Learn Kannada, from your first letter to real conversation
A complete, 12-week beginner's path into Kannada — starting with the script itself (Swaragalu and Vyanjanagalu, then the Kagunita combinations), through grammar and verb tenses, and into everyday conversation: greetings, family, food, shopping, travel and directions, all the way to a full conversational-fluency capstone. All 12 weeks are live, start to finish.
Who this is for & how to use it
What you should already know
- Nothing — this course assumes zero prior exposure to Kannada or its script
- Comfortable reading Roman-letter transliterations alongside the Kannada script while you're still learning the letters
- A little daily repetition helps far more than long study sessions — the script especially rewards spaced practice
- No connection to any other course on this site is required — this stands entirely on its own
How each week is structured
Every week pairs new script, vocabulary or grammar with a transliteration so you can read along before the letters feel automatic, a hands-on speaking/writing exercise, and a short practice quiz to check what stuck.
The full 12-week roadmap
From the Kannada script and its pronunciation, through core grammar and verb tenses, to real conversation for everyday situations — closing with a conversational-fluency capstone. All 12 weeks are live, start to finish.
The Kannada Script & Pronunciation
Every Kannada word you'll ever read is built from the same set of vowels and consonants — learn to recognise and pronounce them, and how they combine, before anything else.
- Swaragalu — the 13 core vowels
- Vyanjanagalu & the Kagunita combining system
- Your first words: everyday greetings
Greetings, Introductions & Everyday Etiquette
Turn Week 1's letters into your first real exchanges — introducing yourself and being polite in Kannada.
- Formal vs. informal greetings & register
- Introducing yourself & asking someone's name
- Please, thank you & other everyday courtesies
Numbers, Colors, Days & Time
The building blocks that show up in almost every real conversation, from prices to appointments.
- Cardinal numbers 1-100 & counting objects
- Colors, days of the week & months
- Telling time & talking about dates
Pronouns & Basic Sentence Structure
Kannada's Subject-Object-Verb order is the single biggest structural difference from English — get comfortable with it early.
- Personal pronouns & the Subject-Object-Verb order
- Grammatical gender & noun classes
- Building your first simple sentences
Present Tense Verbs & Daily Routine
Your first full tense — enough to describe what you do every day.
- Present tense conjugation patterns
- Common daily-life verbs
- Describing your daily routine
Family, People & Kinship Terms
Kannada's kinship vocabulary is unusually specific — and it's some of the most useful vocabulary you'll learn.
- Immediate & extended family terms
- Describing people & relationships
- Possessives: "my," "your," "his/her"
Past Tense & Talking About What Happened
Move from describing routines to narrating events that already happened.
- Past tense conjugation patterns
- Time expressions for the past
- Narrating a simple past event
Future Tense & Making Plans
The last of the three core tenses, plus the phrases you need to talk about what's next.
- Future tense conjugation patterns
- Talking about plans & intentions
- Common future-time expressions
Food, Shopping & Ordering
The vocabulary that gets used the moment you actually visit Karnataka.
- Food & drink vocabulary
- Ordering at a restaurant & asking for the bill
- Shopping phrases & basic bargaining
Directions, Travel & Asking for Help
Enough to get around confidently, and to ask for help when you can't.
- Asking for & giving directions
- Transportation vocabulary
- Emergency phrases & asking for help
Questions, Negation & Connecting Sentences
The grammar that turns short phrases into actual conversation.
- Question words & question formation
- Negation patterns
- Conjunctions & connecting simple sentences
Capstone: Conversational Fluency & Real Dialogue Practice
Bring the whole course together in full, real-life dialogues.
- Common idioms & everyday expressions
- Full dialogue practice across real-life scenarios
- Cultural notes: politeness, honorifics & regional variation