The "m" and "mu" suffixes in Telugu

[Radhakrishna Warrier]

I see that Telugu can add either the “m” suffix or the “mu” suffix to neutral nouns loaned from Sanskrit while Malayalam adds only the “m” suffix. As an example, I have seen svargam (స్వర్గం) and svargamu (స్వర్గము) in Telugu while in Malayalam, there is only Svargam (സ്വർഗം). Are svargam and svargamu interchangeable and mean the same thing (heaven) in Telugu or is there any difference in nuance?

Regards,

Radhakrishna Warrier

[Nagaraj Paturi]

-mu is the suffix found in classical Telugu usage and -m is its form found in the colloquial usage. There is no semantic or grammatical difference between the two. 

- mu in the classical usage has alternative forms -mmu , - mbu too. For example, you may find svargamu as svargammu or svargambu too without any semantic or grammatical variation , in classical Telugu. These alternatives are not found in colloquial Telugu. 

The suffix -mu/-mmu/-mbu of classical Telugu is added to the Sanskrit borrowings to communicate the amahat gender which is non-human gender. While -mu/-mmu/-mbu when found in a word invariably indicates nonhuman , all nonhuman indicating words need not have this suffix in them. 

This suffix as an independent suffix used for nativizing Sanskrit borrowings is theorized to be picked up from the native Telugu words like paamu = snake. 

Though forms paammu, paambu are not found even in the classical sources ( beginning from the 11th century CE, similar native Telugu forms are found in the inscriptions of older period. 

Dravidian philologists trace -mbu to -mp(u) of proto Dravidian and connect, for example, paamu of Telugu to paampu /paambu of Tamil. 

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Nagaraj Paturi

Kulapati | Vice-Chancellor, INDICA

 

 

 

[Deekshitulu TV]

Proper nouns in Telugu end with vowels with suffixes Du, Mu, Vu, Lu (prathama vibhakti ). For neuter gender suffix is Mu(eka vachanamu), Lu (bahu vachanam) hence స్వర్గము /swargamu / or స్వర్గములు /swargamulu 

In Sanskrit swarga is pumlinga(पुंलिङ्ग ) , Hence, prathama vibhakti स्वर्गः (प्रथमा एक वचन ), if it were to be neuter  gender it has to be ( either written as  स्वर्गम् /स्वर्गं ) depending on its position in the vaakya.

In Hindi  it is written as   स्वर्ग ,  but  word endings are pronounced as halanta even though full letter is written.

regards

TV Deekshitulu, A101, Bellevista Apts., Sector-15, Belapur, Navimumbai-400614
Tel +91 9869203437

On Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 8:14 AM Radhakrishna Warrier <radwa...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Radhakrishna Warrier]

Thank you Paturi ji for this informative clarification.

Best regards,

Radhakrishna Warrier

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From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com <bvpar...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Nagaraj Paturi <nagara...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2025 8:58 PM
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} The "m" and "mu" suffixes in Telugu

 

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[Deekshitulu TV]

Nagaraj Paturi

Kulapati | Vice-Chancellor, INDICA,

Sir ,

are you meaning to say this?

-mu(ము/मु  ) is the suffix found in classical Telugu usage and -m (మ్/म्  )is its form found in the colloquial usage. There is no semantic or grammatical difference between the two. 

I am a native Telugu speaker. I claim no scholarship.As I understand,  the halanta forms are rare in Telugu unless it is a borrowed word like Gum, Rum  

regards

TV Deekshitulu, A101, Bellevista Apts., Sector-15, Belapur, Navimumbai-400614
Tel +91 9869203437

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[Nagaraj Paturi]

Dear Deekshitulu garu,

You can say this only if you have noticed in colloquial Telugu usages like svargam, moham, balam, janam, raajyam, raashtram, dhanam, manam, kaLlem, goLlem, paLlem, peLlaam etc., 

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