flutters for ఖ but not for క. Children love this test.

Round letters and the talakattu

Telugu letters are round and curly, which makes them fun to draw. Many carry a small tick on top called the తలకట్టు (talakattu), "head tie". When a vowel sign is added, the talakattu is often replaced by a different mark. Show your child the క, then కి, and ask "What changed on its head?" Noticing these marks is the first step towards reading.

Guninthalu and vattulu: what comes next

After the letters come గుణింతాలు (guninthalu), each consonant joined with each vowel sign: క కా కి కీ కు కూ కృ కౄ కె కే కై కొ కో కౌ కం కః. The pattern is the same for every consonant, so once your child can do the క gunintham, the rest follow. Later come వత్తులు (vattulu), the small forms a consonant takes under another letter in words like అమ్మ and పక్షి. Leave vattulu until your child reads simple words comfortably, usually around 6.

How to teach Telugu letters at home

1. Achchulu first, a pair a day, always with the picture word: "ఆ for ఆవు".
2. One row of hallulu a week. Chant "ka kha ga gha nga" like a song.
3. Trace big. Draw letters in rice flour, like a small muggu, or in sand, before pencil work.
4. Letter hunt. Find అ on a calendar, a shop board or a Telugu newspaper.
5. Print and copy. Print this page from your browser; the letter list below the game makes a simple chart for tracing and copying.

At 3, just listen and point. At 4 (LKG), most children know the achchulu. At 5 to 6, children learn the hallulu and start guninthalu and two-letter words like ఇల్లు and పడవ. Children learning Telugu alongside another script can compare it with the Tamil alphabet or Hindi varnamala: all three start with "a, aa, i, ee". Use the new letters in words on animals name in Telugu and fruits name in Telugu.

తల్లిదండ్రులకు

అక్షరాలు నేర్పించడంలో తొందర వద్దు. ముందు అచ్చులు: అ, ఆ, ఇ, ఈ. ప్రతి అక్షరంతో ఒక బొమ్మ, ఒక పదం చెప్పండి: ఆ అంటే ఆవు.

తర్వాత హల్లులు, ఐదు ఐదుగా: క ఖ గ ఘ ఙ. బియ్యప్పిండితో ముగ్గులా అక్షరాలు పెద్దగా రాసి చూపించండి. పిల్లలు వేలితో దిద్దనివ్వండి.

అక్షరాలు వచ్చాక గుణింతాలు మొదలుపెట్టండి: క, కా, కి, కీ. పిల్లలు తప్పు చేసినా ప్రయత్నాన్ని మెచ్చుకోండి. ఈ ఆట ఎప్పుడూ "తప్పు" అని చెప్పదు.

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: telugu 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.