Telugu to English transliteration
Paste Telugu script here and it appears in English letters straight away: తెలుగు becomes telugu, నమస్కారం becomes namaskaaram. Use it to send a song or a stotra to someone who cannot read the Telugu script, to read lyrics aloud, or to spell a name on a form. This is transliteration, not translation: the words stay Telugu, only the letters change. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
Which style to use
- Everyday English (aa, ee, oo): For names, lyrics and messages. ఆ, ఈ, ఊ are written aa, ee, oo; ఏ and ఓ are e and o. Sunna (ం) is m before p, b, m, v, s and at the end of a word, and n elsewhere (పండుగ = panduga).
- Simple (no long vowels): The same without long vowels, the way names usually appear in English: శ్రీనివాస్ = srinivas. The catch: పాట (song) and పాత (old) both become pata.
- ISO 15919 (exact, with accents): One mark for each Telugu letter: ā ī ū ē ō, ṭ ḍ ṇ ḷ, ś ṣ, ṁ ḥ, ṟ. This is the standard used in books, dictionaries and Wikipedia, and the only style from which the Telugu can be written back exactly.
- Typing keys (for our Telugu typing tool): The keys of our Telugu typing tool: a capital letter is a long vowel (A = ఆ) and capital T, D, N, L are the retroflex letters. Paste the result into the typing tool and you get the same Telugu back, so you can edit Telugu text on an English keyboard. When two keys would merge, a _ keeps them apart (k_ha = క్హ).
One word, four styles
| Telugu | Meaning | Everyday English | Simple | ISO 15919 | Typing keys |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| తెలుగు | Telugu | telugu | telugu | telugu | telugu |
| శ్రీనివాస్ | Srinivas (a name) | sreenivaas | srinivas | śrīnivās | SrInivAs |
| కృష్ణ | Krishna | krushna | krushna | kr̥ṣṇa | kRShNa |
| లక్ష్మి | Lakshmi | lakshmi | lakshmi | lakṣmi | lakShmi |
| సంవత్సరం | year | samvatsaram | samvatsaram | saṁvatsaraṁ | saMvatsaraM |
| పండుగ | festival | panduga | panduga | paṁḍuga | paMDuga |
| గీత | Geetha (a name) | geeta | gita | gīta | gIta |
| జ్ఞానం | knowledge | gnaanam | gnanam | jñānaṁ | j~nAnaM |
| పాట | song | paata | pata | pāṭa | pATa |
| కోట | fort | kota | kota | kōṭa | kOTa |
| దుఃఖం | sorrow | duhkham | duhkham | duḥkhaṁ | duHkhaM |
| నమస్కారం | greeting | namaskaaram | namaskaram | namaskāraṁ | namaskAraM |
Letter chart: Telugu letters in English
Vowels (achulu)
| Letter | Everyday | ISO 15919 | Typing key |
|---|---|---|---|
| అ | a | a | a |
| ఆ | aa | ā | A |
| ఇ | i | i | i |
| ఈ | ee | ī | I |
| ఉ | u | u | u |
| ఊ | oo | ū | U |
| ఋ | ru | r̥ | R |
| ౠ | roo | r̥̄ | RU |
| ఎ | e | e | e |
| ఏ | e | ē | E |
| ఐ | ai | ai | ai |
| ఒ | o | o | o |
| ఓ | o | ō | O |
| ఔ | au | au | au |
Consonants (hallulu)
| Letter | Everyday | ISO 15919 | Typing key |
|---|---|---|---|
| క | k | k | k |
| ఖ | kh | kh | kh |
| గ | g | g | g |
| ఘ | gh | gh | gh |
| ఙ | n | ṅ | ~N |
| చ | ch | c | ch |
| ఛ | chh | ch | chh |
| జ | j | j | j |
| ఝ | jh | jh | jh |
| ఞ | n | ñ | ~n |
| ట | t | ṭ | T |
| ఠ | th | ṭh | Th |
| డ | d | ḍ | D |
| ఢ | dh | ḍh | Dh |
| ణ | n | ṇ | N |
| త | t | t | t |
| థ | th | th | th |
| ద | d | d | d |
| ధ | dh | dh | dh |
| న | n | n | n |
| ప | p | p | p |
| ఫ | ph | ph | ph |
| బ | b | b | b |
| భ | bh | bh | bh |
| మ | m | m | m |
| య | y | y | y |
| ర | r | r | r |
| ల | l | l | l |
| వ | v | v | v |
| శ | sh | ś | S |
| ష | sh | ṣ | Sh |
| స | s | s | s |
| హ | h | h | h |
| ళ | l | ḷ | L |
| ఱ | r | ṟ | ~r |
| క్ష | ksh | kṣ | ksh |
| జ్ఞ | gn | jñ | jn |
Signs
| Letter | Everyday | ISO 15919 | Typing key |
|---|---|---|---|
| అం | am / an | aṁ | aM |
| అః | ah | aḥ | aH |
| అఁ | a | am̐ | a~M |
| ్ | – | – | _ |
Good to know
- A consonant with no vowel sign carries 'a': క = ka. With the pollu (్) it does not: శ్రీనివాస్ = srinivaas.
- Conjuncts come out as two consonants: అమ్మ = amma, ప్రేమ = prema. వ after another consonant is w, as usually written: స్వామి = swaami, విశ్వనాథ్ = viswanaath.
- In the everyday style ట and త are both t, డ and ద both d, ణ and న both n, ళ and ల both l, శ and ష both sh. Pick ISO 15919 when the difference matters.
- Many Telugu names write త as th (గీత = Geetha, లలిత = Lalitha). Tick 'Write త as th' to get that.
- శ్ర is written sr (శ్రీ = sri, శ్రావణి = sraavani) and జ్ఞ is gn (జ్ఞానం = gnaanam), as Telugu speakers usually spell them in English.
- Telugu digits such as ౧౨౩ become 123. Anything that is not Telugu (English words, punctuation) is left as it is.
FAQ
Is this a Telugu to English translator?
No. It transliterates: the words stay the same and only the script changes. నమస్కారం becomes namaskaaram; it does not give the meaning (greeting).
How do I write a Telugu name in English?
Pick the Everyday or Simple style and tick 'Capitalise every word': శ్రీనివాస్ gives Srinivaas or Srinivas. For a passport or certificate, keep the spelling already on your documents; this tool only suggests one.
Can I read stotras and songs in English letters?
Yes. Paste the text and pick the Everyday style. For exact pronunciation use ISO 15919, which marks long vowels (ā) and retroflex letters (ṭ).
What is ISO 15919?
The international standard for writing Indian scripts in Latin letters. For Telugu it separates ఎ/ఏ and ఒ/ఓ as e/ē and o/ō, and writes ఱ as ṟ.
Where does the text I paste go?
Nowhere. The conversion runs in your browser; only your last text is kept, in your own browser.
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