1 Go వెళ్ళు veḷḷ- veḷḷu 2 Come రా rā- rā 3 Eat తిను tinu- tinu 4 Drink తాగు tāgu- tāgu 5 Do చేయు cēyu- cēyu 6 See చూడు cuḍu- cuḍu 7 Say/Speak చెప్పు cheppu- cheppu 8 Listen విను vinu- vinu 9 Write రాయు rāyu- rāyu 10 Read చదువు caduvu- caduvu 11 Sit కూర్చు kūrchu- kūrchu 12 Stand నిలుచు niluchu- niluchu 13 Sleep పడుకో paḍukō- paḍukō 14 Work పని చేయు pani cēyu- pani cēyu 15 Know తెలుసు telusu- telusu 16 Give ఇవ్వు ivvu- ivvu 17 Take తీసుకో tīsukō- tīsukō 18 Run పరుగు parugu- parugu 19 Buy కొను konu- konu 20 Like/Love ఇష్టపడు iṣṭapaḍu- iṣṭapaḍu 💬 Verbs in Action – Example Sentences Telugu English Audio నేను భోజనం తింటున్నాను I am eating food అతను ఇంటికి వెళ్తాడు He will go home నీళ్లు తాగు Drink water పుస్తకం చదువు Read the book. Telugu verbs end in a vowel, which gives them a smooth, flowing quality. The retroflex ḷ in veḷḷu (go) is pronounced by curling the tongue tip back — it has no English equivalent; practise by saying "lu" with the tongue pressed to the upper palate. The doubled consonants in cheppu (say) and caduvu (read) must be held longer than single ones. The retroflex ḍ in paḍukō (sleep) and iṣṭapaḍu (like) is made with the tongue curled back, distinctly different from a regular "d."
⚠️ Common Pronunciation Errors Pronouncing veḷḷu as "vellu" — the ḷ is retroflex, curl the tongue back. Saying "cheppu" as one short beat — hold the double "pp". Confusing ḍ (retroflex) with d (dental) in paḍukō — they are different sounds. Swallowing the final vowel — Telugu verbs keep their end vowel clear: tinu, not tin. 💡 Native Speaker Tip In fast spoken Telugu, the verb ending -tunnānu (I am doing) often shortens to -tunnān or even -tunnā. You'll hear "tintunnān" for "I'm eating." Don't be confused — it's the same verb, just clipped for speed!
🧠 Memory Trick Group verbs by body action: Mouth verbs end in -nu/-gu (tinu=eat, tāgu=drink, vinu=listen). Movement verbs end in -ḷḷu/-ru (veḷḷu=go, parugu=run). Notice the pattern and verbs will stick fast!
🏛️ Cultural Notes In Telugu, the verb comes at the very end of the sentence (Subject-Object-Verb order), so a full thought isn't complete until the final word. This mirrors the Telugu cultural value of building up to a respectful conclusion. Also, Telugu verbs encode social hierarchy directly: tintānu (I eat, neutral) becomes tintunnānu in continuous form, and whole verb forms change to honour elders — a feature known as maryāda (respectful speech)