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Kannada grammar
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Kannada word order, verbs, pronouns and the mistakes everyone makes — explained, not listed.
1. The verb goes last
Kannada is subject–object–verb: ನಾನು ಅನ್ನ ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೇನೆ. (Nānu anna tinnuttēne.) — मैं चावल खाता हूँ। — “I eat rice. (word order: I – rice – eat)”. Learn this once and every sentence parses.
2. Three genders — including neuter
Kannada has three genders: masculine (ಅವನು, he), feminine (ಅವಳು, she) and neuter (ಅದು — animals, things, babies). Only third-person verbs show gender: ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾನೆ/ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾಳೆ/ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತದೆ (he/she/it eats). 'I' and 'you' never change: ನಾನು ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೇನೆ suits every speaker.
3. Pronouns
| English | Hindi | Kannada | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | मैं | ನಾನು | nānu |
| you (informal) | तू | ನೀನು | nīnu |
| you (formal / plural) | तुम/आप | ನೀವು | nīvu |
| he | वह | ಅವನು | avanu |
| she | वह | ಅವಳು | avaḷu |
| it / that | यह/वह | ಅದು | adu |
| we | हम | ನಾವು | nāvu |
| they | वे | ಅವರು | avaru |
| me | मुझे | ನನ್ನನ್ನು | nannannu |
| you (informal, to) | तुझे | ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು | ninnannu |
| you (formal, to) | तुम्हें/आपको | ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು | nimmannu |
| him | उसे | ಅವನನ್ನು | avanannu |
| her | उसे | ಅವಳನ್ನು | avaḷannu |
| us | हमें | ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು | nammannu |
| my | मेरा | ನನ್ನ | nanna |
| your (informal) | तेरा | ನಿನ್ನ | ninna |
| your (formal) | तुम्हारा/आपका | ನಿಮ್ಮ | nimma |
| his | उसका | ಅವನ | avana |
| her | उसका | ಅವಳ | avaḷa |
| our | हमारा | ನಮ್ಮ | namma |
| who? | कौन? | ಯಾರು? | yāru? |
| what? | क्या? | ಏನು? | ēnu? |
4. Present tense — one full verb
“To eat” (ತಿನ್ನುವುದು) in the present. The present is stem + -ಉತ್ತ- + ending: -ಏನೆ (I), -ಈಯೆ (ನೀನು), -ಈರಿ (ನೀವು), -ಆನೆ/-ಆಳೆ/-ಅದೆ (he/she/it), -ಏವೆ (we), -ಆರೆ (they). So ನಾನು ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೇನೆ (I eat), ನೀವು ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೀರಿ (you eat, respectful), ಅವರು ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ (they eat). In quick speech the endings blur — listen for the -ಉತ್ತ- core.
| Who | Verb | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ನಾನು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೇನೆ | tinnuttēne |
| you (nīnu — close friends) | ನೀನು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೀಯೆ | tinnuttīye |
| you (nīvu — respectful) | ನೀವು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೀರಿ | tinnuttīri |
| he | ಅವನು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾನೆ | tinnuttāne |
| she | ಅವಳು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾಳೆ | tinnuttāḷe |
| we | ನಾವು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತೇವೆ | tinnuttēve |
| they | ಅವರು | ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ | tinnuttāre |
5. Past and future (first steps)
| English | Hindi | Kannada | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I ate | मैंने खाया | ನಾನು ತಿಂದೆ | Nānu tinde |
| He ate | उसने खाया | ಅವನು ತಿಂದನು | Avanu tindanu |
| She ate | उसने खायी | ಅವಳು ತಿಂದಳು | Avaḷu tindaḷu |
| I will eat (formal) | मैं खाऊँगा/खाऊँगी | ನಾನು ತಿನ್ನುವೆನು | Nānu tinnuvenu |
| Have you eaten? (respectful) | आपने खाया? | ನೀವು ಊಟ ಮಾಡಿದಿರಾ? | Nīvu ūṭa māḍidirā? |
| I'll come tomorrow (present as future) | मैं कल आऊँगा | ನಾಳೆ ಬರುತ್ತೇನೆ | Nāḷe baruttēne |
6. Negation with ಇಲ್ಲ (illa)
ಇಲ್ಲ (illa) melts into the verb: ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ (won't come / doesn't come), ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ (don't know), ಮಾಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ (won't do). Alone, ಇಲ್ಲ just means 'no'. To refuse an offer, ಬೇಡ (bēḍa — 'don't want') is warmer: ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಡ (no coffee for me, thanks).
