Pronunciation guide: the Pali alphabet and its sounds

Pali has 41 letters, in this order (the dictionary’s order): a ā i ī u ū e o · k kh g gh ṅ · c ch j jh ñ · ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ · t th d dh n · p ph b bh m · y r l ḷ v s h · ṃ. Devanagari is shown beside each word; Pali is also written in Sinhala, Burmese, Thai and other scripts.

Vowels

a	अ	a in “about” (short)
ā	आ	a in “father” (long)
i	इ	i in “sit”
ī	ई	ee in “see” (long)
u	उ	u in “put”
ū	ऊ	oo in “food” (long)
e	ए	ay in “day”; short before two consonants (mettā)
o	ओ	o in “go”; short before two consonants (sotthi)

Consonants

Throat

k	क	k in “skin”
kh	ख	k with a puff
g	ग	g in “go”
gh	घ	g with a puff
ṅ	ङ	ng in “sing”

Palate

c	च	ch in “church” (never k)
ch	छ	ch with a puff
j	ज	j in “jam”
jh	झ	j with a puff
ñ	ञ	ny in “canyon”

Tongue curled back

ṭ	ट	t, tongue tip curled back
ṭh	ठ	the same with a puff
ḍ	ड	d, tongue curled back
ḍh	ढ	the same with a puff
ṇ	ण	n, tongue curled back

Teeth

t	त	t on the teeth (French t)
th	थ	t with a puff, “at home” (never “thin”)
d	द	d on the teeth
dh	ध	d with a puff, “adhere” (never “this”)
n	न	n in “nut”

Lips

p	प	p in “spin”
ph	फ	p with a puff, “uphill” (never “f”)
b	ब	b in “bat”
bh	भ	b with a puff, “abhor”
m	म	m in “mat”

Others

y	य	y in “yes”
r	र	a light tapped r
l	ल	l in “love”
ḷ	ळ	l with the tongue curled back
v	व	between v and w
s	स	s in “sun” (never z)
h	ह	h in “hand”
ṃ	ं	niggahīta: a nasal hum (saṃgha ≈ “sang-gha”); also written ṁ

How to say a word

An h after a consonant (kh, th, dh, ph, bh…) is a puff of breath, never English “th” or “ph”.
Double consonants are held: dham·ma, bud·dha, sat·ta (like “bookcase”, not “booking”).
Long syllables have ā ī ū e o, end in ṃ, or come before two consonants; the others are short. Stress the second-last syllable if it is long (nib·bā·na, met·tā), otherwise the one before it.
Each entry shows the word split into syllables, e.g. nib·bā·na, saṅ·gha, met·tā.

Pali grammar, metre and literary devices

Grammar: genders and numbers

masculine	dhamma, buddha	most -a stems; nominative -o (dhammo)
feminine	mettā, paññā	mostly -ā, -i, -ī stems
neuter	citta, rūpa	-a stems; nominative -aṃ (cittaṃ)
singular / plural	dhammo / dhammā	Pali has two numbers; the old dual is lost

Grammar: the 8 cases (dhamma, masc.)

nominative	dhammo · dhammā	subject
accusative	dhammaṃ · dhamme	object; goal of motion
instrumental	dhammena · dhammehi	by, with
dative	dhammāya, dhammassa · dhammānaṃ	to, for
ablative	dhammā, dhammasmā, dhammamhā · dhammehi	from; because of
genitive	dhammassa · dhammānaṃ	of
locative	dhamme, dhammasmiṃ, dhammamhi · dhammesu	in, on, at; when
vocative	dhamma · dhammā	O …!

Singular · plural. buddha declines the same way: buddho, buddhaṃ, buddhena, buddhāya/buddhassa, buddhā, buddhassa, buddhe, buddha.

