50 Common Telugu Words Every Beginner Should Know

Telugu is spoken by over 80 million people, primarily across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is one of the most widely spoken Dravidian languages, with a literary tradition often described as having a particularly melodic, flowing quality. Building a working vocabulary starts with small, everyday word groups.

Greetings and courtesy

Namaskaram (a respectful greeting), dhanyavaadamulu (thank you), dayachesi (please), kshaminchandi (excuse me/sorry) — the everyday courtesy phrases that open most conversations.

Family

Amma (mother), nanna (father), anna (older brother), akka (older sister), snehitudu/snehuralu (friend, gendered) — note Telugu, like several South Indian languages, distinguishes older and younger siblings with different terms.

Numbers

Okati (one), rendu (two), moodu (three) through padi (ten) — Telugu numerals in Telugu script have their own distinctive appearance.

Everyday life

Neellu (water), annam (food/rice), illu (house), pani (work), baడi (school).

Time

Ivvala (today), repu (tomorrow), ninna (yesterday), samayam (time).

Why script matters here

Telugu script is closely related to Kannada script (both share notable historical and structural similarity, as covered in more detail in our related Kannada article), visually distinguished by its own rounded, flowing letterforms. Looking up words in proper Telugu 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 Telugu 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 Telugu word instantly, in proper script, offline, with English Telugu Dictionary →