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LEARN KANNADA · CHAPTER 2

Numbers, Money, Measures and Your Body in Kannada

Count from ondu to a crore, talk money like a local, ask for half a kilo without miming, and name every part of you from tale to paada.

schedule14 min read translate95 words and 10 ready-made sentences edit_noteBy Tariq Sallam, Founder

Numbers are where Kannada starts paying you back in real money. The vegetable vendor, the auto meter, the milk packet, the OTP your delivery guy reads out at the gate: all of it happens in numbers, and most of Bengaluru says them in Kannada first.

The good news is that Kannada numbers are built like Lego. Learn one to ten, learn the word for ten, twenty and a hundred, and you can snap together almost any figure. We'll do that first, then fractions and measurements for the market, then the body, which you will need the day you visit a doctor or explain to your physio exactly where it hurts.

HOW TO READ THE SPELLINGS
aa, ee, ooDoubled vowels are long. 'naanu' is nah-nu, 'neevu' is nee-vu.
T, D, L, NCapital letters are the hard sounds, with the tongue curled back: 'beDa', 'avaLu', 'ishTa', 'kaNNu'.
t, d, lSmall letters are the soft, flat sounds you already use in English.
neenu / neevuneenu is 'you' for friends and kids. neevu is 'you' for elders, strangers and anyone you want to be polite to. When in doubt, say neevu.
looks_oneCount From One to Ten exposure_plus_1How Do You Say 11 to 19? filter_9_plusThe Tens: 20 to 90 100The Hundreds: 100 to 900 currency_rupeeBig Money: Thousands, Lakhs and Crores scaleQuarter, Half and Three-Quarter: Market Maths straightenHeight, Length and Width faceHead and Face back_handHands and Fingers accessibility_newThe Rest of You diversity_3Friendly or Polite? chatSentences record_voice_overQuestions

looks_oneCount From One to Ten

The ten building blocks. Every other number in this chapter is made from these.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
1 ondu ಒಂದು
2 eraDu ಎರಡು
3 mooru ಮೂರು
4 naalku ನಾಲ್ಕು
5 aidu ಐದು
6 aaru ಆರು
7 eLu ಏಳು Long e, as in 'ale', with a hard L.
8 enTu ಎಂಟು
9 ombattu ಒಂಬತ್ತು
10 hattu ಹತ್ತು

exposure_plus_1How Do You Say 11 to 19?

11 and 12 start with 'hann-'. 13 to 18 start with 'hadi-' plus the small number. 19 is the odd one out: it's 'ten-nine', hatt + ombattu.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
11 hannondu ಹನ್ನೊಂದು
12 hanneraDu ಹನ್ನೆರಡು
13 hadimooru ಹದಿಮೂರು
14 hadinaalku ಹದಿನಾಲ್ಕು
15 hadinaidu ಹದಿನೈದು
16 hadinaaru ಹದಿನಾರು
17 hadineLu ಹದಿನೇಳು
18 hadinenTu ಹದಿನೆಂಟು
19 hattombattu ಹತ್ತೊಂಬತ್ತು

filter_9_plusThe Tens: 20 to 90

Most tens end in '-vattu' or '-pattu'. To say 25, glue the two together: ippatt + aidu = ippattaidu.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
20 ippattu ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು
30 moovattu ಮೂವತ್ತು
40 nalavattu ನಲವತ್ತು You'll also hear the quicker 'nalvattu'.
50 aivattu ಐವತ್ತು
60 aravattu ಅರವತ್ತು
70 eppattu ಎಪ್ಪತ್ತು
80 embattu ಎಂಬತ್ತು
90 tombattu ತೊಂಬತ್ತು
21 ippattondu ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೊಂದು ippatt + ondu. Same trick for every number up to 99.
25 ippattaidu ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೈದು

100The Hundreds: 100 to 900

'nooru' is a hundred. Put the small number in front and it shrinks a little: two hundred is innooru, not eraDu nooru.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
100 nooru / ondu nooru ನೂರು / ಒಂದು ನೂರು
200 innooru ಇನ್ನೂರು
300 munnooru ಮುನ್ನೂರು
400 naanooru ನಾನೂರು
500 ainooru ಐನೂರು The note you'll hand over most often, so learn this one first.
600 aarunooru ಆರುನೂರು
700 eLunooru ಏಳುನೂರು
800 enTunooru ಎಂಟುನೂರು
900 ombainooru ಒಂಬೈನೂರು
150 nooraivattu ನೂರೈವತ್ತು nooru + aivattu, joined into one word.
250 innooraivattu ಇನ್ನೂರೈವತ್ತು

