ScriptLookup

Telugu

తెలుగు
te 95M speakers

Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language with approximately 95M speakers speakers. It is written using the Telugu script. Its BCP 47 language code is te.

Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. With approximately 95 million native speakers, it is the most widely spoken Dravidian language. Telugu is one of the classical languages of India and has inscriptions dating to 575 CE.

Telugu is written in the Telugu script, an abugida derived from the Brahmi script. It is sometimes called the 'Italian of the East' for the prevalence of vowel endings in its words, which give it a melodious quality.

Writing Systems Used for Telugu

Telugu
తెలుగు లిపి
Primary
నమస్కారం
LTR Telu

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Telugu use?
Telugu is written using the Telugu script (ISO 15924 code: Telu). Telugu is written left-to-right.
What direction is Telugu written?
Telugu is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Telugu?
Telugu has approximately 95M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Dravidian language family.
What language family does Telugu belong to?
Telugu belongs to the Dravidian language family. It is written with the Telugu script.
What is the language code for Telugu?
The BCP 47 language code for Telugu is "te". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
te
ISO 639-3
tel
Status
living
Speakers
95M speakers
Language Family
Dravidian
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Telugu

Other Telugu Languages

Gondi lmn wbq

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.