Kannada Gender

Welcome to the fifth Kannada lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Kannada to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

man ಗಂಡಸು [Gaṇḍasu]

woman ಹೆಂಗಸು [Heṅgasu]

husband ಗಂಡ [Gaṇḍa]

wife ಹೆಂಡತಿ [Heṇḍati]

boy ಹುಡುಗ [Huḍuga]

girl ಹುಡುಗಿ [Huḍugi]

father ಅಪ್ಪ [Appa]

mother ಅಮ್ಮ [Am'ma]

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Kannada + Pronunciation
my son is a student [masculine + noun] ನನ್ನ ಮಗ ಒಬ್ಬ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ [Nanna maga obba vidyārthi]
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] ಅವರ ಮಗಳು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿನಿ [Avara magaḷu vidyārthini]
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] ಅವನಿಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಉದ್ದನೆಯ ಅಣ್ಣ ಇದ್ದಾನೆ [Avanige obba uddaneya aṇṇa iddāne]
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಉದ್ದನೆಯ ತಂಗಿ ಇದ್ದಾಳೆ [Avaḷige obba uddaneya taṅgi iddāḷe]
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] ಅವನ ತಮ್ಮಂದಿರು ಚಿಕ್ಕವರು [Avana tam'mandiru cikkavaru]
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] ಅವಳ ತಂಗಿಯಂದಿರು ಚಿಕ್ಕವರು [Avaḷa taṅgiyandiru cikkavaru]

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son ಮಗ [Maga]

daughter ಮಗಳು [Magaḷu]

brother ಅಣ್ಣ/ ತಮ್ಮ [Aṇṇa/ tam'ma]

sister ಅಕ್ಕ/ ತಂಗಿ [Akka/ taṅgi]

grandfather ತಾತ [Tāta]

grandmother ಅಜ್ಜಿ [Ajji]

child ಮಗು [Magu]

children ಮಕ್ಕಳು [Makkaḷu]

Expressions in Kannada

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Kannada, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Kannada - Pronunciation
What do you mean? ಏನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಅರ್ಥ [Ēnu nim'ma artha]
I don't understand ನನಗೆ ಅರ್ಥ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ [Nanage artha āgalilla]
I don't know ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ [Nanage gottilla]
What is that called in Kannada? ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ [Kannaḍadalli adakke ēnu kareyuttāre]
What is this? ಏನು ಇದು [Ēnu idu]
What does that word mean in English? ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ [Adakke iṅglīṣinalli ēnu annuttāre]
Sorry (if you made a mistake) ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ [Kṣamisi]

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Kannada. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.