All writing systems in India are based on the Brahmi script, the first evidence of which is the group of inscriptions by King Ashoka in the third century BCE. Malayalam has been written in several scripts, including Brahmi, Vatteluttu, Grantha, and modern Malayalam scripts beginning in roughly the ninth century CE.

For English speakers, the Malayalam writing system, or script, may look intimidating. It’s not really. It works a little differently and requires some memorization, but the script is phonetic, meaning that you say it as you write it (mostly!), and syllabic, meaning that it’s based on an alphabet and the syllables you can make with an alphabet. With some hard work, you can learn the script within a week and never look back.

There are four types of letters or syllables in Malayalam: initial vowels, consonants, dependent vowels added to consonants, and combining consonants for conjunct sounds. That means there are three tricky parts about learning the Malayalam script for English readers.  1) If a vowel begins a word, you must use its initial vowel form.  When a vowel occurs in the middle of a word, you must use its dependent vowel form. 2) Consonants always have an inherent a-sound, unless they are marked with a different dependent vowel or “cut off” with the special sign that looks like small crescent, for example ത് ല്, or other marker. 3) For some clusters of consonants (str, pl, kr, ty, etc.) you will have to recognize and use a few special combining consonant forms. This guide covers the modern or reformed Malayalam script, established in the 1970s to facilitate typing and computer entry.

Let’s learn the initial vowels first. The chart below is also the alphabetical order for Malayalam vowels. Rounded letters are characteristic of most South Indian language scripts and you will gradually get used to writing with lots of curves. The Roman letter equivalents indicate that most vowels have both a short and a long version. Click each letter below to see a clip showing how each should be written by hand.