Konkani language

Konkani is an Indo Aryan language derived from the mother of all Indian languages, Sanskrit and the Prakrit language. Therefore, the natural and original script of Konkani is Nagari also known as Devnagari. Written Konkani is in existence for more than 1000 years as is evident from the AD 981 inscriptions on the granite slab at the foot of the monolithic statue of Bahubali in Shravan Belagola in Karnataka.

Indo Aryan language

History of Konkani language

Konkani is the State language of Goa where it originated and enjoys recognition in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India therefore is written in the currency notes of Republic of India. Konkani is the Mother tongue of nearly 40 different communities belonging to Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Konkani is the medium of instruction in some schools in Goa and the first or second language in the school curriculums.

The Konkani people outside Goa are the descendants of migrants from Goa who left Goa due to the alien rule and persecution from 15th century onwards and are now settled mostly in coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra and spread to other States of India as well as in more than 100 countries across the globe in minor numbers. Thus Konkani is a minority language outside Goa as per the Constitution of India. Konkani is now taught as a third optional language in the schools of Karnataka and Kerala.

Learn Konkani with us

With English being hailed as the lingua franca of this era, the new generation is slowly losing its touch with the Konkani language and yet we are aware that this new generation is always eager to learn and keep their Mother language Konkani and take a ahead literature alive for generations to come. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we have created this platform to promote the speaking and writing of the Konkani language in its natural form.

Most Konkani people speak the language at home with family and close friends. Majority of the Konkani people are familiar with Hindi, Marathi or Sanskrit all of which use Nagari script. This website is an attempt to present the dictionary versions of these common words and phrases in Konkani, its pronunciation and the proper written form of the words, making it easier to grasp the language and propagate its usage.

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How to use this website to learn Konkani

For the sake of convenience and ease, the words are also displayed in Roman/Latin script as most Konkani people study in English language which uses the Roman script. This will make reading Konkani words easy though not thoroughly accurate. The meanings of the words are given in the English language. This will convey the interpretation of the word to the learner.

We have started from the basic alphabets to simple daily used words in this site. Once the learner is familiar with pronunciations of the words and phrases the learning of the language will commence. A number of books related to the writing of the language are available. The information on these books is available on the ___ section of the site. Interested persons will be able to place an order for these books and purchase a copy through this website.

Learn Konkani Online

Nagari or Devnagari script

The Script

Many Indian Languages use the Nagari or Devnagari script. In the languages adopting this script, every word is written the way it is pronounced. The languages use a phonetic script unlike European languages using Roman script (For example the letter C is pronounced one way as an alphabet, some other way in the word Century and in yet another way in the word Cat). While in the languages using the Nagari script it is pronounced the way it is written. This makes learning of Indian languages easy. Thus it is a perfect script. That is why our ancestors did not create a separate script for Konkani.