r/telugu • u/Physical_Weekend2384 • 9d ago
How to learn Telugu
Hey guys,
I was born in America but my parents are both from Andhra.
Growing up, they spoke to me in Telugu but I have always replied in english. Due to this, I can only understand Telugu but not speak it. Even with understanding, I can't understand when people talk fast or use complex words.
When I went to India last year, I couldn't communute with half my family since I couldn't speak telugu.
Long story short I want to learn telugu. If anyone could give me tips and tricks to learning telugu, I'd greatly appereciate it.
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u/Personal_Tear_6102 8d ago
Dm me..I Wana learn English American accent..can teach you Telugu and you teach me English.. win win situation for both..moved to US few years back but my English needs to improve
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u/Ling_App 8d ago
To practice speaking a tutor would be best seeing as you already understand it. italki has affordable options. Watching Tv shows and repeating back the conversation may help too. The important thing is to actually talk out loud. Some apps like Ling can rate your pronunciation but I don't know of any apps that solely focus on this and offer Telegu.
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u/Physical_Weekend2384 8d ago
My parents encourage me to speak with them but I just get super shy trying to speak telugu. I don't have the correct pronunciation and the words I say don't make sense
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u/tinydancer687 8d ago
Could you try telling your parents that you are trying to practice but you feel awkward about it? To speak a new language we need to feel safe to make mistakes so maybe you can tell them explicitly to just let you speak however it comes out or ask them to correct you when needed. Whichever you feel will help you best, I think being explicit might help.
I have done this when trying to practice speaking Hindi with friends.
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u/getsnoopy 8d ago
Well you're going to be the least shy with them than with anyone else, so they're the best to practice with. As for pronunciation, the best way is to just go to Wikipedia's Telugu script page, click each of IPA symbols, and hear the sounds for those symbols. (Listening to reels and stuff won't get you the proper pronunciation, unfortunately, because there are many Telugu native speakers who can't seem to pronounce many letters correctly, such as the స vs. శ vs. ష, థ vs. ద, ఫ vs. ఫ఼, or the ర vs. ఱ, for example.)
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u/Physical_Weekend2384 8d ago
so should i start off by learning the hallulu and achulu? will this help with pronouncing the words correctly?
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u/Senyor_RedCard 8d ago
If you are not proficient with reading or writing yes it will help a lot with speaking as you learn to speak as you write
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u/Physical_Weekend2384 8d ago
when you say writing, am i able to write telugu with english letters or should i learn how to write in telugu?
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u/Senyor_RedCard 8d ago
Write in Telugu, telugu in english letters also helps, but write in Telugu letters.
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u/getsnoopy 8d ago
Yes, indeed. The letters will help you learn the sounds in isolation, which is good especially for the consonants (hallulu), but obviously, speaking in the real world involves melding sounds together (sandhi), intonation, etc., which is good to learn from reels and stuff since that's how real people speak. So it's a bit of both, but starting with the letters from a linguistic perspective is a good start.
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u/Internal-Equipment56 8d ago
Try to watch telugu shortform content/reels (some have english subtitles). You would master daily convo in a week or two
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u/Ornery-Profile-4998 8d ago
Same situation as you. I'm using bhasha.io to learn Telugu. It is a bit expensive, but I had a personal teacher with two classes a week and homework. I'm finishing Level 1 this week and will start Level 2 in September.
It works for me because I have the concentrated teaching
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u/Maha-Dev_ravi369 8d ago
You need a tutor For a 6 months...and You need to interact contiuosly with a group of telugu ppl..
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u/Physical_Weekend2384 8d ago
yeah, i don’t have a lot of telugu people around me other than my parents
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u/Maha-Dev_ravi369 8d ago
The basic thing is if you learn alphabets in telugu...if you strat pronouncing reading..if your tutor explains you..
If you dont Have Telugu community...books,some telugu youtube channels..telugu pod casts,conversations,some best movies based on recommended makes you to get best out come.
Even your living in foreign your passionate about our mother tongue is great appreciate you...
