Consonants in Kannada phrasebook
Many Kannada consonants come in three different forms: aspirated, unaspirated and retroflex.
Aspiration means "with a puff of air", and is the difference between the sound of the letter "p" in English pin (aspirated) and spit (unaspirated). In this phrasebook, aspirated sounds are spelled with an h (so English "pin" would be phin) and unaspirated sounds without it (so "spit" is still spit). Kannada aspiration is quite forceful and it's OK to emphasize the puff.
Kannada retroflex consonants, on the other hand, are not really found in English. They should be pronounced with the tongue tip curled back.
| Letter
|
Transliteration
|
English equivalent
|
|---|
| ಕ್, ಕ |
k, ka |
as in skip.
|
| ಖ್, ಖ |
kh, kha |
as in sinkhole.
|
| ಗ್, ಗ |
g, gha |
as in go.
|
| ಘ್, ಘ |
gh, gha |
as in doghouse.
|
| ಙ್, ಙ |
ṅ, ṅa |
as in sing. Rarely used.
|
| ಚ್, ಚ |
c, ca |
as in church.
|
| ಛ್, ಛ |
ch, cha |
as in pinchhit.
|
| ಜ್, ಜ |
j, ja |
as in jump.
|
| ಝ್, ಝ |
jh, jha |
as in dodge her.
|
| ಞ್, ಞ |
ñ, ña |
as in canyon. Rarely used.
|
| ಟ್, ಟ |
? ṭa |
as in tick. Retroflex, but still a "hard" t sound similar to English.
|
| ಠ್, ಠ |
? ṭha |
as in lighthouse. Retroflex
|
| ಡ್, ಡ |
? ḍa |
as in doom. Retroflex
|
| ಢ್, ಢ |
? ḍha |
as in mudhut. Retroflex
|
| ಣ್, ಣ |
? ṇa |
retroflex n. Retroflex
|
| ತ್, ತ |
t, ta |
does not exist in English. more dental t, with a bit of a th sound. Softer than an English t.
|
| ಥ್, ಥ |
th, tha |
aspirated version of the previous letter, not as in thanks or the.
|
| ದ್, ದ |
d, da |
dental d.
|
| ಧ್, ಧ |
dh, dha |
aspirated version of the above.
|
| ನ್, ನ |
n, na |
dental n.
|
| ಪ್, ಪ |
p, pa |
as in spin.
|
| ಫ್, ಫ |
ph, pha |
as in u'ph'ill.
|
| ಬ್, ಬ |
b, ba |
as in be.
|
| ಭ್, ಭ |
bh, bha |
as in abhor.
|
| ಮ್, ಮ |
m. ma |
as in mere.
|
| ಯ್, ಯ |
y, ya |
as in yet.
|
| ರ್, ರ |
r, ra |
as in Spanish pero, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish rr, German or Scottish English.
|
| ಲ್, ಲ |
l, la |
as in lean.
|
| ವ್, ವ |
v, va |
as in Spanish vaca, between English v and w, but without the lip rounding of an English w. (IPA: ?).
|
| ಶ್, ಶ |
? śa |
as in shoot.
|
| ಷ್, ಷ |
? ṣa |
almost indistinguishable retroflex of the above. slightly more aspirated. Used only in Sanskrit loan words.
|
| ಸ್, ಸ |
s, sa |
as in see.
|
| ಹ್, ಹ |
h, ha |
as in him.
|
| ಳ್, ಳ; |
ḷ, ḷa |
Retroflex l.
|
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kannada phrasebook
