100 Essential Kannada Words

These are 100 essential Kannada words, curated for learners: the pronouns, verbs, and everyday nouns that unlock simple sentences. Core-first learning works: a small set of essential words does most of the work in daily speech, so mastering this list with spaced repetition gives you the fastest possible start.

#	Word	Pronunciation	English meaning
1	ನಾನು	NAH-noo	I
2	ನೀನು	NEE-noo	you
3	ಅವನು	AH-vah-noo	he
4	ಅವಳು	AH-vah-loo	she
5	ನಾವು	NAH-voo	we
6	ಅವರು	AH-vah-roo	they
7	ಇದು	EE-doo	this
8	ಅದು	AH-doo	that
9	ಏನು	EH-noo	what
10	ಯಾರು	YAH-roo	who
11	ಇಲ್ಲ	IL-lah	no
12	ಮತ್ತು	MAHT-too	and
13	ಅಥವಾ	AH-thah-vah	or
14	ಆದರೆ	AH-dah-reh	but
15	ಒಳಗೆ	OH-lah-geh	in
16	ಜೊತೆ	JOH-teh	with
17	ಒಂದು	ON-doo	one
18	ಎರಡು	EH-rah-doo	two
19	ದೊಡ್ಡ	DOD-dah	big
20	ಚಿಕ್ಕ	CHIK-kah	small
21	ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ	OL-leh-yah	good
22	ಹೊಸ	HOH-sah	new
23	ಮನುಷ್ಯ	mah-NOOSH-yah	person
24	ನೀರು	NEE-roo	water
25	ದಿನ	DEE-nah	day
26	ವರ್ಷ	VAR-shah	year
27	ಸಮಯ	SAH-mah-yah	time
28	ಮನೆ	MAH-neh	house
29	ಕೆಲಸ	KEH-lah-sah	work
30	ಜೀವನ	JEE-vah-nah	life
31	ಪದ	PAH-dah	word
32	ಇರು	EE-roo	be
33	ಮಾಡು	MAH-doo	do
34	ಹೇಳು	HEH-loo	say
35	ತಿಳಿ	TEE-lee	know
36	ನೋಡು	NOH-doo	see
37	ಹೋಗು	HOH-goo	go
38	ಬರು	BAH-roo	come
39	ಕೊಡು	KOH-doo	give
40	ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳು	TEH-geh-doo-kohl-loo	take
41	ಬಯಸು	BAH-yah-soo	want
42	ತಿನ್ನು	TIN-noo	eat
43	ಕುಡಿ	KOO-dee	to drink
44	ಈಗ	EE-gah	now
45	ಇಲ್ಲಿ	IL-lee	here
46	ಅಲ್ಲಿ	AHL-lee	there
47	ಎಲ್ಲಿ	EL-lee	where
48	ಏಕೆ	EH-keh	why
49	ಎಲ್ಲಾ	EL-lah	all
50	ಬಹಳ	BAH-hah-lah	very
51	ಉದ್ದ	OOD-dah	long
52	ವಸ್ತು	VAHS-too	thing (object)
53	ಹೆಚ್ಚು	HECH-choo	more (a greater amount)
54	ಸಾಧ್ಯ	SAHD-yah	can (possible)
55	ನನ್ನ	NAHN-nah	my
56	ಶಬ್ದ	SHAHB-dah	sound (noise)
57	ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ	SAHNK-yeh	number
58	ಮೇಲೆ	MEH-leh	above, over
59	ಗಿಂತ	GEEN-tah	than (comparison)
60	ಕರೆ	KAH-reh	to call (summon)
61	ಮೊದಲ	MOH-dah-lah	first
62	ಜನ	JAH-nah	people
63	ಕೆಳಗೆ	KEH-lah-geh	down, below
64	ಪಕ್ಕ	PAHK-kah	side
65	ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿ	kahn-doo-HEE-dee	to find, discover
66	ಪಡೆ	PAH-deh	to get, obtain
67	ಜಾಗ	JAH-gah	place
68	ಬದುಕು	BAH-doo-koo	to live (be alive)
69	ನಂತರ	NAHN-tah-rah	after, later
70	ವಾಪಸ್	VAH-pahs	back (returning)
71	ಮಾತ್ರ	MAH-trah	only
72	ದುಂಡು	DOON-doo	round (circular)
73	ಗಂಡಸು	GAHN-dah-soo	man (adult male)
74	ಯಾವುದಾದರೂ	yah-voo-DAH-dah-roo	any, whichever
75	ಭಾಗ	BAH-gah	part, portion
76	ತೋರಿಸು	TOH-ree-soo	to show
77	ಯೋಚಿಸು	YOH-chee-soo	to think
78	ಕೇಳು	KEH-loo	to ask
79	ಉತ್ತರ	OOT-tah-rah	answer, reply
80	ಕಲಿ	KAH-lee	to learn
81	ಓದು	OH-doo	to read
82	ಇಡು	EE-doo	to put, place
83	ಮತ್ತೆ	MAHT-teh	again
84	ಅಮ್ಮ	AHM-mah	mother
85	ಅಪ್ಪ	AHP-pah	father
86	ಕೈ	kahy	hand
87	ಕಣ್ಣು	KAHN-noo	eye
88	ತಲೆ	TAH-leh	head
89	ಆಹಾರ	ah-HAH-rah	food
90	ಮೂರು	MOO-roo	three
91	ಬೇರೆ	BEH-reh	different, other
92	ಹಳೆಯ	HAH-leh-yah	old (of things)
93	ಮುಂಚೆ	MOON-cheh	before, earlier
94	ಹತ್ತಿರ	HAHT-tee-rah	near, close to
95	ದೂರ	DOO-rah	far; distance
96	ಬಲ	BAH-lah	right (direction)
97	ಬೆಳಕು	BEH-lah-koo	light (illumination)
98	ಕಾರಣ	KAH-rah-nah	cause, reason
99	ಅರ್ಥ	AHR-tah	meaning
100	ರೀತಿ	REE-tee	kind, way, manner

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Curated for learners: Kannada has no reliable public frequency corpus, so this list is ordered by usefulness, not by measured frequency. Pronunciation is a respelling guide, not phonetic notation.

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Frequently asked questions about Kannada words

How many Kannada words do you need for a basic conversation?

Across languages, a small core of words does most of the work in everyday speech: the first few hundred words carry the bulk of simple conversation. You can manage basic exchanges with a few hundred words; this list is the foundation to build on.

What is the fastest way to memorize these 100 words?

Spaced repetition: review each word just before you would forget it, at growing intervals. It moves vocabulary into long-term memory far faster than rereading a list. Turn the 100 words into flashcards and review a small batch daily; the whole list fits into two to three weeks.

Are 100 words enough to speak Kannada?

No. One hundred words let you recognize the skeleton of most sentences, but not hold a real conversation. They are the right starting point: after this list, keep growing your core vocabulary and start speaking practice early, even with simple phrases.

Where does this Kannada word list come from?

It is curated for learners rather than corpus-ranked: Kannada has no reliable public frequency corpus, so we selected the words that unlock everyday sentences and ordered them by usefulness. These are essential words, not a measured frequency ranking.