Lesson 0010 Spoken Kannada ~11 min

Phone call basics

Open a call, say who you are, ask someone to call you, wait a minute, and handle “not here / wrong number / busy” — the spine for society staff, shops, and neighbours.

Audio: Machine-generated Kannada (edge-tts · kn-IN-SapnaNeural). Helpful for rhythm and recognition — may not perfectly match native Bengaluru pronunciation. Prefer what you hear from neighbours when the two differ.
Today’s win

You can say Nanage kare maadi, answer Yaaru maatadtiddira? with your name, hold with Ondu nimisha kaayri, and recover with Avaru eega illa / Tappa number.

Spaced review: maadi · nanage · nimisha · eega · nanna hesaru · eshtu · kshamisi · dhanyavadagalu · naale · gante-ge

01 Why this matters

L9 gave you clock time for meetings. Real life still runs on phone calls: society office, plumber, auto driver, neighbour who isn’t at the door. Bengaluru speech mixes English phone / call / number / busy / line with Kannada glue — learn the Kannada spine so the mix still lands.

02 One grammar lever: kare / phone + maadi

Pattern

kare = call (noun/verb root; ≈ call / phone karo)
maadi = do (polite — you locked this in L6)
kare maadi = please call
phone maadi = please phone / make a call
nanage kare maadi = call me (to-me call do)

Same SOV feel as Hindi mujhe call karo — object first, polite verb last. You’ll also hear pure English “call me” constantly; still lock the Kannada form.

03 Core phone set

call meNanage kare maadi
slownatural
I’ll callNaanu phone maadtini
slownatural
one minuteOndu nimisha kaayri
slownatural
who’s speaking?Yaaru maatadtiddira?
slownatural
not here nowAvaru eega illa
slownatural
wrong numberTappa number
slownatural
line busyLine busy aagide
slownatural
your number?Nimma phone number eshtu?
slownatural
call laterNantara nanage kare maadi
slownatural

04 Phrase cards

Halo

Hello (phone only)

≈ Hello (phone)

Phone-only greeting. Face-to-face you still open with Namaskara (L1).

Nanage kare maadi

slownatural

Call me / Please call me

≈ Mujhe call karo / phone kariye

nanage (to me, L6) + kare + maadi. Core ask of the lesson.

Naanu phone maadtini

slownatural

I’ll call / I’m calling

≈ Main phone karta hoon / karunga

naanu (I) + phone + maadtini (I do / will do). Swap in a time: naale phone maadtini.

Ondu nimisha kaayri

slownatural

Wait one minute, please

≈ Ek minute rukiye

nimisha from L9. kaayri = wait (polite). Short form you’ll also hear: Ondu nimisha.

Yaaru maatadtiddira?

slownatural

Who is speaking? / Who’s this?

≈ Kaun bol rahe hain?

yaaru = who. maatadu = speak/talk. Polite continuous -tiddira matches L2 hogtiddiri vibe.

Nanna hesaru Prayank

slownatural

My name is Prayank

≈ Mera naam Prayank hai

L1 recycle — answer to “who’s speaking?” before you dive into the request.

Avaru eega illa

slownatural

They’re not here now

≈ Woh abhi nahi hain

avaru = he/she/they (respectful). eega (L9) + illa = not present. Soften: swalpa nantara kare maadi.

Tappa number · Line busy aagide

slownatural
slownatural

Wrong number · The line is busy

≈ Galat number · Line busy hai

tappa = wrong/mistake. EN line / busy + Kannada aagide (has become / is) is very natural Bengaluru speech.

Nimma phone number eshtu? · Nantara nanage kare maadi

slownatural
slownatural

What’s your phone number? · Call me later

≈ Aapka number kya hai? · Baad mein call kariye

L3 eshtu for the number ask. nantara (L4/L9 later) stacks cleanly onto kare maadi.

05 Mini vocab bank

KannadaEnglishHindi bridge
kare
callcall / phone
phone
phonephone
number
numbernumber
yaaru
whokaun
maatadu / maatadtiddira
speak / speaking (polite)bolna / bol rahe hain
kaayri
wait (polite)rukiye
avaru
he/she/they (respect)woh (aap form)
illa
not / isn’t therenahi hai
tappa
wrong / mistakegalat
aagide
has become / isho gaya / hai

06 Model dialogues

A · Call a neighbour

You
Halo. Nanna hesaru Prayank.

slownatural

Hello. My name is Prayank.

Neighbour
Sari. Yaaru maatadtiddira?

slownatural

Okay. Who’s speaking? (they may still confirm)

You
Nanna hesaru Prayank. Nanage kare maadi. Swalpa help beku.

slownatural

My name is Prayank. Call me — I need a little help.

Neighbour
Sari. Ondu nimisha kaayri.

slownatural

Okay. Wait one minute.

You
Sari. Dhanyavadagalu.

slownatural

Okay. Thank you.

B · Not available / try later

You
Halo. Ravi avaru iddara?

slownatural

Hello. Is Ravi there?

Other
Avaru eega illa.

slownatural

They’re not here now.

You
Sari. Nantara nanage kare maadi. Nimma phone number eshtu?

slownatural

Okay. Call me later. What’s your phone number?

Other
Sari. Naanu phone maadtini.

slownatural

Okay. I’ll call.

You
Gothaytu. Dhanyavadagalu.

slownatural

Got it. Thank you.

07 Retrieval practice

1. “Call me”
2. “Who is speaking?”
3. “Wait one minute”
4. “They’re not here now”
5. “Wrong number”
6. Spaced: “do (polite)” (L6)

08 Production

  1. Call me.
  2. Who is speaking?
  3. My name is Prayank.
  4. Wait one minute.
  5. They’re not here now.
  6. Call me later. What’s your phone number?

09 Real-world task

Before next lesson
  1. Save one real contact note with Nanage kare maadi / Nantara kare maadi said out loud once.
  2. Practice a 20-second fake call: Halo → name → one request → dhanyavadagalu.
  3. If someone texts first, reply once with a voice note using at least two phrases from this lesson.

10 Primary source

Ground phone lines in Wikitravel · On the phone and what society staff / shops actually say in Bengaluru (heavy EN+KN mix: phone, number, busy, call).

Ask your teacher

Heard a phone line you can’t parse (missed call, WhatsApp call, “ring aytu”)? Paste it — we’ll decode.

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