50 Common Kannada Words Every Beginner Should Know

Kannada is spoken by over 40 million people, primarily in the Indian state of Karnataka, and is one of the classical languages of India with a literary tradition spanning well over a thousand years. Building a working vocabulary starts with small, everyday word groups.

Greetings and courtesy

Namaskara (a respectful greeting), dhanyavadagalu (thank you), dayavittu (please), kshamisi (excuse me/sorry) — the everyday courtesy phrases that open most conversations.

Family

Amma (mother), appa (father), anna (older brother), akka (older sister), snehita/snehite (friend, gendered) — note Kannada, like several South Indian languages, distinguishes older and younger siblings with different terms, unlike English's single "brother/sister."

Numbers

Ondu (one), eradu (two), muru (three) through hattu (ten) — Kannada numerals in Kannada script have their own distinctive forms.

Everyday life

Neeru (water), oota (food/meal), mane (house), kelasa (work), shale (school).

Time

Ivattu (today), nale (tomorrow), sikkidre (context-dependent for yesterday depending on regional usage), samaya (time).

Why script matters here

Kannada script is a distinct South Indian writing system, part of the same broader Dravidian script family as Telugu (the two share notable historical and structural similarities) but visually and structurally its own system. Looking up words in proper Kannada script, rather than Roman transliteration alone, builds genuine reading recognition from the start.

A simple way to build from this list

1. Pick five to eight words a day rather than the whole list at once.
2. Look each one up in Kannada script and read it aloud.
3. Use each new word in a short sentence of your own.
4. Review yesterday's words before adding today's.

Look up any Kannada word instantly, in proper script, offline, with English Kannada Dictionary →