Grammar: verbs (bhavati / hoti “is, becomes”)

present	bhavati, hoti · bhavanti, honti	he/she is · they are; also bhavāmi/homi “I am”
aorist (past)	ahosi · ahesuṃ	he/she was · they were (also abhavi)
future	bhavissati, hessati, hohiti	will be
optative	bhaveyya	may be, should be (wishes, rules, conditions)
imperative	bhavatu, hotu · hontu	let it be · let them be
conditional	abhavissa	would have been (rare)

Grammar: non-finite forms

absolutive -tvā	bhavitvā, hutvā; gantvā, disvā	having been; having gone, having seen
infinitive -tuṃ	bhavituṃ, kātuṃ, gantuṃ	to be, to do, to go
present participle -nt / -māna	bhavanto, bhavamāna	being
past participle -ta / -na	bhūta, kata, dinna	become, done, given
future passive -tabba / -anīya	kātabba, karaṇīya	to be done, what should be done

Grammar: compounds (samāsa)

dvanda	samaṇabrāhmaṇā	“ascetics and brahmins”: X and Y
tappurisa	rājaputta	“king’s son”: Y of/by/for X
kammadhāraya	mahāpurisa	“great man”: Y that is X
digu	tiratana	“the three jewels”: a numeral first
bahubbīhi	mahāpañña	“(one) having great wisdom”: describes someone else
avyayībhāva	yathābalaṃ	“according to strength”: indeclinable, adverb-like

Grammar: sandhi (joining sounds)

vowel dropped	na + atthi → natthi	“there is not”
vowels merge	tatra + ayaṃ → tatrāyaṃ	a + a → ā
i + vowel	iti + evaṃ → iccevaṃ	i becomes y, ty → cc
ṃ + vowel	evaṃ + āha → evam āha	ṃ becomes m
ṃ + consonant	saṃ + gaha → saṅgaha	ṃ takes the nasal of the next consonant
doubling	pa + kamati → pakkamati	a consonant is doubled after a prefix

Prosody: heavy and light syllables

garu (heavy) –	ā ī ū e o; a short vowel + ṃ or two consonants	dham- in dhamma, saṃ- in saṃgha
lahu (light) ⏑	a short vowel (a i u) + at most one consonant	ma- in manasā

Metres are counted either by syllables (akkharachandas) or by morae, mattā (light = 1, heavy = 2).

Prosody: main metres

siloka (anuṭṭhubha)	4 × 8 syllables	the commonest; even lines usually end ⏑ – ⏑ x
tuṭṭhubha	4 × 11 syllables	yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni (Ratana-sutta, Sn 222)
jagatī	4 × 12 syllables	a tuṭṭhubha line with one more syllable; the two are often mixed in one verse
vetālīya	lines of 14 + 16 mattā	counted in morae, with the cadence – ⏑ – ⏑ –
opacchandasaka	lines of 16 + 18 mattā	like vetālīya, cadence – ⏑ – ⏑ – –
mattāchandas	metres counted in mattā	vetālīya, opacchandasaka and the old gīti/āryā forms

Dhammapada 1 (siloka): manopubbaṅgamā dhammā / manoseṭṭhā manomayā / manasā ce paduṭṭhena / bhāsati vā karoti vā: “Mind precedes things; mind is their chief, they are mind-made; if one speaks or acts with a corrupted mind …”

