This is the class where you start reading real words, and by the end of it you can begin to decode a bus board. Every consonant already says a; vowel signs change that, and they sit to the right, to the left, below or on both sides. You hear ക wearing every vowel, learn the one rule that confuses English readers (the e sign is written first but said second), and see why the vowel-sign table is thirty-six letters and twelve rules, not hundreds of separate shapes. Then the five chillu letters that end so many words, the anusvaram and the crescent, and the joined letters, which are two familiar letters holding hands. Words and phrases in this class: ക (ka) – ka, the bare letter with built-in a കാ (kaa) – kaa, with the long aa sign കി (ki) – ki, with the short i hook കു (ku) – ku, with the curl below കെ (ke) – ke, with the sign on the left കൊ (ko) – ko, with signs on both sides ക് (k) – bare k, silenced by the crescent അവൻ (avan) – he (ends in the n chillu) പാൽ (paal) – milk (ends in the l chillu) അവൾ (aval) – she (ends in the retroflex L chillu) സിംഹം (simham) – lion (ends in the anusvaram) അക്ക (akka) – elder sister (joined kka) മാങ്ങ (maanga) – mango (joined nga) In this class: • Vowel signs: one consonant wearing every vowel • Written before, said after: the e and o signs • The five chillus, the anusvaram and the crescent • Joined letters as held sounds: ക്ക, ങ്ങ and ച്ച Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.