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

करोति

karoti

Say it: ka·ro·ti

Sanskrit equivalent

करोति karoti, कृप kṛpa

Meaning

Karoti

v. irreg. Of the endless variety of forms given by grammarians only the foll. are bona fide and borne out by passages from our texts (when bracketed found in gram. works only).

I. Act

Ind. Pres karomi, etc. Snp verse 78, Snp verse 216, Snp verse 512, Snp verse 666 = Dhp.306 = Iti.42 Opt. kare Dhp.42, Dhp.43, pl. (kareyyāma) kareyyātha Snp.p.101; or (sing.) kareyya (freq.), kareyyāsi Pv-a.11 kareyya Snp verse 920, Snp verse 923; kuriyā (= Sk. kuryāt) Ja.vi.206 Ppr. karan Dhp.136, or karonto (f. karontī) Dhp.16, Dhp.116
Impf. (akara, etc.).
Aor. (akaṁ) akariṁ etc., 3rd sing. akāsi Snp verse 343, Snp verse 537, 2nd pl. akattha Pv.11:2; Pv-a.45, Pv-a.75; 3rd pl. akariṁsu; akaṁsu Snp verse 882; Pv-a.74; without augment kari Dhp-a.ii.59. Prohibitive mā (a)kāsi Snp verse 339, Snp verse 1068, etc.
Imper. karohi Snp.p.32; Snp.p.1062; karotha Snp verse 223; Kp-a.168.
Fut karissāmi, etc.; kassāmi Pv.36:39; kāsaṁ Ja.iv.286 Ja.vi.36; kāhāmi (in sense of I will do, I am determined to do, usually w. puññaṁ & kusalaṁ poetical only) Pv.23:3; Vv.33:192; second sing. kāhasi Snp verse 427, Snp verse 428; Dhp.154 1st pl. kāhāma Pv.45:11.
Inf. kātuṁ Pv-a.4, Pv-a.61 Pv-a.69, Pv-a.115, Kp.6:10, etc.; kattuṁ Vv-a.13; kātave Mhvs.35, Mhvs.29; Vv.44:15 (= kātuṁ); kātuye Thig.418.
Pp kata, see sep.
Ger. katvā Snp verse 127, Snp verse 661, Snp verse 705, etc. katvāna (poet.) Snp verse 89, Snp verse 269, Pv.1:3; karitvā see iv.

II. Med

Ind. pres. (kubbe, etc.) 3rd sing. kubbati Snp verse 168, Snp verse 811; 3rd pl. kubbanti Snp verse 794; or 3rd sing kurute Snp verse 94, Snp verse 796, Snp verse 819; Iti.67; Opt. (kubbe, etc.) second pl. kubbetha Snp verse 702, Snp verse 719, Snp verse 917; Iti.87; or 3rd sing kayirā Snp verse 728 = Snp verse 1051; SN.i.24; Dhp.53, Dhp.117; kayirātha (always expl. by kareyya) Dhp.25, Dhp.117; Iti.13; Pv.11:11 Kp-a.224; kubbaye Snp verse 943
ppr (kurumāna, kubbāno karāno) (a)kubbaṁ Snp verse 844, Snp verse 913; (a)kubbanto Iti.86; f. (vi)kubbantī Vv.11:2; (a)kubbamāna Snp verse 777 Snp verse 778, Snp verse 897; (vi)kubbamāna Vv.33:1.
Impf. (akariṁ second sing. akarase, etc.) 3rd sing. akubbatha Pv.25:18 1st pl. akaramhase Ja.iii.26, ˚a Dhp-a.i.145.
Aor (none)
Imper. (second sing. kurussu, 3rd sing. kurutaṁ second pl. kuruvho) 3rd sing. kurutaṁ (= Sk. kurutāṁ Ja.vi.288.
Fut. (none).

III. Pass

Ind. pres (karīyati, etc.) kayirati Dhp.292 = Thag.635; Kp-a.168 and kīrati Thag.143. Ppr. (karīyamāna, kayīra˚).
Fut. kariyissati Vin.i.107.
Grd. karaṇīya (q.v.), (kayya) kātabba Dhp-a.i.338.

