The -ಕ್ಕೆ ending means ‘for’ and attaches to the occasion: ಹೊಸ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ, ಹೊಸ ಮನೆಗೆ, ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಗೆ. Combine it with ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು and you can congratulate anyone for anything.

For a new house, the ceremony is ಗೃಹಪ್ರವೇಶ and you will usually be invited. Bringing something for the home — a lamp, sweets, fruit — is the convention rather than cash.

The -ಅಲಿ ending is the blessing form and it is what separates a real Kannada wish from a translated one. ಆಗಲಿ, ಸಿಗಲಿ, ಇರಲಿ — may it be, may you get, may it remain.

Elders will almost always add a blessing after congratulating you, and the correct response is to accept it, not to deflect. A simple ಧನ್ಯವಾದ with slightly bowed head is right.

One more register is worth having: congratulating in writing. Kannada written wishes are longer and more formal than spoken ones, and a message that would sound overblown aloud reads correctly on a card. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆಗೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು — congratulations on your achievement — is the standard formal opening, and ಮುಂದೆಯ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳಿಗೂ ಶುಭವಾಗಲಿ — may all your future efforts go well — closes it.

There is also a specific thing to say when someone has worked hard for a long time and finally succeeded: ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶ್ರಮ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ, your effort was worthwhile. It acknowledges the years rather than the moment, and to a student who has just cleared an exam after two attempts, or a parent who put them through it, it lands far better than a generic congratulation.

One more register is worth having: congratulating in writing. Kannada written wishes are longer and more formal than spoken ones, and a message that would sound overblown aloud reads correctly on a card. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆಗೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು — congratulations on your achievement — is the standard formal opening, and ಮುಂದೆಯ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳಿಗೂ ಶುಭವಾಗಲಿ — may all your future efforts go well — closes it.

There is also a specific thing to say when someone has worked hard for a long time and finally succeeded: ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶ್ರಮ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ, your effort was worthwhile. It acknowledges the years rather than the moment, and to a student who has just cleared an exam after two attempts, or a parent who put them through it, it lands far better than a generic congratulation.

1. ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು is long — a-bhi-nan-da-ne-ga-lu. Keep it light and even.
2. ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ has a doubled m.
3. ಯಶಸ್ಸು has a doubled s. ‘Ya-shas-su’.
4. ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ uses the vocalic ಋ and a doubled t.
5. The -ಅಲಿ blessing ending is unstressed and trails off softly.

• Using ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು for a birthday. Birthdays take ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು; congratulations are for achievements.
• Congratulating without a blessing. The -ಅಲಿ phrase is what makes it feel sincere.
• Deflecting an elder’s blessing. Accept it with ಧನ್ಯವಾದ rather than arguing.
• Forgetting the sweets. Good news in Karnataka comes with distributed sweets. Expect to be asked.
• Giving cash at a housewarming. Bring something for the home instead.

1. Build five congratulations using -ಕ್ಕೆ plus ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು.
2. Add a -ಅಲಿ blessing to each one.
3. Practise ಸಿಹಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿ? as a playful response to good news.
4. Congratulate someone in Kannada this week and note the reply.
5. Learn ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದಾಗಲಿ until it comes automatically.

Announcing good news in Karnataka means distributing sweets. A promotion, exam results, a new house, a birth — a box of ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಾಕ್ or ಪೇಡ goes around the office or the street. Being asked ಸಿಹಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿ? is a congratulation in itself, and turning up empty-handed to announce your own good news is a small comic failure.

Exam results are a particularly public affair. SSLC and PUC results are front-page news in Karnataka, toppers are interviewed on television, and entire neighbourhoods know how the local children did. Congratulating a family on a child’s results is expected rather than intrusive.

A quieter convention: good news is often withheld until it is certain, because announcing something unconfirmed is thought to invite bad luck. If a Kannada colleague seems evasive about a job offer, they are probably waiting for the letter rather than being secretive.