kannu

Kannu is a term with multiple uses in South Asian linguistic and cultural contexts. In Kannada, the language spoken in the Indian state of Karnataka, kannu (written in Kannada as ಕಣ್ಣು) means "eye." It is a common noun in everyday speech and appears in literature and poetry, often within idioms and expressions related to vision and perception.

As a proper noun, Kannu is also used as a given name or nickname among Kannada-speaking communities and other South Indian groups. In transliteration from Kannada, the word is commonly rendered as Kannu or kaṇṇu, and it may appear in personal names, stage names, or other forms of identification, reflecting its linguistic roots.

The usage of Kannu is largely regional, tied to Kannada language speakers, though transliteration variants can occur in broader Indian contexts where phonetic spellings are adapted to different writing systems. The term thus functions both as a basic lexical item meaning “eye” and as a cultural signifier that can appear in naming practices and literary or artistic references.