IV. Caus. I

(Denom. to kāra) kārayati = kāreti, in origin. meaning of build, construct, and fig. perform, exercise, rule wield (rajjaṁ): kārehi Pv-a.81 (of huts), kārayissāmi Pv.18:4 (of doll); kāressaṁ Ja.v.297 (do.), akārayi Pv.25:10; akārayuṁ Mhvs.iv.3; akāresi Mhvs.23, Mhvs.85 kāretuṁ Pv-a.74; kārayamāna Vv-a.9 (of chair); kāretvā (nāmaṁ) Pv-a.162; karitvā Snp verse 444 (vasiṁ) Snp verse 674; Snp verse 680 (vittiṁ); Snp.p.97 (uttarāsangaṁ).

V. Caus. II

Kārāpeti SN.i.179; Pv-a.20; Aor. kārāpesi he had (= caused to be) erected, constructed Vin.ii.159; fut. kārāpessāmi Mhvs.20, Mhvs.9; ger. kārāpetvā Pv-a.123; grd. kārapetabba Vin.ii.134.

Meanings of karoti:

to build, erect Mhvs.19, Mhvs.36 Mhvs.20, Mhvs.9 (Caus.).
to act, perform, make, do Vin.i.155; Ja.i.24; Ja.ii.153 (tathā karomi yathā na… I prevent cp. lat. facio ne…); Ja.iii.297; Pv.8:8 = Pv.18:19; Mhvs.3, Mhvs.1; Mhvs.7, Mhvs.22.
to produce Dhp-a.i.172.
to write, compose Ja.vi.410; Pv-a.287.
to put on, dress Vin.ii.277; Ja.i.9.
to impose (a punishment) Mhvs.4, Mhvs.14.
to turn into (with loc. or two acc.) Ja.ii.32; Mhvs.9, Mhvs.27.
to use as (with two acc.) Ja.i.113; Ja.ii.24.
to bring into (with loc.) Ja.v.454 Ja.v.10. to place (with loc.) Ja.v.274; (with acc. of the person Dhp.162.)

It is very often used periphrastically, where the translation would simply employ the noun as verb, e.g. kathaṁ k˚ DN.ii.98; kodhaṁ k˚ and kopaṁ k˚ to be angry Ja.iv.22; Ja.vi.257; cayaṁ k˚ to hoard up; corikaṁ k˚ to steal Vin.i.75; taṇhaṁ k˚ (c. loc.) to desire Ja.i.5 sītaṁ k˚ to cool DN.ii.129
■ It is often comp^d with nouns or adjectives with a change of final vowel to ī (i) uttāni˚ to make clear DN.ii.105; pākaṭī˚, bahulī˚ muṭṭhī˚, etc. (q.v.). Cp. the same process in conn with bhavati
■ The meanings of karoti are varied according to the word with which it is connected; it would be impossible and unnecessary to give an exhaustive list of all its various shades. Only a few illustrations may suffice: aṁse k˚ to place on one’s shoulder Ja.i.9; antarāyaṁ k˚ to prevent Ja.i.232; ādiṁ k˚ (c. acc.) to begin with; nimittaṁ k˚ to give a hint DN.ii.103; pātarāsaṁ k˚ to breakfast; mānasaṁ k˚ to make up one’s mind; mahaṁ k˚ to hold a festival DN.ii.165; massuṁ k˚ to trim the beard Dhp-a.i.253; musāvādaṁ k˚ to tell a lie Ja.vi.401; rajjaṁ k˚ to reign SN.i.218 vase k˚ to bring into one’s power Ja.i.79; sandhiṁ k˚ to make an agreement Mhvs.16; sinehaṁ k˚ to become fond of Ja.i.190
■ Similarly, cp^d with adverbs: alaṁ k˚ to make much of, i.e. to adorn, embellish; dūrato k˚ to keep at a distance, i.e. keep free from Pv-a.17 Sdhp.287; purak k˚ (purakkharoti) to place before, i.e. to honour Pv.32:1
■ Note phrase kiṁ karissati what difference does it make? (Cp. Ger. was macht’s) DN.i.120 or what about… Ja.i.152.

Sk. karoti, *qṷer to form, to build (or plait, weave? see kamma), cp. kar-man, Lith. kùrti to build, O.Tr. cruth form; Lat. corpus, with p-addition as Sk. kṛpa, kḷp = kṛp. Derived are kalpa → kappa kalpate → kappeti

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