A lookup list of the Kannada adjectives you will actually use, grouped by type. Kannada adjectives never change form to agree with the noun, which makes them simpler than Hindi or most European languages. The one thing to remember is the -ಆಗಿದೆ ending, which turns any adjective into a complete sentence.
Size, Quantity and Quality
Word order matches English: adjective first, noun second. ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮನೆ is a big house. Unlike Hindi, the adjective never changes for gender or number — ದೊಡ್ಡ stays ದೊಡ್ಡ before any noun.
Careful with ಹಳೆಯ. It means old in the sense of worn or previous and applies to objects. An old person is ವಯಸ್ಸಾದ, and using ಹಳೆಯ about a human is rude.
Character and Feeling
ಸೋಮಾರಿ and ಜಿಪುಣ are genuinely insulting when applied to a person, so keep them for describing situations rather than people you are speaking to. ಸಾಧು is a compliment meaning mild-mannered, quite different from the Hindi sense of an ascetic.
Physical and Sensory
The taste words are worth learning as a set because Kannada cooking talks about them constantly. ಸಿಹಿ, ಖಾರ, ಹುಳಿ, ಕಹಿ and ಉಪ್ಪು together describe almost any dish.
Note that ಹುಳಿ means both sour and sambar, and uses the retroflex ಳ. ಹುಲಿ with plain ಲ is a tiger.
Making Sentences and Comparisons
The -ಆಗಿದೆ ending is the key pattern. Attach it to any adjective and you have a full sentence meaning ‘is that way’. The past form is -ಆಗಿತ್ತು.
Kannada has no separate comparative form like ‘bigger’. Add -ಗಿಂತ meaning ‘than’ to the thing being compared, and use ಎಲ್ಲ for the superlative.
A structural note that saves a lot of confusion. Many Kannada adjectives are historically derived from nouns or verbs, which is why some take a linking form before a noun and others do not. ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ and ಹಳೆಯ carry that -ಯ ending, while ಹೊಸ and ದೋಡ್ಡ do not. There is no rule to derive it from; learn each adjective in a phrase rather than alone and the correct shape comes automatically.
The other point is that Kannada often prefers a verb where English reaches for an adjective. Rather than saying something is broken, Kannada says ಕೆಟ್ಟುಹೋಗಿದೆ — it has gone bad. Rather than ‘I am tired’, ಸುಸ್ತಾಗಿದೆ. Reaching for a verb when an adjective fails you is usually the more natural move.
A structural note that saves a lot of confusion. Many Kannada adjectives are historically derived from nouns or verbs, which is why some take a linking form before a noun and others do not. ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ and ಹಳೆಯ carry that -ಯ ending, while ಹೊಸ and ದೋಡ್ಡ do not. There is no rule to derive it from; learn each adjective in a phrase rather than alone and the correct shape comes automatically.
The other point is that Kannada often prefers a verb where English reaches for an adjective. Rather than saying something is broken, Kannada says ಕೆಟ್ಟುಹೋಗಿದೆ — it has gone bad. Rather than ‘I am tired’, ಸುಸ್ತಾಗಿದೆ. Reaching for a verb when an adjective fails you is usually the more natural move.
Pronunciation Tips
- ದೊಡ್ಡ, ಚಿಕ್ಕ and ಗಟ್ಟಿ all have doubled consonants that must be held.
- ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ has a doubled retroflex ಳ — one of the harder common adjectives.
- ತಣ್ಣಗೆ has a doubled retroflex ಣ.
- ಮೃದು uses the vocalic ಋ. Say ‘mru-du’ as one quick start.
- ಸ್ವಚ್ಛ has the cluster ಸ್ವ and an aspirated ಛ.
Common Mistakes
- Making adjectives agree with the noun. Kannada adjectives never change. Hindi speakers make this error constantly.
- Dropping -ಆಗಿದೆ. ಮನೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ is incomplete as a sentence.
- Using ಹಳೆಯ for people. Use ವಯಸ್ಸಾದ.
- Confusing ಹುಳಿ and ಹುಲಿ. Sour versus tiger, separated by one retroflex.
- Looking for a word like ‘bigger’. Use -ಗಿಂತ on the compared item instead.
Practice
- Attach -ಆಗಿದೆ to eight adjectives from the chart.
- Describe five objects around you using adjective plus noun.
- Build three comparisons using -ಗಿಂತ.
- Learn the five taste words as a set.
- Say ಹುಳಿ and ಹುಲಿ back to back until the retroflex is clean.