currency_rupeeBig Money: Thousands, Lakhs and Crores

Kannada counts in the Indian system, so you'll hear lakh and crore, never million. Handy for rent, deposits and property talk.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
1,000 saavira / ondu saavira ಸಾವಿರ / ಒಂದು ಸಾವಿರ
2,000 eraDu saavira ಎರಡು ಸಾವಿರ
5,000 aidu saavira ಐದು ಸಾವಿರ
10,000 hattu saavira ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ
1,00,000 (one lakh) laksha / ondu laksha ಲಕ್ಷ / ಒಂದು ಲಕ್ಷ
5,00,000 (five lakh) aidu laksha ಐದು ಲಕ್ಷ
10,00,000 (ten lakh) hattu laksha ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ
1,00,00,000 (one crore) koTi / ondu koTi ಕೋಟಿ / ಒಂದು ಕೋಟಿ
10,00,00,000 (ten crore) hattu koTi ಹತ್ತು ಕೋಟಿ
Rupee rupaayi ರೂಪಾಯಿ

scaleQuarter, Half and Three-Quarter: Market Maths

At any vegetable cart you'll buy by the quarter, the half and the 'one and a bit'. '-oovare' means 'and a half', and it works with time too.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
Weight tooka ತೂಕ
Quarter (1/4) kaalu ಕಾಲು Also the word for 'leg'. Context saves you.
Half (1/2) ardha ಅರ್ಧ
Three-quarters (3/4) mukkaalu ಮುಕ್ಕಾಲು
One and a quarter ondookaalu ಒಂದೂಕಾಲು
One and a half ondoovare ಒಂದೂವರೆ
One and three-quarters ondoomukkaalu ಒಂದೂಮುಕ್ಕಾಲು
Two and a half eraDoovare ಎರಡೂವರೆ Say 'eraDoovare ganTe' for half past two.

straightenHeight, Length and Width

Size words for tailors, carpenters, furniture shops and that flat-hunting conversation about room sizes.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
Height ettara ಎತ್ತರ
Length udda ಉದ್ದ
Width agala ಅಗಲ
One foot (the measure) ondu aDi ಒಂದು ಅಡಿ Ten by twelve feet? hattu aDi, hanneraDu aDi.

faceHead and Face

Start from the top. These are also the words you'll want at the clinic or the pharmacy counter.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
Body deha ದೇಹ
Head tale ತಲೆ
Hair koodalu ಕೂದಲು
Forehead haNe ಹಣೆ
Eye kaNNu ಕಣ್ಣು
Ear kivi ಕಿವಿ
Nose moogu ಮೂಗು
Cheek kenne ಕೆನ್ನೆ
Mouth baayi ಬಾಯಿ
Lip tuTi ತುಟಿ
Tooth hallu ಹಲ್ಲು
Tongue naalige ನಾಲಿಗೆ
Neck kattu ಕತ್ತು

back_handHands and Fingers

Each finger has its own name. The ring finger is literally 'the ring's finger'.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
Shoulder hegalu ಹೆಗಲು
Hand kai ಕೈ
Finger beraLu ಬೆರಳು
Thumb hebberaLu ಹೆಬ್ಬೆರಳು
Index finger tooru beraLu ತೋರು ಬೆರಳು tooru means 'to show', so it's the pointing finger.
Middle finger madhyada beraLu ಮಧ್ಯದ ಬೆರಳು
Ring finger ungura beraLu ಉಂಗುರ ಬೆರಳು
Little finger kiru beraLu ಕಿರು ಬೆರಳು
Nail uguru ಉಗುರು

accessibility_newThe Rest of You

Chest to toes, plus two words every runner and desk worker in Bengaluru eventually needs: back and knee.

ENGLISHSAY ITIN KANNADA
Chest ede ಎದೆ
Stomach hoTTe ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ
Back bennu ಬೆನ್ನು
Waist / hip soNTa ಸೊಂಟ
Thigh toDe ತೊಡೆ
Knee manDi ಮಂಡಿ
Leg kaalu ಕಾಲು
Foot paada ಪಾದ
Skin charma ಚರ್ಮ
Blood rakta ರಕ್ತ
Pain novu ನೋವು Add it to any body part: tale novu is a headache, hoTTe novu a stomach ache.

diversity_3Friendly or Polite? Asking for Things

Just like in Chapter 1, the request changes its ending depending on who you're talking to. The friendly form is for your flatmate or your kid; the polite form is the safe default for vendors, elders and anyone you've just met. Most of the time, it's the difference between koDu and koDi, or baa and banni.

