Telugu Varnamala

Complete Telugu varnamala chart with achulu, hallulu, guninthalu and yogavahalu. Tap any letter to hear it, and print the chart for classroom or home use.

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How many letters are in the Telugu varnamala?

Telugu's common modern count is 52 letters: 16 achulu (vowels) and 36 hallulu (consonants). This is the common school and primer count, not an official government standard, since Telugu has no single standardisation body like Hindi's Central Hindi Directorate. Traditional grammar counts 56 (adding the two historical letters and the ubhayaksharalu sunna and visarga), and a script-wide linguistic summary cites 60 symbols. All three are explained in the Quick Facts below, with sources.

Quick Facts

Modern (school)52
16 achulu + 36 halluluThe common modern school and primer count: 16 achulu (vowels) plus 36 hallulu (consonants). This is common usage, not an official government standard; AP/TG SCERT textbooks follow this teaching sequence but do not decree the 16 plus 36 split. A different convention reaches the same 52 as 14 vowels plus 36 consonants plus sunna and visarga; the total is the same, the grouping differs.Source: Common modern school / primer count
Traditional56
16 achulu + 38 hallulu + 2 signsA common traditional varnamala: 16 achulu plus 38 hallulu (the 36 plus the historical ౘ and ౙ) plus 2 ubhayaksharalu (sunna and visarga). Decompositions vary across textbooks; some treat క్ష as a conjunct rather than a base consonant. Sources also differ on how 56 reduces to 52: this page keeps all 16 canonical achulu and drops the 2 historical hallulu (ౘ ౙ) and the 2 ubhayaksharalu from the count, while another convention instead drops the rare vowels ఌ and ౡ. Both reach 52.Source: Traditional grammar (representative convention)
Script-wide60
16 achulu + 41 hallulu + 3 signsWikipedia summarises the Telugu script as 60 symbols: 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants (the larger consonant figure includes archaic letters such as ఴ and ౚ). This is a script-wide summary cross-referenced with the Unicode Telugu block, not a curated teaching alphabet, so it is not derived from this chart.Source: Script-wide linguistic summary
Achulu (vowels)
16
Hallulu (consonants)
36 modern
Yogavahalu (signs)
3 (ం ః ఁ)
Numerals
10 (౦ to ౯)
Guninthalu (per consonant)
15 forms
Script
తెలుగు లిపి (Telugu)
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అచ్చులు (Achulu) 16 vowels

The four Sanskrit-derived vowels ఋ ౠ ఌ ౡ are shown for completeness; ౠ ఌ ౡ are archaic and rare in everyday Telugu.

హల్లులు (Hallulu) 36 modern consonants

క-వర్గం / Velars (ka-varga)

చ-వర్గం / Palatals (cha-varga)

ట-వర్గం / Retroflexes (ta-varga)

త-వర్గం / Dentals (ta-varga)

ప-వర్గం / Labials (pa-varga)

అంతస్థాలు / Semi-vowels (antastha)

ఊష్మాలు / Sibilants (ushma)

అదనపు అక్షరాలు / Additional (conjunct + historical)

యోగవాహలు (Yogavahalu) special signs

These signs modify a vowel sound and are not pronounced on their own. Tap a sign to read what it does.

సున్న (sunna / anusvara)

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విసర్గ (visarga)

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అరసున్న (arasunna / candrabindu)

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గుణింతాలు (Guninthalu) vowel-consonant combinations

Every consonant combines with each vowel to form a guninthalu. Below are 5 common consonants, each showing all 15 forms (the practical vowels plus sunna and visarga). Scroll sideways on a phone; the consonant column stays fixed.

+అఆఇఈఉఊఋఎఏఐఒఓఔంః
క
గ
చ
త
ప

అంకెలు (Numerals) 0 to 9

౦0sunna
౧1okati
౨2rendu
౩3muudu
౪4naalugu
౫5aidu
౬6aaru
౭7edu
౮8enimidi
౯9tommidi

Class-by-class learning order

  • LKG / Nursery: recognise the achulu (vowels).
  • UKG: achulu plus the first hallulu (consonants), across the early vargas.
  • Class 1: all achulu and hallulu, the yogavahalu, and the numerals.
  • Class 2: guninthalu (vowel-consonant combinations).
  • Class 3 onwards: vattulu (consonant conjuncts), word formation and grammar.

