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ಆಳಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಿಯಿರಿ — go deeper

ವಿಷಯಗಳುTopics

17 reads on grammar, literature, culture, dialects, and where the script itself came from — organized so one topic leads naturally into the next.

ತಾಳೆ

ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಲೇಖನ — featured

Palm-leaf manuscripts: the tradition behind our design

Long before printing, Kannada was etched letter by letter into dried palm leaves with a metal stylus, then bound with a cord through a single stitched hole — the same motif you've been seeing across this site. Here's where it comes from.

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Grammar

ವ್ಯಾಕರಣ 4 topics
beginner 4 min read

Why the verb comes lastಎಸ್‌ಒವಿ ರಚನೆ

Kannada sentences build subject → object → verb, the reverse of English word order in one key way. Once it clicks, everything else falls into place.

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beginner 5 min read

Vowel signs & conjunctsಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ

How consonants stack and vowels attach as small marks instead of full letters — the piece that turns the alphabet into real words.

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intermediate 8 min read

Cases: what -ಅನ್ನು and -ಗೆ are doingವಿಭಕ್ತಿ

Kannada marks a noun's role with suffixes instead of word order. A guide to the cases you'll actually hit in everyday sentences.

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intermediate 10 min read

Verb conjugation basicsಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದ

Tense, person, and number all live in the verb ending. Start with present habitual and past — the two you'll use constantly.

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Literature

ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ 4 topics
beginner 5 min read

Eight Jnanpith awards, one languageಜ್ಞಾನಪೀಠ

No other Indian language has won India's highest literary honor as many times. A quick tour of who, and why it matters.

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intermediate 7 min read

Three ages of Kannadaಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ · ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ · ಹೊಸಗನ್ನಡ

Old, Middle, and Modern Kannada aren't just historical labels — they're different enough that a modern reader needs a guide for the earliest texts.

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advanced 9 min read

The Vachana movementವಚನ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ

12th-century free-verse philosophy from Basavanna and the śaraṇas, written in plain spoken Kannada instead of formal court poetry.

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advanced 8 min read

Kannada poetry after independenceನವ್ಯ ಕಾವ್ಯ

How the Navya movement broke from classical form and what it was reacting against.

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Culture

ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ 3 topics
beginner 6 min read

Mysore Dasara, ten days inಮೈಸೂರು ದಸರಾ

Karnataka's biggest festival, and the vocabulary that comes up every single day of it.

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beginner 5 min read

Kannada food words you'll actually useಆಹಾರ ಪದಗಳು

Beyond the dictionary basics — what to call the dishes, and the small phrases that come up at the table.

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intermediate 7 min read

Yakshagana: theatre of the coastಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ

Costume, percussion, and all-night storytelling — an introduction to coastal Karnataka's signature performance art.

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Dialects & regions

ಪ್ರಾದೇಶಿಕ ಕನ್ನಡ 3 topics
intermediate 6 min read

Old Mysore vs. North Karnatakaಆಡುಭಾಷೆಗಳು

The Kannada you'll hear in Bengaluru and Mysuru isn't quite the Kannada of Hubballi or Belagavi. A few landmark differences to listen for.

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intermediate 6 min read

Coastal Kannada & Kundapura speechಕರಾವಳಿ ಕನ್ನಡ

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi speak with their own rhythm, vocabulary, and Tulu-influenced turns of phrase.

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beginner 5 min read

Kannada beyond Karnataka's bordersಗಡಿನಾಡ ಕನ್ನಡ

Border districts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, plus a long-standing diaspora — where else the language lives.

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History of the script

ಲಿಪಿಯ ಇತಿಹಾಸ 2 topics
intermediate 6 min read

The Halmidi inscriptionಹಲ್ಮಿಡಿ ಶಾಸನ

A 5th-century stone inscription and the earliest full example of Kannada we have — where the written record actually begins.

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advanced 9 min read

From Brahmi to the modern scriptಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಿಯಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ

How the rounded shapes of today's Kannada letters evolved over centuries from a much older common ancestor script.

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