The Malayalam alphabet

49 letters, each with its name and roughly the sound it makes. The sounds are English approximations — enough to sound a word out, not enough to pass for a local.

മ Malayalam · An abugida: each consonant carries a vowel already, and other vowels are marks on it.

The roundest of the Indian scripts and the one with the most letters, because Malayalam kept sounds its neighbours dropped. Words run long: it stacks endings the way Turkish does and writes the whole thing as one piece.

Vowels

• അ a u in but
• ആ aa a in father
• ഇ i i in bit
• ഈ ii ee in see
• ഉ u u in put
• ഊ uu oo in boot
• ഋ ru ru
• എ e e in bet
• ഏ ee e in they
• ഐ ai i in like
• ഒ o o in got
• ഓ oo o in go
• ഔ au ow in cow

Consonants

• ക ka k
• ഖ kha k with a puff of air
• ഗ ga g
• ഘ gha g with a puff of air
• ങ nga ng
• ച cha ch
• ഛ chha ch with a puff of air
• ജ ja j
• ഝ jha j with a puff of air
• ഞ nya ny in canyon
• ട ta t, tongue curled back
• ഠ tha the same with a puff of air
• ഡ da d, tongue curled back
• ഢ dha the same with a puff of air
• ണ na n, tongue curled back
• ത ta t on the teeth
• ഥ tha the same with a puff of air
• ദ da d on the teeth
• ധ dha the same with a puff of air
• ന na n
• പ pa p
• ഫ pha p with a puff of air
• ബ ba b
• ഭ bha b with a puff of air
• മ ma m
• യ ya y
• ര ra r
• ല la l
• വ va v
• ശ sha sh
• ഷ sha sh, tongue curled back
• സ sa s
• ഹ ha h
• ള la l, tongue curled back
• ഴ zha r and l at once
• റ ra hard r

Now read something in it

The letters are the smaller half. The 3,457 commonest Malayalam words are where they start meaning something.

Reading it is one thing.

Being understood when you say it is another. That takes a person.

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