Sequence follows AP and TG SCERT Telugu textbooks. SCERT sets the teaching order; the letter counts above come from dominant usage cross-referenced with the Unicode Telugu block and Wikipedia.

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TL;DR

The Telugu varnamala has a common modern count of 52 letters: 16 achulu (vowels) and 36 hallulu (consonants). This is the common school and primer count, not an official government standard, since Telugu has no single standardisation body like Hindi's Central Hindi Directorate. Traditional grammar counts 56 (adding the historical letters ౘ ౙ and the two ubhayaksharalu, sunna and visarga), and a script-wide summary cites 60 symbols. This page lists every letter with example words, tap-to-hear pronunciation through your device's Telugu voice (where available), the guninthalu (vowel-consonant combination) tables, and a one-tap browser print option for classroom or home use.

Why Telugu letter counts differ (the 52 vs 56 vs 60 question)

The different counts come from what is being counted, not from any error. The common modern school and primer count is 52: 16 achulu plus 36 hallulu (common usage, not an official government standard). Traditional grammar reaches 56 by listing 38 hallulu, which adds the historical affricates ౘ and ౙ, and by counting the two ubhayaksharalu (the dual-natured signs sunna ం and visarga ః). A broader, script-wide linguistic summary cites 60 symbols made up of 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants, where the larger consonant figure includes archaic letters such as ఴ and ౚ that are no longer in everyday use. Some sources go the other way and count only the 12 everyday vowels, dropping the Sanskrit-derived ఋ ౠ ఌ ౡ. For school work and everyday use, 52 is the clearest answer; the others are explained here so each textbook's figure makes sense.

Achulu, hallulu and guninthalu: how Telugu syllables work

Telugu is an abugida, which means every consonant (hallu) already carries an inherent "a" sound. So క is read as "ka", not just "k". To write a consonant with a different vowel, a small vowel sign is attached, and the full set of a consonant combined with every vowel is called its guninthalu (గుణింతాలు). For example the క guninthalu runs క కా కి కీ కు కూ కృ కె కే కై కొ కో కౌ కం కః. Children learn the achulu and hallulu first, then the guninthalu, which is the bridge from single letters to reading whole words. No mainstream online tool renders the guninthalu interactively, which is why this page includes a tap-to-hear guninthalu sample.

Varga ordering: why the alphabet runs క చ ట త ప

Like other Brahmi-derived scripts, Telugu orders its consonants by where each sound is produced in the mouth, moving from the throat to the lips. The 25 core consonants form five vargas:

  • క-వర్గం (velars): క ఖ గ ఘ ఙ - made at the back of the mouth
  • చ-వర్గం (palatals): చ ఛ జ ఝ ఞ - tongue against the hard palate
  • ట-వర్గం (retroflexes): ట ఠ డ ఢ ణ - tongue tip curled back
  • త-వర్గం (dentals): త థ ద ధ న - tongue against the upper teeth
  • ప-వర్గం (labials): ప ఫ బ భ మ - made with the lips
  • antastha (semi-vowels): య ర ల వ ళ
  • ushma (sibilants): శ ష స హ

Within each varga the five consonants follow the same internal pattern: unvoiced, unvoiced-aspirated, voiced, voiced-aspirated, nasal. This is why ఖ sits between క and గ; the order encodes phonetic structure, not historical accident. The same five vowels also have short and long pairs that Hindi does not distinguish, such as ఎ/ఏ and ఒ/ఓ.