Literary devices in the canon

repetition, peyyāla	… pe …	repeated passages are written once and abbreviated with pe(yyāla), “and so on”
stock formulas	evaṃ me sutaṃ. ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā …	“Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One …”
numerical lists	cattāri ariyasaccāni	the Aṅguttara Nikāya is arranged by number (ones to elevens); mātikā are the Abhidhamma’s lists of headings
similes (upamā)	seyyathāpi … evam eva	“just as … even so”, e.g. the raft (kullūpama, MN 22)
verse and prose (geyya)	prose then summarising verses	geyya is one of the nine kinds (aṅga) of the Teacher’s word
dialogue, questions	taṃ kiṃ maññatha bhikkhave, rūpaṃ niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ vā ti? aniccaṃ bhante	teaching by question and answer (SN 22.59)
refrains	eko care khaggavisāṇakappo	“let one wander alone like the rhinoceros horn” ends each verse of Sn 35–75
chiasmus, ring structure	na hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācanaṃ / averena ca sammanti	mirrored order (Dhp 5); many suttas end by returning to their opening
word-play	lujjatī ti kho bhikkhu, tasmā loko ti vuccati	“it crumbles (lujjati), so it is called the world (loka)” (SN 35.82)
epithets	bhagavā, tathāgata, sugata	and the ‘iti pi so’ list: arahaṃ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno …
framing stories	paccuppannavatthu · atītavatthu · samodhāna	a Jātaka’s present story frames the past story, then identifies the characters; Vinaya rules each have an origin story
uddāna	a mnemonic verse after each vagga	lists a key word from each sutta so the chapter can be recited from memory

Sources: A. K. Warder, Introduction to Pali (Pali Text Society, 3rd ed. 2001) and Pali Metre (PTS, 1967); W. Geiger, Pāli Literatur und Sprache (1916), rev. K. R. Norman as A Pāli Grammar (PTS, 1994); K. R. Norman, Pāli Literature (1983) and his papers on Pāli metre.

Pali Dictionary

आ

ā

Say it: ā

indeclinable

Sanskrit equivalent

a-sau

Meaning

Ā¹

indeclinable a frequent prefix, used as well-defined simple base-prefix (with rootderivations), but not as modification (i.e. first part of a double prefix cpd. like sam-ā-dhi) except in one case ā-ni-saṁsa (which is doubtful & of diff. origin, viz. from comb^n. āsaṁsa-nisaṁsa, see below 3^b). It denotes either touch (contact) or a personal (close) relation to the object (ā ti anussaraṇ’ atthe nipāto Pv-a.165), or the aim of the action expressed in the verb

As prep. c. abl only in Ja in meaning “up to, until, about, near” Ja.vi.192 (ā sahassehi = yāva s. C.), prob. a late development As pref. in meaning “forth, out, to, towards, at, on” in foll. applications:
1. aim in general or touch in particular (lit.), e.g. ākaḍḍhati pull to, along or up; ˚kāsa shining forth; ˚koṭeti knock at; ˚gacchati go towards ˚camati rinse over; ˚neti bring towards, ad-duce; ˚bhā shining forth; ˚bhujati bend in; ˚masati touch at; ˚yata stretched out; ˚rabhati at-tempt; ˚rohana a-scending; ˚laya hanging on; ˚loketi look at; ˚vattati ad-vert; ˚vahati bring to; ˚vāsa dwelling at; ˚sādeti touch; ˚sīdati sit by ˚hanati strike at
2. in reflexive function: close relation to subject or person actively concerned, e.g. ādāti take on or up (to oneself); ˚dāsa looking at, mirror ˚dhāra support; ˚nandati rejoice; ˚nisaṁsa subjective gain ˚bādha being affected; ˚modita pleased; ˚rakkha guarding ˚rādhita satisfied; ˚rāma (personal) delight in; ˚lingati embrace (to oneself); ˚hāra taking to (oneself)
3. in transitive function: close relation to the object passively concerned, e.g. āghātana killing; ˚carati indulge in; ˚cikkhati point ont, explain; ˚jīva living on; ˚ṇāpeti give an order to somebody; ˚disati point out to some one; ˚bhindati cut; ˚manteti ad-dress; ˚yācati pray to; ˚roceti speak to; siñcati besprinkle; ˚sevati indulge in
4. out of meaning (a) develops that of an intensive-frequentative prefix in sense of “all-round, completely, very much” e.g. ākiṇṇa strewn all over, ˚kula mixed up; ˚dhuta moved about; ˚rāva shouting out or very much; ˚luḷati move about; ˚hiṇḍati roam about.
Affinities. Closely related in meaning and often interchanging are the foll prep. (prefixes): anu (˚bhati), abhi (˚saṁsati), pa (˚tapati) paṭi (˚kankhati) in meaning (1) a-c; and vi (˚kirati ˚ghāta, ˚cameti, ˚lepa, ˚lopa), sam (˚tapati, ˚dassati) in meaning (1) d. See also 3^b.
Combinations:
1. Intensifying comb^ns. of other modifying prefixes with ā as base anu + ā (anvā-gacchati, ˚disati, ˚maddati, ˚rohati, ˚visati ˚sanna, ˚hata), paṭi + ā (paccā-janati, ˚ttharati, ˚dāti, ˚savati), pari + ā (pariyā-ñāta, ˚dāti, ˚pajjati, ˚harati), sam + ā (samā-disati, ˚dāna, ˚dhi, ˚pajjati, ˚rabhati)
2. Contrast-comb^ns. with other pref. in a double cpd. of noun, adj or verb (cp. above 2) in meaning of “up & down, in & out to & fro”; ā + ni: āvedhika-nibbedhika, āsaṁsa-nisaṁsa (contracted to ānisaṁsa), āsevita-nisevita; ā + pa: assasatipassasati (where both terms are semantically alike; in exegesis however they have been differentiated in a way which looks like a distortion of the original meaning viz. assasati is taken as “breathing out“, passasati as “breathing in“: see Vism.271), assāsa-passāsa, āmoditapamodita, āhuna-pāhuna, āhuneyya-pāhuneyya; ā + paccā ākoṭita-paccākoṭita; ā + pari: ākaḍḍhana-parikaḍḍhana āsankita-parisankita; ā + vi: ālokita-vilokita, āvāha-vivāha āveṭhana-viniveṭhana; a + sam: allāpa-sallāpa: ā + samā āciṇṇa-samāciṇṇa.
Before double consonants ā is shortened to a and words containing ā in this form are to be found under a˚, e.g. akkamaṇa, akkhitta, acchādeti aññāta, appoṭeti, allāpa, assāda.

