"My kids hated going to language school. It felt like 'forced homework'. I'm glad we discovered COOLPHABETS."
Learn Kannada
Your child speaks Kannada. Next comes reading and writing it.
COOLPHABETS teaches children to read and write all 49 Kannada letters by hand, with an on-device AI coach that checks every stroke.
Easy to speak at home. Hard to find on paper.
Kannada families living away from Karnataka keep the language going the only way they can, by speaking it. Children use it with their parents, and with Ajji and Ajja whenever they call.
What they almost never do is read it. There are few Kannada classes outside Karnataka, and fewer books within reach. Without anything to read, the letters never become familiar.
Many parents tell us this is the part they regret. A child who cannot read Kannada cannot read a letter from a grandparent, a wedding invitation, or a line of the songs they hear at home. And if one generation skips the script, the next has nobody at home to learn it from.
Most language apps
- Teach speaking and listening
- Tap the right answer
- Made for someone starting from zero
COOLPHABETS
- Teaches reading and writing
- Write every letter by hand
- Made for children who already speak it at home
The alphabet
The Kannada alphabet: 49 letters your child will learn
Kannada has 13 vowels, called ಸ್ವರಗಳು (swaragalu), two marks that follow a vowel, called ಯೋಗವಾಹಗಳು (yogavahagalu), and 34 consonants, called ವ್ಯಂಜನಗಳು (vyanjanagalu). COOLPHABETS starts at ಅ and works through every one.
Vowels ಸ್ವರಗಳು 13
- ಅ a
- ಆ ā
- ಇ i
- ಈ ī
- ಉ u
- ಊ ū
- ಋ ru
- ಎ e
- ಏ ē
- ಐ ai
- ಒ o
- ಓ ō
- ಔ au
Vowel marks ಯೋಗವಾಹಗಳು 2
- ಅಂ am
- ಅಃ aha
Consonants ವ್ಯಂಜನಗಳು 34
- ಕ ka
- ಖ kha
- ಗ ga
- ಘ gha
- ಙ nga
- ಚ cha
- ಛ chha
- ಜ ja
- ಝ jha
- ಞ nya
- ಟ Ta
- ಠ Tha
- ಡ Da
- ಢ Dha
- ಣ Na
- ತ ta
- ಥ tha
- ದ da
- ಧ dha
- ನ na
- ಪ pa
- ಫ pha
- ಬ ba
- ಭ bha
- ಮ ma
- ಯ ya
- ರ ra
- ಲ la
- ವ va
- ಶ sha
- ಷ Sha
- ಸ sa
- ಹ ha
- ಳ La
A capital letter marks a sound made with the tongue curled back, as in Ta and Da. A line over a vowel means it is held longer.
The Kannada alphabet chart All 49 letters on one page. Open it to save or print for the fridge door.
The hard parts
What makes Kannada hard to write
Kannada letters are round and even. These four things are what children take longest to get right.
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One consonant, a whole row of shapes
Every consonant changes shape with each vowel. Schools teach this as kaagunita (ಕಾಗುಣಿತ): ಕ ಕಾ ಕಿ ಕೀ ಕು ಕೂ and so on. It is recited aloud in class, and writing it takes far longer than saying it.
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Families of look-alikes
ಪ, ಫ and ಷ share one body and differ by a single stroke. So do ದ and ಧ, and ಡ and ಢ.
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Letters written underneath
When two consonants meet, the second is written small below the first. This is an ottakshara (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ). The word ಕನ್ನಡ has one, and so does ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, mother). Words and sentences in the app are where these come into practice.
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Short and long vowels
Kannada separates a short e from a long one, and a short o from a long one: ಎ and ಏ, ಒ and ಓ. The long form adds one small stroke, and leaving it out changes the word.
First words
Five Kannada words to write first
Short words that put the four hard parts to use.
- ಅಮ್ಮ amma mother
The second ಮ is written below the first.
- ಅಪ್ಪ appa father
The same, with ಪ underneath.
- ಮನೆ mane house
The e sign is added to ನ.
- ಹಾಲು haalu milk
A long ā on ಹ and a u sign on ಲ.
- ಹೂವು hoovu flower
A long ū, then a short u, one after the other.
How it works
One letter at a time, written by hand.
- 1
Watch. The letter draws itself, stroke by stroke, in the right order.
- 2
Write. Your child writes it with a finger. No tapping on answers, no typing.
- 3
Get checked. CoolphaSense scores the strokes they actually made, on the device.
- 4
Hear it. A native voice says the letter. Or yours, if you record it.
After the letters come words, sentences and games. See everything COOLPHABETS does.
Questions
What Kannada parents ask us
My child speaks Kannada but cannot read a word. Where do we start?
At the first vowel, ಅ. The app goes through the vowels and then the 34 consonants, one letter at a time, before moving on to words and sentences. A child who already speaks Kannada knows the sounds and only has to learn the shapes.
What comes after the letters?
Words, then sentences, all in Kannada. There are also solo games and family games, so practice carries on after the alphabet is done.
I never learned to write Kannada myself. Can I learn alongside my child?
Yes. Up to 4 people in the family can use one plan, and adults start from the first letter just as children do.
Can my child hear the letters in my voice?
Yes. Record any letter or word yourself and your child hears it from Amma or Appa. A native Kannada voice is there for the rest.
Does it need the internet?
No. Install it once and it works without a connection. The letters your child writes never leave the device.
What does it cost?
The family plan is $50 a year, with lower prices in many countries. Start with a 7-day trial, no payment needed.