Vowels

For one learning Malayalam, studying the alphabet can be confusing, as the list of vowels varies from one reference to the next. Sometimes diphthongs are included, other times they’re not, and likewise for the letter ഋ. According to a wikipedia article , ഋ is a “vocalic consonant” classified as a vowel. ൠ, ഌ, and ൡ are also vocalic consonants, but the wikipedia article states that are “no words in current Malayalam that use them.” In Learn Malayalam in 30 Days, C.L. Meenakshi Amma states that ഌ is used in one Malayalam word, borrowed from Sanskrit. The author does not identify that word.

Here then are the Malayalam vowels, including ഐ and ഔ, which are diphthongs, and ഋ, the vocalic consonant.

അ	ആ
ഇ	ഈ
ഉ	ഊ
ഋ
എ	ഏ	ഐ
ഒ	ഓ	ഔ

Tags: Malayalam vowels