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

भव

bhava

Say it: bha·va

Sanskrit equivalent

भव bhava

Meaning

Bhava

“becoming”, (form of) rebirth, (state of) existence, a “life.” There are 3 states of existence conventionally enumerated as kāma˚ rūpa˚, arūpa˚; or sensual existence, deva-corporeal, formless existence (cp. rūpa) DN.ii.57; DN.iii.216; SN.ii.3 SN.iv.258; AN.ii.223; AN.iii.444; Mnd.48; Cnd. s.v. dhātu B. Vism.210 = DN-a.i.34; Vism.529; Vb-a.204
■ Another view is represented by the division of bhava into kamma˚; and upapatti˚; (uppatti˚), or the active functioning of a life in relation to the fruitional, or resultant way of the next life (cp. Cpd. 43) Vb.137 Vism.571; Vb-a.183; also in def. of bhava at Cnd.471 (kamma˚ and paṭisandhika punabbhava)
■ In the “causal chain” (Paṭicca-samuppāda, q.v.) bhava is represented as condition of birth (jāti), or resultant force for new birth
■ See Snp verse 361, Snp verse 514, Snp verse 742, Snp verse 839, Snp verse 923 Snp verse 1055, Snp verse 1133; Dhp.348; Mnd.274; Vb.294, Vb.358; Vism.556 sq.; Dhp-a.iv.221; Sdhp.33, Sdhp.333, Sdhp.335
■ On itibhav’ ābhava see iti, and add ref. Vb.375
■ A remarkable use of bhava as nt. (obstr.) to bhū (in cpd.) is to be noted in the def. given by Bdhgh. of divya = divi bhavaṁ (for divi-bhū) Kp-a.227; Snp-a.199; and mānasaṁ = manasi bhavaṁ (for manasi-bhū) Kp-a.248, cp. Pāṇini iv.3, 53 Similarly āroga bhava health Dhp-a.i.328 for ˚bhava-Cp. anu˚, vi˚, sam˚.

-agga the best (state of) existence, the highest point of existence (among the gods) Ja.iii.84; Vb.426; Mil.132; Kp-a.179, Kp-a.249; Snp-a.17, Snp-a.41, Snp-a.507; often as highest “heaven” as opposed to Avīci, the lowest hell; thus at Ja.iv.182; Ja.vi.354; Mil.336. -aṅga constituent of becoming, function of being, functional state of subconsciousness i.e. subliminal consciousness or subconscious life-continuum, the vital continuum in the absence of any process (of mind, or attention) (thus Mrs Rh. D. in Expos. 185 n.), subconscious individual life See on term Cpd. 26 sq., 265–⁠267; & cp.; Dhs trsl. 134, Ja.vi.82; Mil.299 sq.; Vism.164, Vism.676; Dhs-a.72, Dhs-a.140 Dhs-a.269; Dhp-a.i.23; Vb-a.81, Vb-a.156 sq., Vb-a.406. -antaga “gone to the ends of existence,” past existence, epithet of the Bhagavan Buddha Vism.210. -antara an existence interval, i.e. transition fr. one life to another, a previous or subsequent life Vism.553 sq. -ābhava this or that life, any form of existence some sort of existence Snp verse 1060, Snp verse 1068; Mnd.48, Mnd.109, Mnd.284; Cnd.472, Cnd.664 A Thag.784 (Thag-a mahantāmahanta bh.) Thag-a.71 (Ap. v 30); Vb-a.501. -āsava the intoxicant of existence DN.iii.216; Vb.364, Vb.373. -uppatti coming into (a new ex
■ Four such bh- uppattis lead to rebirth among the foll. gods: the paritt’-ābhā devā, the appamāṇ’ābhā d., the sankiliṭṭh’-ābhā d., the parisuddh’-ābhā d MN.iii.147. -esanā longing for rebirth DN.iii.216, DN.iii.270 -ogha the flood of rebirth (see ogha) Mnd.57, Mnd.159 Vism.480. -cakka the wheel or round of rebirth equivalent to the Paṭicca-samuppāda Vism.529 Vism.576 sq.; in the same context at Vb-a.138, Vb-a.194 sq -carimakā the last rebirth Vism.291. -taṇhā craving for rebirth DN.iii.212, DN.iii.216, DN.iii.274; SN.v.432; Snp verse 746; Vb.101, Vb.358, Vb.365; Thig.458; Thag-a.282; Vb-a.iii.133 -netti [cp. BSk. bhava-netrī M. Vastu ii.307; ˚netrika iii.337] leader to renewed ex., guide to ex. Vin.i.231; Iti.38; Ds.1059≈ (cp. Dhs-a.364 = bhava-rajju). -saṁyojana the fetter of rebirth: see arahant II. C. -salla the sting or dart of rebirth Dhp.351 (= sabbāni bhavagāmīni sallāni Dhp-a.iv.70). -sāta (pl. sātāni) the pleasures of ex., variously enumerated in sets of from one to six at Mnd.30. -ssita at Ja.v.371 read with variant reading as ghaṭa-ssita.

cp. Sk. bhava, as philosophical term late, but as Name of a deity Vedic; of bhū, see bhavati

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