മലയാളം അക്ഷരമാല — Malayalam Alphabet Chart

അക്ഷരങ്ങളിലൂടെ മലയാളം പഠിക്കാം.

Need to check a Malayalam letter quickly? Start with the chart below. Then find its sound, an example word and the marks that change it.

For a lesson you can follow from the beginning, use Read Malayalam From Zero. This page is the reference to keep beside you while you read.

Malayalam Aksharamala: the quick chart

സ്വരങ്ങൾ / Vowels

അ ആ ഇ ഈ ഉ ഊ ഋ എ ഏ ഐ ഒ ഓ ഔ

വ്യഞ്ജനങ്ങൾ / Consonants

This chart lists 13 vowel letters and 36 consonant letters. It places the signs ം and ഃ, chillu forms and rarer vowel letters separately below. Other books count these differently, so their totals may differ. A number alone does not tell you which letters a chart includes.

1. Vowels with examples / സ്വരങ്ങളും ഉദാഹരണങ്ങളും

A vowel can be spoken without a consonant. Malayalam uses independent vowel letters such as ആ, and vowel signs such as ാ attached to consonants.

Reading the Roman hints: aa, ee and oo are long sounds. We use e/ae for short/long e, and o/oh for short/long o, matching the site's reading guide. These are simple learning hints, not exact English pronunciations. Hold the longer sounds steadily rather than sliding between two vowels.

Look twice: ഇല is a leaf; ഈച്ച is a fly. The first letter in each word is different. The long vowel is part of the word, not just an instruction to speak more slowly.

Why do some charts show അം and അഃ?

They show അ followed by a sign: അ + ം = അം, and അ + ഃ = അഃ. They are often taught beside the vowels, but they are not two more ordinary independent vowel letters in the chart above.

The nasal sound represented by ം can change with the sounds around it. ഃ is mainly found in Sanskrit-derived words; its pronunciation also depends on the word. Learn the complete word rather than inserting the same English “h” everywhere.

2. Consonants with examples / വ്യഞ്ജനങ്ങളും ഉദാഹരണങ്ങളും

A plain consonant letter includes a short a: ക is ka, not just k. Compare ക → കാ → കി → ക്: ka → kaa → ki → k.

Examples below contain the target letter; they do not all begin with it. Some letters occur mostly in borrowed or literary words, so their examples are less familiar.

ക ഖ ഗ ഘ ങ

The ng sound is like the ending of English “sing,” with a vowel added for the letter name nga. In മാങ്ങ, it appears in the joined form ങ്ങ.

ച ഛ ജ ഝ ഞ

For ഞ, think of the ny sound in “canyon,” not a separate n followed by a hard English j. You may also see this sound written as nya in learning materials.

ട ഠ ഡ ഢ ണ

These are the tongue-back sounds: the tongue tip turns back towards the roof of the mouth. Our simple ta, da and na hints do not show that tongue position. In പട്ടം, ട appears doubled as ട്ട.

ത ഥ ദ ധ ന

These are the teeth sounds: the tongue tip touches near the back of the upper front teeth. The th in these Roman hints does not mean the English sound in “think.” Some words have lighter pronunciations in everyday speech than their careful letter names suggest.

പ ഫ ബ ഭ മ

ഫ traditionally represents a breathy p, and is also used for f in words borrowed from other languages.

യ ര ല വ, ശ ഷ സ ഹ, ള ഴ റ

Sounds that simple English spellings hide

• ല / ള / ഴ: വല is a net; വള is a bangle; മഴ is rain. ല uses a forward tongue position; ള curls the tongue back. For ഴ, curl it back without making a firm contact. The zh spelling does not mean z followed by h.
• ര / റ: both use ra in simple Roman spelling, but they are different Malayalam sounds. ര is generally a light tap; റ is a stronger r sound. Some combinations, including റ്റ, have their own pronunciation. Compare the actual Malayalam letters, not just the Roman hints.
• ശ / ഷ / സ: both ശ and ഷ use sha here; സ uses sa. ശ and ഷ have different traditional tongue positions, though speakers may merge them in some words.
• ന / ണ: both use na here. Keep the tongue-back sound of ണ distinct from ന.

What does the extra h mean? In pairs such as ക/ഖ and പ/ഫ, it marks aspiration: an extra release of breath. The charts use ordinary spellings rather than scholarly dots and accents, so read the group notes when two letters share a hint.

3. Vowel signs at a glance / സ്വരചിഹ്നങ്ങൾ

Find the vowel you want in the first column. The last column shows it joined to ക.

The marks for e, ae and ai appear to the left of the consonant, but you pronounce the consonant first. The marks for o and oh have parts on both sides. For au, you may also encounter the spelling കൌ with the two-part sign ൌ; കൗ is common in modern writing.

A quick lookup: കൈ (kai) means hand. കാ is kaa; കൈ is kai. A small change in the mark gives a different vowel.

4. Chandrakkala, chillus and joined letters

്: the chandrakkala

The mark ് removes a consonant's ordinary a: ക → ക്. It also helps form joined consonants such as ക് + ക = ക്ക. At the end of many Malayalam words it can indicate a short reduced vowel in speech, so do not assume every word ending in ് ends with a bare consonant.

ചില്ലക്ഷരങ്ങൾ / Chillu letters

These forms represent consonants without an added vowel.

The Unicode script also includes historical chillu forms. They are outside this everyday beginner chart.

കൂട്ടക്ഷരങ്ങൾ / Common joined forms

A joined form is not a new basic consonant in our 36-letter count. Fonts and older books may draw some combinations differently. For a slower explanation and reading practice, continue with Read Malayalam From Zero.

5. Rarer vowels you may see in a larger chart

These are distinct from the familiar consonant-vowel combinations റി or ലി. You do not need to memorise rare Sanskrit spellings before reading a simple Malayalam story.

Find your next lesson

• Read Malayalam From Zero
• പൂമ്പാറ്റ — The Butterfly
• പൂച്ചക്കാരു മണികെട്ടും? — Who Will Bell the Cat?
• All Malayalam lessons

Reference notes

The explanations and examples on this page were prepared for LangFastPro. For recorded pronunciation, see the University of Texas at Austin's Malayalam pronunciation resources. For script forms and chillu encoding, see the Unicode Malayalam specification. Roman hints are approximate; native audio is the better guide to sounds English does not distinguish.