Locale Te 001

Reference data for the Telugu locale — endonym తెలుగు, written in the Telugu script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: te-001
• ISO 639-1: te
• ISO 639-3: tel
• Script: Telu (Telugu)
• Region: 001 (World)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 83,000,000
• L2 (additional): 13,000,000
• L1+L2 (total): 96,000,000

Regional variants

This is the base/macro locale for Telugu. Region-specific variants in this dataset:

• Locale Te in (Telugu (India))

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — n = 1 (e.g. 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, written in the Telugu script. Written Telugu has a modern standard (the spoken-style standard, వ్యావహారికం) that replaced the older literary style. See Locale Te in.

Translate ideas, not words.

• Telugu is agglutinative and subject-object-verb. Reorder English sentences.
• Use the modern standard written style in UI and documentation; the older literary style (గ్రాంథికం) is for literature.
• Use terms from the Telugu Akademi and the state governments where established; accept common English loans in Telugu script (ఫైల్, పాస్‌వర్డ్, యాప్).

Grammar that trips translators.

• Inclusive "మనం" (we including the listener) and exclusive "మేము" (we excluding the listener) are distinct.
• Nouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter in agreement; verbs agree in person, number, and gender. Postpositions follow nouns.

Register.

• "మీరు" is the polite or plural "you" for UI and public text; "నువ్వు" is informal. Use "మీరు" with polite verb endings ("సేవ్ చేయండి").

Orthography and typography.

• Use Unicode Telugu with correct virama and ZWJ handling. Follow the Telugu Akademi's spelling.
• Digits: Arabic digits in UI; Telugu digits (౦-౯) in some print. Currency ₹; Indian grouping.

Common pitfalls

• Using the literary style in modern text.
• Confusing inclusive and exclusive "we".
• Wrong virama or conjunct sequences.
• Mixing Telangana and Andhra usage unintentionally.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• Microsoft Localization Style Guides for Indian languages (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/reference/microsoft-style-guides)
• Telugu Akademi (తెలుగు అకాడమీ)