Letter ಳ (ḷa) (Topic 5) in Module 8 – Kannada-Letters (BG)

ಳ — Letter (ḷa)

• English sound anchor: girl (retroflex l — unique to Kannada)

• Kannada words:
• ಹಳ್ಳಿ ('haḷḷi') — Village
• ಬೆಳೆ ('beḷe') — Crop / Growth
• ಕಳೆ ('kaḷe') — Weed / Art / Thief

Half Letter ಳ್ (ḷa halant)

Adding the virama (್) below ಳ creates the half letter ಳ್ — it silences the inherent 'a' and allows this consonant to join the next one directly.

The halant form ಳ್ appears in conjunct consonants and cluster words.

How to Write ಳ

Watch the animated stroke order below. Each stroke is drawn in sequence — follow the arrows.

Stroke order animation via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.