ಹೇಳು
hēḷu/heːɭu/
The English word 'tell' is translated into Kannada as ಹೇಳು (hēḷu).
The verb is used to express the act of passing information to someone.
Meaning: to pass information (verb)
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ಹೇಳು is the most common and versatile word for 'tell' in informal settings. To make the verb polite or to address a group, you can add the suffix '-i' to the root to form ಹೇಳಿ.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the third-person masculine singular present tense, the verb changes to ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. For the third-person feminine singular present tense, use ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ. If you are speaking in the past tense, the masculine singular form is ಹೇಳಿದನು and the feminine singular form is ಹೇಳಿದಳು.
How do you pronounce it?
hēḷu (/heːɭu/)
Did you know?
- Because Kannada is an agglutinative language, you can attach multiple suffixes to ಹೇಳು to change 'tell' into 'tell me', 'tell them' or 'tell him' without adding separate pronouns.
- When asking someone to 'tell' or 'explain' something in a professional setting, Kannada speakers often switch from ಹೇಳು to the more formal ತಿಳಿಸು, which literally means 'to make known'.
- The retroflex 'ḷ' in ಹೇಳು requires a specific physical movement where you curl your tongue back to touch the roof of your mouth.
Examples in context
- ನನಗೆ ನಿಜ ಹೇಳು!Tell me the truth!This sentence is useful for practicing the command 'tell' with the form ಹೇಳು.
- ನನಗೆ ಒಂದು ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳು.nannage ondu kathe helu.Tell me a story.
Example conversation
Anvita asks Abhishek about a secret he heard.
- ಅನ್ವಿತಾ Anvithaಅಭಿಷೇಕ್, ನಿನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ನನಗೆ ಹೇಳು.Abhishek, ninage gottiddaru nanage helu.Abhishek, even if you know, tell me.
- ಅಭಿಷೇಕ್ Abhishekಅನ್ವಿತಾ, ಅದು ತುಂಬಾ ದೊಡ್ಡ ರಹಸ್ಯ.Anvita, adu tumba dodda rahasya.Anvita, that is a very big secret.
- ಅನ್ವಿತಾ Anvithaದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ನಿನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದನ್ನು ಹೇಳು.Dayavittu ninage tilididdannu helu.Please tell me what you know.
- ಅಭಿಷೇಕ್ Abhishekಸರಿ, ನಾನು ಈಗ ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇನೆ.Sari, nānu īga heluttēne.Okay, I will tell you now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ಹೇಳು, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