Vedic ā, prep. with acc., loc., abl., meaning “to, towards”, & also “from”. Orig. an emphatic-deictic part. (Idg. *ē) = Gr. ̓ ̈η surely, really; Ohg -ā etc., increment of a (Idg. *e), as in Sk. a-sau; Gr. εκεϊ (cp. a³) see Brugmann, Kurze Vergl. Gr. 464, 465

Ā˚²

guṇa or increment of a˚ in connection with such suffixes as-ya, -iya, -itta. So in āyasakya fr. ayasaka; āruppa from arūpa; ārogya fr. aroga; ālasiya fr. alasa; ādhipacca fr. adhipati; ābhidosika fr. abhidosa etc.

Ā˚³

of various other origins (guṇa e.g. of ṛ or lengthening of ordinary root a˚), rare, as ālinda (for alinda), āsabha (fr. usabha).

Ā˚⁴

infix in repetition-compounds denoting accumulation or variety (by contrast with the opposite, cp. ā¹ 3^b), constitutes a guṇa-or increment-form of neg. pref. a (see a²), as in foll.: phalāphala all sorts of fruit (lit. what is fruit not fruit) freq. in Jātakas, e.g. ; Ja.i.416; Ja.ii.160; Ja.iii.127 Ja.iv.220, Ja.iv.307, Ja.iv.449; Ja.v.313; Ja.vi.520; kāraṇākāraṇāni all sorts of duties Ja.vi.333; Dhp-a.i.385; khaṇḍākhaṇḍa pêle-mêle Ja.i.114; Ja.iii.256; gaṇḍāgaṇḍa a mass of boils Dhp-a.iii.297; cirāciraṁ continually Vin.iv.261; bhavābhava all kinds of existences Snp verse 801, cp. Mnd.109; Cnd.664; Thag.784 (˚esu = mahant-âmahantesu bh. C., see Brethren 305); rūpârūpa the whole aggregate Thag-a.285; etc.

Pali Text Society Pali–English Dictionary (Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921–25). Source