Sources & References

  • The common modern count of 52 letters (16 vowels + 36 consonants) reflects everyday usage and Telugu learning primers such as easytelugutyping (Telugu letters). It is common usage, not an official government standard; AP and TG SCERT textbooks follow this teaching sequence without decreeing the 16 + 36 split.
  • Telugu script (Wikipedia) - inventory of vowels, dependent vowel signs (matras), consonants and numerals with Unicode codepoints.
  • Telugu language (Wikipedia) - source of the script-wide summary "60 symbols: 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants".
  • తెలుగు అక్షరాలు (Telugu Wikipedia) - the traditional 56-letter decomposition. Sources differ on how 56 reduces to the modern 52: this chart keeps all 16 achulu and drops the 2 historical hallulu plus the 2 ubhayaksharalu from the count, while other sources instead drop the rare vowels.
  • Unicode Telugu block (U+0C00 to U+0C7F) - the codepoint authority used to pin every letter and matra in this chart.
  • AP SCERT and TG SCERT Class 1 and 2 Telugu first-language textbooks - the curricular teaching sequence (achulu, then hallulu, then guninthalu). SCERT sets the order; it does not decree a single official count.

Audio playback uses your device's built-in Telugu voice (Web Speech API). On iOS Safari a Telugu voice may need to be downloaded via Settings before audio works. No audio files are hosted on this site. The 52, 56 and 60 counts shown above are read from the tool's data file and pinned by unit tests in __tests__/lib/telugu-varnamala-data.test.ts. Last reviewed and sources accessed on May 30, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many letters are there in the Telugu varnamala?+
Different sources give 52, 56, or 60, and each answers a different question. The common modern count, used in Telugu primers and everyday writing, is 52 letters: 16 achulu (vowels) and 36 hallulu (consonants). Traditional grammar counts 56 by adding the two historical letters ౘ and ౙ to the consonants and counting the two ubhayaksharalu, sunna (ం) and visarga (ః). A script-wide linguistic summary cites 60 symbols (16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants, including archaic letters). The 52 count is the safest everyday answer. It is common usage rather than an official government standard, because Telugu has no single standardisation body like Hindi's Central Hindi Directorate.
What is achulu and hallulu in Telugu?+
Achulu (అచ్చులు) are the vowels and hallulu (హల్లులు) are the consonants. An achu can be pronounced on its own, while a hallu carries an inherent 'a' sound, so క is read as 'ka', not just 'k'. When a vowel other than అ joins a consonant it attaches as a small sign, for example క + ఆ becomes కా (kaa). Telugu has 16 achulu and 36 hallulu in the common modern count.
How many achulu (vowels) are there in Telugu?+
Sixteen, in Unicode-canonical order: అ ఆ ఇ ఈ ఉ ఊ ఋ ౠ ఌ ౡ ఎ ఏ ఐ ఒ ఓ ఔ. Four of these (ఋ ౠ ఌ ౡ) are Sanskrit-derived; ౠ, ఌ and ౡ are archaic and almost never appear in everyday Telugu words, so some textbooks teach only 12 or 13 everyday vowels. This chart shows all 16 for completeness and marks the archaic ones.
How many hallulu (consonants) are there in Telugu?+
The common modern count is 36 hallulu, running from క to హ plus ళ, the conjunct క్ష, and the historical ఱ (bandi-ra). Traditional grammar lists 38 by adding the historical affricates ౘ and ౙ. The 25 varga consonants (five rows of five) plus the antastha (య ర ల వ ళ) and ushma (శ ష స హ) make up the core, and the rest are additional or archaic letters.
What is guninthalu in Telugu?+
Guninthalu (గుణింతాలు) are the combination tables formed when one consonant joins each vowel in turn. For example the క guninthalu runs క కా కి కీ కు కూ కృ కె కే కై కొ కో కౌ కం కః. Learning guninthalu is the step after the basic alphabet (usually Class 2) and is how children learn to read full syllables. This page shows the guninthalu for five common consonants, each with all 15 practical forms.
What are sunna, visarga, and arasunna?+
