Learn Kannada Script! Premium
iPhone / Education
This is the premium version: it does not contain ads.
Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken in southern India, primarily in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
It has an alphasyllabary script, typical of languages of India. It is one of the most spoken langugages of the world population-wise (typically ranked around #11) and the fourth in India, with diasporas in other Indian states, the USA (especially New Jersey and California), Australia, Canada, Fiji, Western Europe, the Arab Gulf states, and more.
Some of the earliest kannada inscriptions date back to between 400-100 BCE. The language has undergone significant change over its lifespan, traditionally with heavy influence from Sanskrit contributing to formal vocabulary while today's colloquial speech is commonly peppered with borrowings from English. There are three major dialects of kannada: the Coastal dialect on the coast in Andhra, the Rayalaseema dialect spoken in four southern districts of Andhra Pradesh, and the Telangana dialect of the state of Telangana.
This app is designed to help you become comfortable with recognizing more and more complex letter forms until you can read and construct full-words.
Start first by studying the vowels, practicing writing them down and then trying the quiz. Then try the quiz with the diacritics.
Then, move on to consonants. This may take more time, as there are many consonants. Then, try the quiz with the consonant-vowel ligatures.
Finally, try the quiz with the conjunct consonants. There are many, many combinations possible, so don't worry about memorizing them all. Some of them are extremely rare.
The word scramble game also has various levels so that you can incrementally test yourself, starting from just the first few consonants. The last level, common words, is a good final test of your abilities.
You can also try the typing game if you have a kannada keyboard installed on your phone.
