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

भवति

bhavati

Say it: bha·va·ti

Sanskrit equivalent

भूमि bhūmi

Meaning

Bhavati

to become, to be, exist, behave etc. (cp. Cnd.474 sambhavati jāyati nibbattati pātu-bhavati)

I. Forms

There are two bases used side by side, viz bhav˚; and (contracted) ho˚; the latter especially in the (later) Gāthā style and poetry in general, also as archaic in prose, whereas bhav˚ forms are older. On compounds with prepositions, as regards inflection, see Geiger, P.Gr. §§ 131², 151³; and cp. anubhavati, abhibhavati abhisaṁ˚, pa˚ (also pahoti, pahūta), pari˚ vi˚, saṁ˚.

pres ind. bhavāmi Snp verse 511 & homi Ja.iii.260; 2^nd bhavasi & hosī MN.iii.140; Vv.84:20; 3^rd bhavati freq.; Snp verse 36 (where Cnd.474 with variant reading BB of Snp reads bhavanti; Divy p.294 also reads bhavanti snehāḥ as conjecture of Cowell’s for MSS. bhavati) Dhp.249, Dhp.375; & hoti freq.; 1^st pl. homa Pv.11:8 2^nd hotha Ja.i.307; 3^rd bhavanti & honti; freq
imper 2^nd sg. bhava Snp verse 337, Snp verse 340, Snp verse 701; Dhp.236; Thig.8 bhavāhi Snp verse 510; hohi Snp verse 31; MN.iii.134; Ja.i.32; Pv-a.89; 3^rd sg. hotu Snp verse 224; Ja.iii.150; Pv-a.13; Mil.18. pl 1^st med. bhavāmase Thag.1128; Snp verse 32; 2^nd pl. bhavatha Ja.ii.218, bhavātha Snp verse 692; Dhp.144; hotha Dhp.243; Dhp.ii.141; Ja.ii.302; Dhp-a.i.57; 3^rd pl. bhavantu Snp verse 145; hontu Ja.ii.4.
pot 1^st sg. bhaveyyaṁ Ja.vi.364 2^nd bhaveyyāsi Ud.91; Pv-a.11; 3^rd bhave Snp verse 716 bhaveyya Ja.ii.159; Dhp-a.i.329, & hupeyya Vin.i.8 (for huveyya: see Geiger, Pali Grammar § 39#6 & 131²); pl. 1^st bhaveyyāma; 2^nd bhavetha Snp verse 1073, 3^rd bhaveyyuṁ Snp verse 906
ppr bhavaṁ Snp verse 92, & bhavanto Snp verse 968; f hontī Pv-a.79
fut 1^st sg. bhavissāmi Pv-a.49 hessāmi Thig.460 (Thag-a.283 reads bhavissāmi); hessaṁ Thag.1100; Ja.iii.224; Pv.10:5; 2^nd bhavissasi Pv-a.16, hohisi Pv.3:3; 3^rd bhavissati Dhp.228, Dhp.264; Dhp-a.ii.82, hessati Ja.iii.279 & med.; hessate Mhvs.25 Mhvs.97, hehitī Bv.ii.10 = AN.i.4; Vv.63:32; & hossati (in pahossati fr. pahoti Dhp-a.iii.254); 1^st pl. bhavissāma Dhp.200; 2^nd hessatha SN.iv.179; 3^rd bhavissanti freq
■ Cond. 1^st sg. abhavissaṁ Ja.i.470; 2^nd abhavissa Ja.ii.11; Ja.iii.30; 3^rd abhavissa Iti.37; Vin.i.13; DN.ii.57; MN.iii.163; Ja.i.267; Ja.ii.112 (na bhavissa = nābhavissa?) 3^rd pl. abhavissaṁsu Vin.i.13.
■ 1^st aor. (orig. pret. of *huvati, cp. hupeyya Pot.; see Geiger Pali Grammar § 131#2, 162²) 1^st sg. ahuvā SN.i.36, with by-form (see aor.) ahuvāsiṁ Vv.82:6; 2^nd ahuvā ibid., 3^rd ahuvā Vv.81:24; Ja.ii.106 Ja.iii.131; 1^st pl. ahuvāma MN.i.93; MN.ii.214, & ahuvamha ibid.; 2^nd ahuvattha SN.iv.112; MN.i.445; Dhp-a.i.57. 2^nd aor. (simple aor., with pret. endings): 1^st sg. ahuṁ Pv.15:2 (variant reading BB ahu) (= ahosiṁ Pv-a.83); 2^nd ahu (sk abhūḥ) Pv.15:5; 3^rd ahū (Sk. abhūt) Snp verse 139, Snp verse 312, Snp verse 504 and passim; Pv.2:3, & ahu Pv.9:3; Pv.11:3; & bhavi Dhp-a.i.329 (pātubhavi); 1^st pl. ahumhā (Sk. abhūma Pv.11:6, & ahumha Ja.i.362; Dhp-a.i.57. 3^rd aor. (s aor.) 1^st sg. ahosiṁ Thag.620; Ja.i.106; Vv-a.321; Pv-a.10 (= āsiṁ); 2^nd ahosi Ja.i.107; 3^rd ahosi Snp verse 835; Vin.i.23; 1^st pl. ahesumha MN.i.265; 3^rd ahesuṁ DN.ii.5; Vv.74:4; Ja.i.149; Dhp-a.i.327; & bhaviṁsu (Sk abhāviṣuḥ) Dhp-a.iv.15
■ Of medial forms we mention the 1^st pl. pres. bhavāmahe Mhvs.i.65, and the 3^rd sg pret. ahuvattha Vv-a.103
inf bhavituṁ Snp verse 552; hetuye Bv.ii.10
ger bhavitvā Snp verse 56, hutvā Snp verse 43 & hutvāna Snp verse 281
grd bhavitabba Ja.i.440; Ja.vi.368 hotabba Vin.i.46; bhabba (Sk. bhavya); see sep. bhuyya see cpd. abhibhuyya
caus bhāveti see sep
pp bhūta.

Note. In compound with nouns or adjectives the final vowel of these is changed into ī, as in combination of the same with the root kṛ; e.g. bhasmībhavati to be reduced to ashes, cp. bhasmī-karaṇa s. v. bhasma, etc.

II. Meanings.

In general the meaning “to become, to get” prevails, but many shades of it are possible according to context & combinations. It is impossible & unnecessary to enumerate all shades of meaning, only a few idiomatic uses may be pointed out.

to happen, to occur, to befall Ja.vi.368.
The fut bhavissati “is certainly,” “must be” Dhp-a.iii.171 (sātthikā desanā bh.); Mil.40 (mātā ti pi na bh.).
Imper. hotu as adv. “very well” Mil.18 (hotu bhante very well, sir).
aor. in meaning and as substitute of āsiṁ, pret. of as to be; etad ahosi this occurred to him Dhp-a.i.399 (assā etad ahosi “this thought struck her”).

bhū to become, cp. Sk. bhūmi earth; Gr. φύσις nature (physical), φύομαι to grow; Lat. fui I have been futurus = future; Oir. buith to be; Ags. būan = Goth bauan to live, Ger. bauen, also Ags. bȳldan = to build Lith. búti to be, būtas house Dhtp.1: bhū sattāyaṁ.

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