These are the yogavahalu (యోగవాహలు), special signs that modify a vowel and are not pronounced alone. Sunna (ం) is the anusvara nasal, as in అంబ. Visarga (ః) is an aspirated breath sound carried from Sanskrit, as in అంతఃపురం. Arasunna (ఁ) is a half-nasal sign that is archaic in modern Telugu. Sunna and visarga appear at the end of every guninthalu row (కం కః); arasunna is rarely seen today.
How is the Telugu alphabet organised into vargas?+
The 25 core consonants are arranged in five vargas by where the sound is made in the mouth, from the throat to the lips: velar క-వర్గం (క ఖ గ ఘ ఙ), palatal చ-వర్గం (చ ఛ జ ఝ ఞ), retroflex ట-వర్గం (ట ఠ డ ఢ ణ), dental త-వర్గం (త థ ద ధ న), and labial ప-వర్గం (ప ఫ బ భ మ). Within each varga the five letters follow the same pattern: unvoiced, unvoiced-aspirated, voiced, voiced-aspirated, nasal. After the vargas come the antastha (semi-vowels య ర ల వ ళ) and ushma (sibilants శ ష స హ). This ordering comes from ancient Sanskrit phonetics.
What is the difference between the Telugu and Hindi alphabets?+
Both are abugidas descended from the Brahmi script, so both have vowels, consonants with an inherent 'a' sound, and vowel signs. The scripts look completely different: Telugu uses rounded letters, while Hindi uses Devanagari with its top connecting line (shirorekha), which Telugu does not have. Telugu has short and long e and o vowels (ఎ/ఏ and ఒ/ఓ) that Hindi lacks, and Telugu teaches guninthalu tables explicitly. Counts differ too: Hindi is usually cited as 46 or 52, Telugu as 52 or 56.
Why do different sources give different letter counts for Telugu?+
Because they count different things. The modern school count of 52 is 16 vowels plus 36 consonants. Traditional grammar reaches 56 by adding the historical letters ౘ and ౙ and the two ubhayaksharalu (sunna and visarga). A script-wide summary cites 60 by including archaic consonants like ఴ and ౚ and all three vowel modifiers. Some sources also count only 12 everyday vowels, dropping the rare Sanskrit ones. None are wrong; for everyday use, 52 is the clearest answer.
How can I print the Telugu varnamala chart?+
Use the Print this chart button near the top of the chart. Your browser opens a print preview with the achulu, the hallulu by varga, the guninthalu sample, the yogavahalu, and the Telugu numerals, laid out for A4 portrait. You can print it or, from the same dialog, save it as a PDF on your own device. No signup, no download, no watermark.
How is the Telugu alphabet different from the English alphabet?+
Telugu is an abugida: every consonant carries a built-in 'a' vowel, and vowel signs (guninthalu) change that vowel, so one consonant produces many syllable forms. English is a true alphabet where vowels and consonants are written as separate, equal letters. Telugu is also ordered by where each sound is made in the mouth, while English follows an arbitrary inherited order. Telugu has 16 vowels and 36 consonants in common use, against English's 5 vowels and 21 consonants.
What letters did Telugu inherit from Sanskrit?+
Telugu borrowed the aspirated consonants (ఖ ఘ ఛ ఝ ఠ ఢ థ ధ ఫ భ), the three sibilants శ ష స, and the Sanskrit vocalic vowels ఋ ౠ ఌ ౡ. The vocalic vowels appear mainly in Sanskrit loanwords such as ఋషి (rishi), and ౠ ఌ ౡ are now archaic. Native Dravidian Telugu also has sounds Sanskrit lacks, such as the short ఎ and ఒ, the retroflex ళ, and the historical ఱ.
How do I teach Telugu varnamala to a young child?+
Start with the achulu (vowels), using one example word and picture each (అ for అమ్మ, ఆ for ఆవు, ఇ for ఇల్లు). Use the tap-to-hear buttons on this page so the child hears correct Telugu pronunciation. After the vowels are recognised out of order, introduce the hallulu a few vargas at a time. Save guninthalu (combinations) for after the basic letters are solid, usually around Class 1 to Class 2. Keep sessions short and revisit daily.
Are the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Telugu alphabets the same?+
Yes. Telugu is the official language of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the alphabet, the letter order, and the guninthalu are the same in both states' SCERT textbooks. Teaching sequence and example words can vary slightly between textbooks, but the achulu, hallulu and signs are identical. This chart follows the order common to both.