Give me half a litre of milk
FRIENDLYnanage ardha litre haalu koDuನನಗೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಲೀಟರ್ ಹಾಲು ಕೊಡು
POLITEnanage ardha litre haalu koDiನನಗೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಲೀಟರ್ ಹಾಲು ಕೊಡಿ
Bring one and a quarter kilos of onions
FRIENDLYondookaalu kg eeruLLi tagonDu baaಒಂದೂಕಾಲು ಕೆಜಿ ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ ತಗೊಂಡು ಬಾ
POLITEondookaalu kg eeruLLi tagonDu banniಒಂದೂಕಾಲು ಕೆಜಿ ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ ತಗೊಂಡು ಬನ್ನಿ
Give me two thousand rupees
FRIENDLYnanage eraDu saavira rupaayi koDuನನಗೆ ಎರಡು ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಕೊಡು
POLITEnanage eraDu saavira rupaayi koDiನನಗೆ ಎರಡು ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಕೊಡಿ
Show me your hand
FRIENDLYninna kai toorisuನಿನ್ನ ಕೈ ತೋರಿಸು
POLITEnimma kai toorisiನಿಮ್ಮ ಕೈ ತೋರಿಸಿ

chatPut It Together: Numbers in Real Life

Shopping, paying, timing and the doctor. Say each one out loud a couple of times.

I want 500 rupees. nanage ainooru rupaayi beku ನನಗೆ ಐನೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಬೇಕು
I need one and a half kilos of tomatoes. nanage ondoovare kg tomato beku ನನಗೆ ಒಂದೂವರೆ ಕೆಜಿ ಟೊಮ್ಯಾಟೊ ಬೇಕು
How much for one kilo? ondu kg-ge eshTu? ಒಂದು ಕೆಜಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು?
This is 250 rupees. idu innooraivattu rupaayi ಇದು ಇನ್ನೂರೈವತ್ತು ರೂಪಾಯಿ
Two coffees, please. eraDu coffee koDi ಎರಡು ಕಾಫಿ ಕೊಡಿ
A week has seven days. ondu vaaradalli eLu dinagaLu ಒಂದು ವಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಏಳು ದಿನಗಳು
How many zeros in one lakh? ondu lakshakke eshTu sonnegaLu? ಒಂದು ಲಕ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಸೊನ್ನೆಗಳು? sonne means zero. The answer is aidu.
Please come in ten minutes. hattu nimishadalli banni ಹತ್ತು ನಿಮಿಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಬನ್ನಿ
I have a headache. nanage tale novu ide ನನಗೆ ತಲೆ ನೋವು ಇದೆ
My stomach hurts. nanage hoTTe novu ide ನನಗೆ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ನೋವು ಇದೆ

record_voice_overAsk Away: Questions With Numbers

Personal questions, so the polite version is the one to use unless you know the person well.

What's your weight?
FRIENDLYninna tooka eshTu?ನಿನ್ನ ತೂಕ ಎಷ್ಟು?
POLITEnimma tooka eshTu?ನಿಮ್ಮ ತೂಕ ಎಷ್ಟು?
How tall are you?
FRIENDLYninna ettara eshTu?ನಿನ್ನ ಎತ್ತರ ಎಷ್ಟು?
POLITEnimma ettara eshTu?ನಿಮ್ಮ ಎತ್ತರ ಎಷ್ಟು?
How old are you?
FRIENDLYninage eshTu vayassu?ನಿನಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ವಯಸ್ಸು?
POLITEnimage eshTu vayassu?ನಿಮಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ವಯಸ್ಸು?
Where does it hurt?
FRIENDLYninage elli novu ide?ನಿನಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ನೋವು ಇದೆ?
POLITEnimage elli novu ide?ನಿಮಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ನೋವು ಇದೆ?
emoji_eventsYour Challenge This Week
  • check_box_outline_blankRead your next OTP out loud in Kannada before you share it.
  • check_box_outline_blankAsk for your vegetables by the kaalu, ardha or ondoovare kilo.
  • check_box_outline_blankCount your auto fare in Kannada when you pay.
  • check_box_outline_blankPoint to five body parts and name them, ideally not in a meeting.

That's Chapter 2. You can now count, pay, measure and complain about your knees in Kannada, which honestly makes you half a Bengalurean already. See you in Chapter 3.

PREVIOUSChapter 1: The Kannada You'll Use Every Single Day ALL CHAPTERSLearn Kannada with The City 24/7
COMING NEXTChapter 3 is on its wayGet it in your inbox →

Got a Kannada word you always mishear, or a phrase you want us to cover? Tap the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right of your screen and tell us. And if you'd like each new chapter delivered, join our ever-growing community: subscribe to The City 24/7 newsletter.

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Learn Kannada Chapter 2: Numbers, Money and Body Parts
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PREVIOUS{{ prevTitle }} ALL CHAPTERSLearn Kannada with The City 24/7
{{ nextKicker }}{{ nextTitle }}Start Chapter {{ nextNo }} →Get it in your inbox →

Got a Kannada word you always mishear, or a phrase you want us to cover? Tap the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right of your screen and tell us. And if you'd like each new chapter delivered, join our ever-growing community: subscribe to The City 24/7 newsletter.