EkGuru › Learn Telugu › Telugu › Travel
Telugu for travel
Draft: not yet reviewed by a native speaker. Existing availability and indexing are preserved by owner instruction; that is not an editorial approval. Suggest a correction.
🔊 Tap any speaker button to hear the words on this page spoken. Too fast or slow? Use the speed button at the bottom-right of the page.
Stations, directions, fares and hotels — the Telugu phrases you will actually use.
Key words
| English | Hindi | Telugu | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| station | स्टेशन | స్టేషన్ | sṭēṣan |
| train | ट्रेन | రైలు | railu |
| bus | बस | బస్సు | bassu |
| taxi | टैक्सी | ట్యాక్సీ | ṭyāksī |
| ticket | टिकट | టికెట్ | ṭikeṭ |
| hotel | होटल | హోటల్ | hōṭal |
| room | कमरा | గది | gadi |
| left | बायाँ | ఎడమ | eḍama |
| right | दायाँ | కుడి | kuḍi |
| straight | सीधा | సరాసరి | sarāsari |
| నేరుగా (nērugā) works too | |||
| near | पास | దగ్గర | daggara |
| far | दूर | దూరం | dūraṁ |
Phrases
| English | Hindi | Telugu | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is ...? | ... कहाँ है? | ... ఎక్కడ ఉంది? | ... ekkaḍa undi? |
| How do I go to ...? | ... कैसे जाऊँ? | ... కి ఎలా వెళ్ళాలి? | ... ki elā veḷḷāli? |
| Stop here, please | यहाँ रोकिए | ఇక్కడ ఆపండి | ikkaḍa āpaṇḍi |
| How much is the fare? | किराया कितना है? | ఛార్జీ ఎంత? | chārjī enta? |
| I want to go to ... | मुझे ... जाना है | నేను ... కి వెళ్ళాలి | nēnu ... ki veḷḷāli |
| Is it far? | क्या दूर है? | దూరమా? | dūramā? |
At the station
Buying a ticket
Travel conversations are short, repetitive and predictable — which makes them the best possible practice ground. The exchange below covers almost every ticket window; learn your half of it until it is automatic.
- You: ... ఎక్కడ ఉంది? (... ekkaḍa undi?) — Where is ...?
- You: say the destination, then the number of tickets using a number from the table below.
- Them: a number. You will hear it faster than you expect — listen for the tens.
- You: thank them. This is the moment the greeting table pays off.
At the hotel
Three phrases cover most of a check-in: that you have a booking, that you want a room, and what it costs. Everything else is numbers.
Say the price aloud back to them. It is polite, it confirms your listening, and it is the single most useful habit in a place where you are still counting slowly.
Fares, money and bargaining
Numbers are the vocabulary of travel, and markets are where you will use them most. ఇది ఎంత? → చాలా ఖరీదు! → కొంచెం తగ్గించండి → సరే, తీసుకుంటాను. Smile through all four steps.
| # | Hindi | Telugu | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | एक | ఒకటి | okaṭi |
| 2 | दो | రెండు | reṇḍu |
| 3 | तीन | మూడు | mūḍu |
| 4 | चार | నాలుగు | nālugu |
| 5 | पाँच | ఐదు | aidu |
| 6 | छह | ఆరు | āru |
| 7 | सात | ఏడు | ēḍu |
| 8 | आठ | ఎనిమిది | enimidi |
| 9 | नौ | తొమ్మిది | tommidi |
| 10 | दस | పది | padi |
| 11 | ग्यारह | పదకొండు | padakoṇḍu |
| 12 | बारह | పన్నెండు | panneṇḍu |
Food on the road
Ordering is a script you can rehearse at home. Read the phrases below out loud, then order an imaginary meal three times.
| English | Hindi | Telugu | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am hungry | मुझे भूख लगी है | నాకు ఆకలిగా ఉంది | nāku ākaligā undi |
| I am thirsty | मुझे प्यास लगी है | నాకు దాహంగా ఉంది | nāku dāhaṅgā undi |
| The food is tasty | खाना मज़ेदार है | భోజనం బాగుంది | bhōjanaṁ bāgundi |
| One tea, please | एक चाय दीजिए | ఒక టీ ఇవ్వండి | oka ṭī ivvaṇḍi |
| The bill, please | बिल दीजिए | బిల్లు ఇవ్వండి | billu ivvaṇḍi |
| Too spicy! | बहुत तीखा | చాలా కారం! | chālā kāraṁ! |
| I don't eat meat | मैं मांस नहीं खाता | నేను మాంసం తినను | nēnu mānsaṁ tinanu |
Cultural context, briefly
- సంక్రాంతి (Sankrānti) — The Telugu harvest festival (January) — kites on every terrace, sugarcane in every hand, pongal pots boiling over in the courtyard.
- ఉగాది (Ugādi) — Telugu New Year — the sweet-bitter ugadi pachadi teaches the year's first lesson: life is a mix, taste it all.
- బతుకమ్మ (Bathukamma) — Telangana's flower festival — nine nights of stacked marigolds and circle songs. Women build it, everyone sings it.
- బోనాలు (Bonālu) — Ashada folk festival for Mahankali — pots of offering carried dancing through old Hyderabad's lanes.
- హైదరాబాదీ బిర్యానీ (Hyderabadi biryani) — The dum-cooked legend — Paradise vs Bawarchi is a friendly war. Pick a side, then eat at both.
Rehearse these three scenes before you go
- Buying a ticket, including saying the destination and asking the price.
- Checking into a room, including saying how many nights and asking what time breakfast is.
- Ordering food, including saying what you do not eat and asking for the bill.
When you get stuck mid-sentence
You will get stuck, and that is not a failure — it happens to everyone in the first week of using a language for real. What matters is having a way out that does not involve switching to English immediately.
Three moves cover almost every situation: repeat the last word you understood as a question, ask the person to say it again more slowly, and fall back on the survival trio you already know. If none of that works, point at the phrase on your screen — nobody minds, and you will have used the language anyway.
Then, afterwards, write down the sentence you could not finish. That one sentence is the most efficient vocabulary lesson you will get all week, because you will never forget the moment it failed you.
More guides in this course
- Beginner's guide — TeluguHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
- Alphabet, letter by letter — TeluguEvery letter with the sound it makes.
- Grammar basics — TeluguWord order, verbs and the sentence ladder.
- Numbers 1 to 100 — TeluguCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
- Most common words — TeluguThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
- Common mistakes — TeluguThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
- How to read the script — TeluguA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
- vs Hindi — TeluguWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
- Practise speaking alone — TeluguShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.