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

दिट्ठ

diṭṭha

Say it: diṭ·ṭha

noun

Sanskrit equivalent

दृष्ट dṛṣṭa, द्विष्ट dviṣṭa

Meaning

Diṭṭha¹

seen; a˚ not seen DN.i.222 (a˚ + avedita asacchikata); MN.i.3 sq. (diṭṭhaṁ diṭṭhato sañjānāti); Snp verse 147 (diṭṭhā vā ye vā addiṭṭhā), Snp verse 995 (na me diṭṭho ito pubbe na ssuto… Satthā) Ja.ii.154; Ja.iii.278; Pv.2:3 (sāmaṁ d. = seen by yourself) Pv.3:3 (id.)
■ nt. diṭṭhaṁ a vision Ja.iii.416
■ Since sight is the principal sense of perception as well as of apperception (cp. cakkhu), that which is seen is the chief representation of any sense-impression, & diṭṭha combined with suta (heard) and muta (sensed by means of smell taste & touch), to which; viññāta (apperceived by the mind) is often joined, gives a complete analysis of that which comprises all means of cognition & recognition Thus; diṭṭha + suta stands collectively for the whole series Snp verse 778, Snp verse 812, Snp verse 897, Snp verse 1079; Pv.36:3; diṭṭha suta muta (see Cnd.298 for detail & cp. diṭṭhiyā sutiyā ñāṇena) Snp verse 790, Snp verse 901, Snp verse 914, Snp verse 1082, Snp verse 1086, Snp verse 1122 (na tuyhaṁ adiṭṭhaṁ asutaṁ amutaṁ kiñcanaṁ atthi = you are omniscient); d. suta muta viññāta in the same sense as Snp verse 1122 in “yaṁ sadevakassa lokassa d. s. m. v sabbaṁ taṁ Tathāgatena abhisambuddhaṁ” of the cognitive powers of the Tathāgata DN.iii.134 = Cnd.276; Iti.121; DN.iii.232; Snp verse 1086, Snp verse 1122.
known, understood MN.i.486; Snp verse 761; diṭṭha pañha a problem or question solved Ja.vi.532. See also conclusion of No. 1
(adj.) visible, determined by sight, in conn. with dhamma meaning the visible order of things, the world of sensation, this world (opp. samparāyika dhamma the state after death, the beyond). Usually in compounds (-˚) of this world, in this world
■ diṭṭhadhamma Vin.ii.188; DN.iii.222 sq.; AN.i.249; AN.ii.61; Cnd.297 (= ñātadhamma); DN-a.i.278; Sdhp.470
■ ˚abhinibbuta attained to Nibbāna in this birth AN.i.142; Snp verse 1087 (see Nibbāna) ˚nibbāna earthly N. DN.i.36; DN-a.i.121; ˚sukhavihāra (& ˚in) happy condition (or faring well) in this world Vin.ii.188; MN.i.40, MN.i.331, MN.i.459; SN.ii.239; Ds.577, Ds.1283; Dhs-a.296; ˚vedanīya to be perceived in this condition AN.i.249, AN.i.251; Pv-a.145
■ Freq. in loc. diṭṭhe dhamme (in this world) Iti.17 (attha, opp. samparāyika attha) or diṭṭhe va dhamme (already or even in the present existence) DN.i.156, DN.i.167, DN.i.177, DN.i.196; DN.iii.108; MN.i.341 sq. MN.i.485; MN.ii.94, MN.ii.103; AN.ii.155, AN.ii.167; AN.iii.429; Snp verse 141, Snp verse 343, Snp verse 1053; Iti.22, Iti.23, etc
■ In the same sense diṭṭhadhammika (adj.) belonging or referring to this world or the present existence, always contrasted with samparāyika belonging to a future state: Vin.i.179; Vin.iii.21; DN.iii.130; AN.i.47, AN.i.98; Cnd.26; Iti.16; Vv-a.149; Pv-a.131, etc.

-ānugati imitation of what one sees, emulation, competition SN.ii.203; MN.i.16; AN.i.126; AN.iii.108, AN.iii.251, AN.iii.422 Pp.33; Dhp-a.iv.39;
-āvikamma making visible or clear open statement, confession Vin.v.183, Vin.v.187 sq.;
-kāla the time of seeing (anybody), opportunity Vv-a.120
-ppatta one who has obtained (Nibbāna) in this world Ne.190;
-padā (pl.) visible signs or characteristics AN.iv.103;
-maṅgalika (adj.) of puccha, a question concerning visible omina. Ja.iv.390; as -ikā (f.) Np at Ja.iv.376 sq. Snp-a.185 sq.
-saṁsandana Cnd.447 = Dhs-a.55.

Sk. dṛṣṭa, pp. of *dassati

Diṭṭha²

noun an enemy Ja.i.280; cp. Sk. dviṣat
■ (adj.) poisoned, in diṭṭhagatena sallena with a p. arrow SN.ii.230; misreading for diddh-agadena, q.v. The Cy. has diddhagatena with variant reading dibba-gadena.

Sk. dviṣṭa, pp. of dveṣṭi dviṣ to hate

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