Not a wordlist — the actual sentences you need at a tea stall, in an auto, at a doctor's desk, or when someone asks how you are. Every phrase has Telugu script, romanization, and a note on when to use it.
Most phrasebooks give you sentences nobody says. This one is built the other way round: the entries here are the ones that actually recur in daily life in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — బాగున్నారా? a dozen times a day, ఇది ఎంత? at every purchase, కొంచెం తగ్గించండి whenever a price is negotiable.
Two things about politeness before you start. Telugu marks respect grammatically: verbs ending in -ండి (-aṇḍi) are the polite form you should use with strangers, elders and anyone serving you. రా means "come" to a close friend or a child; రండి means "come" to everyone else. When in doubt, use the -ండి form — it is never wrong, only slightly formal.
బాగున్నారా? (bāgunnārā?) — "are you well?". It works as hello, as a greeting to someone you already know, and as a conversation opener with a stranger. The expected reply is బాగున్నాను, మీరు? (bāgunnānu, mīru?) — "I'm well, and you?". Learning this exchange alone will get you a warmer reception than any amount of vocabulary.
That suffix is the polite imperative. చెప్పు (ceppu) is "tell me" said to a friend; చెప్పండి (ceppaṇḍi) is "please tell me" said to anyone else. Telugu has no separate word for "please" that you bolt onto a sentence the way English does — politeness lives in the verb ending. Using the plain form with a stranger sounds abrupt, so default to -ండి.
Yes, noticeably, though they are entirely mutually intelligible. Telangana speech uses different verb endings in places (వస్తున్న rather than వస్తున్నాను), has more Urdu-derived vocabulary, and favours different words for everyday things. The phrases on this page use standard Telugu, which is understood everywhere. Once you are on the ground, you will pick up the local flavour quickly.
Honestly, many Telugu speakers do not say ధన్యవాదాలు in casual settings — it reads as formal, almost written. Among friends and family, gratitude is more often shown than stated, or expressed with English "thanks". ధన్యవాదాలు is right for service staff, officials, and anyone you want to be respectful toward; for a friend who passed you a plate, a nod does the job.
In Hyderabad and central Vijayawada, largely yes. Outside those, much less so — in smaller towns and villages, English fluency drops sharply. More to the point, even a handful of Telugu phrases changes how you are treated. Attempting the language is read as respect, and the response is usually immediate warmth and considerable patience with your mistakes.
They negate different things. కాదు (kādu) negates identity: "this is not it", "he is not a doctor". లేదు (lēdu) negates existence or possession: "there isn't any", "I don't have it". Asked is this yours? you'd answer కాదు. Asked do you have change? you'd answer లేదు.