Telugu/Transliteration
< Telugu
Lekhini is one of the most popular transliterators.
IAST is considered the standard way to transliterate Indian scripts to Roman script, and unlike Lekhini, it uses accents.
Vowels
edit| Vowel | Lekhini Transliteration | IAST Transliteration | English phonetic pronunciation* | IPA pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| అ | a | a | Pronounced like the 'u' in uncle | /a/ |
| ఆ | aa | ā | Pronounced like the 'a' in card | /ɑaː/ |
| ఇ | e | i | Pronounced like the 'i' in kid | /ɪ/ |
| ఈ | ee | ī | Pronounced like the 'ea' in eat | /iː/ |
| ఉ | u | u | Pronounced like the 'oo' in book | /u/ |
| ఊ | uu | ū | Pronounced like the 'oo' in too | /uː/ |
| ఋ | ru | r̥ | Pronounced as a rolled r | /ru/ |
| ౠ | rruu | r̥̄ | N/A** | /ruː/ |
| ఌ | lu | l̥ | N/A** | /lu/ |
| ౡ | Lu | l̥̄ | N/A** | /luː/ |
| ఎ | ai | e | Pronounced like the 'e' in end | /e/ |
| ఏ | aai | ē | Pronounced like the 'a' in age | /eː/ |
| ఐ | i | ai | Pronounced like the 'i' in high | /ai/ |
| ఒ | o | o | Pronounced like the 'o' in the British pronunciation of not | /o/ |
| ఓ | Oo | ō | Pronounced like the 'o' in over | /oː/ |
| ఔ | ow | au | Pronounced like the 'ou' in the word fountain | /au/ |
| అం | um | aṃ | Pronounced like the 'um' in the word rum | /oː/ |
| అః | aha- | aḥ | Pronounced like the word uh-huh | /aha/ |
- The macron(line over the vowels) indicates that the vowel should be pronounced twice as long
- The circles under the character r and l indicate that they are to be pronounced as vowels, rather than consonants
- The dots under m and h indicate that they are being used to represent the symbols ం and ః respectively
- *The English phonetic pronunciation is only meant to act as an approximate guide, it may not represent Telugu pronunciation 100% accurately
- **These sounds are not used in modern Telugu
Consonants
edit| Consonant | Lekhini Transliteration | IPA pronunciation | IAST Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| క | ka | /ka/ | ka |
| ఖ | Ka, kha | /kʰa/ | kha |
| గ | ga | /ɡa/ | ga |
| ఘ | Ga, gha | /ɡʱa/ | gha |
| ఙ | ~ma | /ŋa/ | ṅa |
| చ | ca,cha | /t͡ʃa/ | ca |
| ఛ | Ca, Cha | /t͡ʃʰa/ | cha |
| జ | ja | /d͡ʒa/ | ja |
| ఝ | Ja | /d͡ʒʱa/ | jha |
| ఞ | ~na | /ɲa/ | ñ |
| ట | Ta | /ʈa/ | ṭa |
| ఠ | Tha | /ʈʰa/ | ṭha |
| డ | Da | /ɖa/ | ḍa |
| ఢ | Dha | /ɖʱa/ | ḍha |
| ణ | Na | /ɳa/ | ṇa |
| త | ta | /ta/ | ta |
| థ | tha | /tʰa/ | tha |
| ద | da | /da/ | da |
| ధ | dha | /dʱa/ | dha |
| న | na | /na/ | na |
| ప | pa | /pa/ | pa |
| ఫ | Pa, pha, fa | /pʰa/ | pha |
| బ | ba | /ba/ | ba |
| భ | Ba, bha | /bʱa/ | bha |
| మ | ma | /ma/ | ma |
| య | ya | /ja/ | ya |
| ర | ra | /ɾa/ | ra |
| ల | la | /la/ | la |
| వ | va, wa | /ʋa/ | va |
| ళ | La, lha | /ɭa/ | ḷa |
| శ | Sa | /ʃa/ | śa |
| ష | sha | /ʂa/ | ṣa |
| స | sa | /sa/ | sa |
| హ | ha | /ha/ | ha |
| ఱ | ~ra | /ra/ | ṟa |
The dots below consonants indicate a retroflex consonant(with the tongue curled back into the mouth)
The accents on the various n sounds denote various points of pronunciation.
Bandi Raa is no longer used in modern Telugu.