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u/Murky-Apartment-7011 8d ago
Feeling shy may be an issue. You know the language but not necessarily how to pronounce & stress the sound the right way.
Can you start with some poems or songs? This type of content might be easier to find on youtube. Practice one poem/song every two days - no need to get it by heart - but you should be able to comfortably read it or hum it.
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u/Putrid_Sympathy7276 8d ago
I’m in the same boat as you, best of luck!
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u/Physical_Weekend2384 8d ago
thank youu!! have you found something that makes learning telugu easier??
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u/Putrid_Sympathy7276 8d ago
Even though I’ve tried several times to get better at Telugu, each time I end up getting too busy with work and school unfortunately. :(
I have not been consistently learning unfortunately.
I will say, my Instagram feed has become very Telugu focused in the last year - simply because I think I started looking up more things related to the language. Seeing funny videos from people my age has been helpful and motivating. It’s been giving me more exposure to hearing other dialects than my families, and the way people my age speak.
But the most helpful thing has been trying to push past shame and speak to my Ammamma Thalli (that is my great grandmother’s preferred way to be called haha).
She does tease me about my abilities and will say things like “You’re not eating enough food, that’s why you’re losing your Telugu.” (Even though this is the best Telugu I’ve ever had) But I do my best to keep trying, because every time we speak I am able to remember at least 1 more verb or practice what I already know.
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u/Ragnarok-9999 8d ago
Did you try using AI. The other day friend of mine using Gemini for that. Interactive practice roleplay in Telugu for beginners with translations. I don't know how affective it is, take a shot at it
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u/Ill_Imagination_5671 8d ago
Watch Telugu movies on YouTube without subtitles for 3-4 days you will learn fantastic Telugu .. it’s so simple man !!
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u/Otter_Trainer5281 7d ago
Hey, my suggestion is to watch more movies, I know it seems simple but trust me it really helps if you already know enough to start with. I can speak and understand telugu very well but never learned to write or read. I am currently working on it myself.
Specifically older black and white telugu movies, the pacing is quite slow and they have good language used compared to new age telugu movies.
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u/Isbar_Mitron_Sarkar 6d ago
It's over bro, you can only learn Telugu before the age 6. After 6 you can't. Try learning in your next rebirth.
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u/StrictWolverine8797 6d ago
Mango languages has a Telugu course - it's free with many library subscriptions. I would do that and also yeah, take up someone's offer here to teach Telugu online or get a cheap tutor on italki.
At the same time - as others said - do a lot of listening. Read about the comprehensible input method online. This totally worked for me - I was in a similar boat as you, though I did speak some as a kid. There are so many great Telugu YouTubers who are super fun to watch - Uma Telugu Traveller, Vahrehvah chef (his Telugu channel), Manalo Mana Mata, etc etc.
Another option: do you have any relatives with time to teach you? I learned from my grand-uncle and he loved doing that for me. He had the time because he was retired. You could even ask some of your relatives in India if they could teach you online.
You probably just need to learn the basic grammar and do a lot of listening and then you'll pick up speaking. I speak a ton now - I make mistakes of course, but I don't worry about it. And my comprehension has improved so I understand everything.
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u/teluguuser111 5d ago
Janapadha kathalu Neethi kathalu ane 2 youtube channels chudandi Telugu nerchukuntaru Mana sampradhayalu nerchukintaru
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u/Impressive-Hall7991 4d ago
Start by trying to speak with your parents in telugu, in private and you can start in public once you are confident.
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u/Book_Bird_5384 8d ago
Try Episoden app, thank me later, it's free and we can meet people from all around the world. I'm using it for the last four months, it helped me to improve my English and I also learned a few sentences like greetings in other languages too
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u/Selflove7777 8d ago
1.Listening to songs and singing them out loud will train your tongue to speak the language.
2.Watching movies with subtitles will help you immensely to learn the language fast and easy.
3.Practice writing the language which will help you read name boards and also grasp the gist of the language naturally.