🟡 Kannada for beginners · Chapter 6

Everyday verbs: come, go, eat, want

The most famous Kannada word for newcomers is ಬರಲ್ಲ (baralla) — 'won't come' — from the auto driver. By the end of this lesson you'll know exactly how it's built, and how to say everything else.

Study this lesson free in the app →

The basics

Kannada verbs take a root (ಹೋಗು hoogu, go) and add an ending that tells you who and when: ಹೋಗ್ತೀನಿ (hoogtiini) = I go / I'll go. Because the ending already says 'I', the pronoun is usually dropped.

The problem it solves: nouns get you started, but daily life is verbs — I'm coming, go straight, I'll eat, I want tea, I won't, I have to go. Six verbs and four patterns cover most of a newcomer's day.

The mental model: like Hindi, the verb goes last, and the ending agrees with the subject (jaata hoon / jaate hain). Four patterns:

1. Do it (polite): root, -u → -i: ಮಾಡು → ಮಾಡಿ (please do).
2. I'll do / I do: root + -tiini: ಮಾಡ್ತೀನಿ.
3. Won't / don't: root + -alla: ಮಾಡಲ್ಲ.
4. Want / need / must: ನನಗೆ … ಬೇಕು (I want …), root + -abeeku (must do).

Explained

ಬರ್ತೀನಿ      bartiini     I'll come
ಬರಲ್ಲ        baralla      (I) won't come
ಬನ್ನಿ         banni        please come
ಬರಬೇಕು      barabeeku    have to come
ನನಗೆ ಟೀ ಬೇಕು  nanage Tii beeku   I want tea

One root, ಬಾ / ಬರು (come), five sentences you'll say this week. The endings do all the work.

Present / future: one form for both

Spoken Kannada uses one tense for 'I go' and 'I'll go' — context decides.

             go (ಹೋಗು)       come (ಬಾ/ಬರು)    do (ಮಾಡು)
I            ಹೋಗ್ತೀನಿ hoogtiini  ಬರ್ತೀನಿ bartiini  ಮಾಡ್ತೀನಿ maaDtiini
you (pol.)   ಹೋಗ್ತೀರಾ hoogtiiraa ಬರ್ತೀರಾ bartiiraa ಮಾಡ್ತೀರಾ maaDtiiraa
he           ಹೋಗ್ತಾನೆ hoogtaane  ಬರ್ತಾನೆ bartaane  ಮಾಡ್ತಾನೆ maaDtaane
she          ಹೋಗ್ತಾಳೆ hoogtaaLe  ಬರ್ತಾಳೆ bartaaLe  ಮಾಡ್ತಾಳೆ maaDtaaLe
they / resp. ಹೋಗ್ತಾರೆ hoogtaare  ಬರ್ತಾರೆ bartaare  ಮಾಡ್ತಾರೆ maaDtaare
it           ಹೋಗುತ್ತೆ hoogutte  ಬರುತ್ತೆ barutte  ಮಾಡುತ್ತೆ maaDutte
we           ಹೋಗ್ತೀವಿ hoogtiivi  ಬರ್ತೀವಿ bartiivi  ಮಾಡ್ತೀವಿ maaDtiivi

The endings echo the pronouns: -aane ← avanu, -aaLe ← avaLu, -aare ← avaru. That's why the pronoun can be dropped.

Written / news Kannada uses longer forms: ಹೋಗುತ್ತೇನೆ (hoogutteene), ಬರುತ್ತಾರೆ (baruttaare). Recognise them; speak the short ones.

Please do · don't · won't · did

Polite command — root -u → -i (informal = bare root):

ಬಾ → ಬನ್ನಿ banni (come)       ಹೋಗು → ಹೋಗಿ hoogi (go)
ತಿನ್ನು → ತಿನ್ನಿ tinni (eat)     ಮಾಡು → ಮಾಡಿ maaDi (do)
ಕೊಡು → ಕೊಡಿ koDi (give)      ಹೇಳು → ಹೇಳಿ heeLi (say)

Won't / don't (habit) — root + -alla:

ಬರಲ್ಲ baralla   ಹೋಗಲ್ಲ hoogalla   ತಿನ್ನಲ್ಲ tinnalla   ಮಾಡಲ್ಲ maaDalla

Did (past), 'I' form:

ಬಂದೆ bande (I came)   ಹೋದೆ hoode (I went)   ತಿಂದೆ tinde (I ate)
ಕುಡಿದೆ kuDide (I drank)   ಮಾಡಿದೆ maaDide (I did)

Didn't — root + -alilla: ಬರಲಿಲ್ಲ (baralilla, didn't come), ತಿನ್ನಲಿಲ್ಲ (didn't eat).

Don't! (request) — root + -abeeDi: ಹೋಗಬೇಡಿ (hoogabeeDi, please don't go).

ಬೇಕು: want, need, must

ನನಗೆ ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಕು.         nanage kaaphi beeku.      I want coffee.
ನನಗೆ ಬೇಡ.              nanage beeDa.             I don't want (it).
ನಿಮಗೆ ಏನು ಬೇಕು?        nimage eenu beeku?        What do you want?
ಟೀ ಬೇಕಾ?               Tii beekaa?               Want tea?

