Telugu vowels
13 vowel letters from the Telugu course, with sound spellings and available recordings. Learn to recognise the shapes before moving to attached vowel signs.
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13 Telugu vowel letters
Compare the independent letters, English sound spellings, and course hints. The English labels are approximate reading aids.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| అ | a | Short open a; keep it brief. అమ్మ — amma · mother | Listen |
| ఆ | aa | Long aa, roughly the vowel in father. ఆవు — aavu · cow | Listen |
| ఇ | i | Short i, roughly the vowel in sit. ఇల్లు — illu · house | Listen |
| ఈ | ee | Long ee, roughly the vowel in see. ఈగ — eega · fly (insect) | Listen |
| ఉ | u | Short rounded u; keep it shorter than oo. ఉడుత — uḍuta · squirrel | Listen |
| ఊ | oo | Long rounded oo, roughly the vowel in moon. ఊయల — ooyala · swing | Listen |
| ఋ | r̥ | Vocalic r, commonly read ri in Telugu; mostly in Sanskrit-derived words. ఋషి — r̥ṣi · sage | Listen |
| ఎ | e | Short e; keep the sound steady. ఎలుక — eluka · mouse | Listen |
| ఏ | ae | Long e: hold e without the English ay glide. ఏనుగు — aenugu · elephant | Listen |
| ఐ | ai | Glide from a toward i, roughly the vowel in eye. | Listen |
| ఒ | o | Short rounded o; keep the sound steady. ఒంటె — oṃṭe · camel | Listen |
| ఓ | oh | Long o: hold o without an English ow glide. ఓడ — ohḍa · ship | Listen |
| ఔ | au | Glide from a toward u, roughly the vowel in how. ఔషధం — auṣadhaṃ · medicine | Listen |
Compare the letters and hints
Use the course’s hints for these vowel letters. Similar English spellings do not necessarily represent the same sound.
- అ — Short open a; keep it brief.
- ఆ — Long aa, roughly the vowel in father.
- ఇ — Short i, roughly the vowel in sit.
Move to attached vowel signs
- Choose a few written forms and compare their English hints.
- Cover the hints and identify the letters in a different order.
- Practise with matching, mixing, flashcards, or a visual quiz.
Compare each independent vowel with its attached form in the vowel-sign chart.
Prepared by Learn Akshara from our beginner Telugu curriculum. English spellings are approximate learning aids. Writing-system reference: The Unicode Standard, South Asian Scripts. AI-generated pronunciation is a learning aid, not a guarantee of accuracy. See our audio sources and credits.