7. Postpositions (not prepositions)
| Meaning | Hindi | Kannada | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| (object marker) | को | -ಅನ್ನು | ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ (Nannannu kēḷi) — Ask me. |
| from; by | से | -ಇಂದ | ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಬಂದೆ (Maneyinda bande) — I came from home. |
| in; at | में | -ಅಲ್ಲಿ | ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೇನೆ (Maneyalli iddēne) — I'm at home. |
| on | पर | ಮೇಲೆ | ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಮೇಜಿನ ಮೇಲಿದೆ (Pustaka mējina mēlide) — The book is on the table. |
| with | के साथ | ಜೊತೆ | ಸ್ನೇಹಿತನ ಜೊತೆ ಹೋದೆ (Snēhitan jote hōde) — I went with a friend. |
| for | के लिए | -ಗಾಗಿ | ನಿಮಗಾಗಿ ತಂದೆ (Nimagāgi tande) — I brought (it) for you. |
8. Counting words
Kannada has no classifiers — put the number straight before the noun. But the noun itself goes plural with -ಗಳು: ಒಂದು ಪುಸ್ತಕ (one book), ಎರಡು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು (two books), ಮೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ (three rupees).
| Kannada | Hindi | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ಒಂದು ಪುಸ್ತಕ (ondu pustaka) | एक किताब | one book — number + noun, no extras |
| ಎರಡು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು (eraḍu pustakagaḷu) | दो किताबें | two books — the noun takes the -ಗಳು plural |
| ಮೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ (mūru rūpāyi) | तीन रुपये | three rupees — currency counts directly |
The sentence ladder
Do not learn grammar as a list of rules. Learn it as a ladder with seven rungs, where every rung is something you can say out loud today.
- Say what you are. Simple I-sentences with no verb change.
- Say what you want. The same pattern with a noun from the common words list.
- Say what you do. The present-tense table above, first person only.
- Say what someone else does. The same table, third person — this is where the endings move.
- Say what happened. Past tense, five sentences about yesterday.
- Say what will happen. Future tense, five sentences about tomorrow.
- Say what does not happen. Negative forms of five sentences you have already built.
Past and future, in five sentences each
| English | Hindi | Kannada | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I ate | मैंने खाया | ನಾನು ತಿಂದೆ | Nānu tinde |
| He ate | उसने खाया | ಅವನು ತಿಂದನು | Avanu tindanu |
| She ate | उसने खायी | ಅವಳು ತಿಂದಳು | Avaḷu tindaḷu |
| I will eat (formal) | मैं खाऊँगा/खाऊँगी | ನಾನು ತಿನ್ನುವೆನು | Nānu tinnuvenu |
| Have you eaten? (respectful) | आपने खाया? | ನೀವು ಊಟ ಮಾಡಿದಿರಾ? | Nīvu ūṭa māḍidirā? |
| I'll come tomorrow (present as future) | मैं कल आऊँगा | ನಾಳೆ ಬರುತ್ತೇನೆ | Nāḷe baruttēne |
Small words, big sentences
Two groups of small words turn correct sentences into natural ones: the little words that mean in, at or to, and the words used when counting things.
| English | Hindi | Kannada | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| (object marker) | को | -ಅನ್ನು | -annu |
| from; by | से | -ಇಂದ | -inda |
| in; at | में | -ಅಲ್ಲಿ | -alli |
| on | पर | ಮೇಲೆ | mēle |
| with | के साथ | ಜೊತೆ | jote |
| for | के लिए | -ಗಾಗಿ | -gāgi |
And the counting words:
| English | Hindi | Kannada | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| one book | एक किताब | ಒಂದು ಪುಸ್ತಕ | ondu pustaka |
| one book — number + noun, no extras | |||
| two books | दो किताबें | ಎರಡು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು | eraḍu pustakagaḷu |
| two books — the noun takes the -ಗಳು plural | |||
| three rupees | तीन रुपये | ಮೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ | mūru rūpāyi |
| three rupees — currency counts directly | |||
More guides in this course
- Beginner's guide — KannadaHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
- Alphabet, letter by letter — KannadaEvery letter with the sound it makes.
- Phrases for travel — KannadaStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
- Numbers 1 to 100 — KannadaCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
- Most common words — KannadaThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
- Common mistakes — KannadaThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
- How to read the script — KannadaA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
- vs Hindi — KannadaWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
- Practise speaking alone — KannadaShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.