ನಾನು ಆಫೀಸಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕು.   naanu aaphiisige hoogabeeku.  I have to go to office.
ನೀವು ಬರಬೇಕು.           niivu barabeeku.          You must come.

ನನಗೆ … ಬೇಕು = mujhe … chahiye. Same shape: 'to me' + thing + 'is wanted'. ನನಗೆ (nanage) = to me, ನಿಮಗೆ (nimage) = to you.

Must = infinitive (root + a) + ಬೇಕು: ಹೋಗ + ಬೇಕು = jaana hai.

Direction 'to' a place = -ge / -ige / -kke: ಮನೆಗೆ (home), ಆಫೀಸಿಗೆ (to office), ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ (to work).

-tiini = I'll do it. -alla = I won't. -i = please do. ಬೇಕು = want / must.

• ಬರಲ್ಲ (baralla) — the auto driver's word. bar (come) + alla (not). You'll hear it before you learn it.
• ಮಾಡು (maaDu) — 'make-do': the do-everything verb. ಕಾಲ್ ಮಾಡಿ (call me), ಪೇ ಮಾಡಿ (pay), ಅಡ್ಜಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ (adjust).
• ಬೇಕು (beeku) — 'bay-ku, I beg-ku': I need it. ಬೇಡ (beeDa) — 'bad, don't want'.
• ತಿನ್ನು (tinnu) — tin of food: eat. ಕುಡಿ (kuDi) — cuddy of tea: drink.
• ಹೋಗು / ಬಾ — hoogu = 'go-go', baa = 'back': come back.

Mistakes newcomers make

• Using the bare root with strangers. ಹೋಗು! (go!) or ಕೊಡು! (give!) to an elder or shopkeeper sounds bossy. Use ಹೋಗಿ, ಕೊಡಿ.
• ನಾನು ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಕು. Wrong — like saying 'main chai chahiye'. It's ನನಗೆ (to me) ಕಾಫಿ ಬೇಕು.
• ಬೇಡ vs ಇಲ್ಲ. ಬೇಡ = I don't want. ಇಲ್ಲ = there isn't. Offered more rice? Say ಬೇಡ (or ಸಾಕು, enough) — ಇಲ್ಲ sounds like 'there's no rice'.
• Clipping the long ii in ಬರ್ತೀನಿ. It's bar-tii-ni; a short i makes it sound unsure.
• Expecting a separate future. ಬರ್ತೀನಿ covers 'I come' and 'I'll come'. Add ನಾಳೆ (tomorrow) if it matters.
• Mixing ಬಂದೆ (I came) with ಬಂದ್ರು (they / he-respectful came). Listen for the ending — it tells you who.

Friday, 1:15 PM, office pantry

Sneha from Hyderabad and her teammate Manjunath.

Manjunath: ಊಟ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರಾ? (uuTa maaDidraa? — Had lunch?) Sneha: ಇನ್ನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಈಗ ಹೋಗ್ತೀನಿ. ನೀವು ಬರ್ತೀರಾ? (innuu illa. iiga hoogtiini. niivu bartiiraa? — Not yet. I'm going now. Will you come?) Manjunath: ಬರ್ತೀನಿ. ಆದರೆ ಎರಡು ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಮೀಟಿಂಗ್ ಇದೆ. ಬೇಗ ಬರಬೇಕು. (bartiini. aadare eraDu gaNTege miiTing ide. beega barabeeku. — I'll come. But there's a meeting at 2. Have to be back soon.) Sneha: ಸರಿ. ನನಗೆ ಬಿರಿಯಾನಿ ಬೇಕು. (sari. nanage biriyaani beeku. — OK. I want biryani.) Manjunath: ಇವತ್ತು ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ, ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ರಶ್ ಇರುತ್ತೆ. ದರ್ಶಿನಿಗೆ ಹೋಗೋಣ. (ivattu shukravaara, jaasti rash irutte. darshinige hoogooNa. — It's Friday, there'll be a big rush. Let's go to the darshini.)

Ten verbs in five lines, and ಹೋಗೋಣ (hoogooNa) — let's go — the -ooNa ending is a bonus.

Words to know

In two minutes

• Verbs go last and their ending shows the subject, so pronouns are often dropped: ಬರ್ತೀನಿ = I'll come.
• One spoken tense covers present and future: root + -tiini (I), -tiiraa (you), -taare (they/resp.), -utte (it).
• Polite request: root -u → -i (ಮಾಡಿ, ಕೊಡಿ, ಹೇಳಿ); ಬಾ → ಬನ್ನಿ. The bare root is informal.
• Won't = root + -alla (ಬರಲ್ಲ); didn't = root + -alilla; please don't = root + -abeeDi.
• Want = ನನಗೆ … ಬೇಕು (like 'mujhe … chahiye'); don't want = ಬೇಡ.
• Must = root + a + ಬೇಕು: ಹೋಗಬೇಕು = have to go.
• Past 'I' form: ಬಂದೆ, ಹೋದೆ, ತಿಂದೆ, ಮಾಡಿದೆ.

Test yourself

There are 9 questions, 3 puzzles and 5 recall cards for this lesson in the app — the recall cards come back on later days, just before you would forget.