Telugu
Americannoun
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Telugus,
plural
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Telugu
plural
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a Dravidian language spoken mainly in Andhra Pradesh state, SE India.
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a member of the people speaking this language.
adjective
noun
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a language of SE India, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages: the state language of Andhra Pradesh
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a member of the people who speak this language
adjective
Usage
What does Telugu mean? Telugu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India. Telugu also refers to the speakers of this language. India is a large country located in southern Asia, and Andhra Pradesh is one of its 25 states. The Dravidian family of languages includes many of the languages spoken in Southern India and the country of Sri Lanka, including Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. According to the 2011 Census of India, there were over 81 million speakers of Telugu. At that time, it was the fourth most popular language in India, with 6. 7 percent of the population speaking it. Telugu is the official language of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Spoken Telugu has several different regional dialects, which depend on a person’s geographic area, class, and caste. Written Telugu is more uniform and, like other Dravidian languages, is based on the Brahmi script rather than ancient Sanskrit. Telugu is written from left to right, and its alphabet currently consists of 60 symbols, including 16 vowels and 41 consonants.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Overnight, Singh became Bollywood's most relateable voice, recording across many languages - Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu - and sometimes singing multiple songs in a single film.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
In Telangana, pressure has grown on the government to publish a report on the Telugu film industry that’s been waiting to see the light of the day for two years.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024
She is now looking forward to watching Telugu superstar Nagarjuna’s 2004 film Mass on the big screen this week.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024
Though some of the members of the B.J.P.’s coalition this year share Mr. Modi’s hard-line vision, both the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal-United are moderate, secular parties that have a diverse support base.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
The principle of home rule requires such gathering, and the missionary at Madras, without seeking it, naturally becomes a sort of secretary and treasurer and entertainer of the whole body of Telugu workers.
From A Tour of the Missions Observations and Conclusions by Augustus Hopkins Strong
Our American Congregationalists have done most for the Tamils; we Baptists have done most for the Telugus.
From A Tour of the Missions Observations and Conclusions by Augustus Hopkins Strong
The Boyis are Telugus, and are employed as bearers of palanqueens and other domestic service in Southern India.
From A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India by Robert Sewell
He told me that he had heard the Burmese and Telugus sing in their native tongue his grand missionary hymn, "The Morning Light is Breaking."
From Recollections of a Long Life An Autobiography by Theodore Ledyard Cuyler
Their success in building up Baptist churches in Burma and among the Telugus, keeps our missionaries faithful to the New Testament model of church polity.
From A Tour of the Missions Observations and Conclusions by Augustus Hopkins Strong
About the year 1475 there was a terrible famine in the Dakhan and the country of the Telugus, which lasted for two years.
From A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India by Robert Sewell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
