Klryz
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

aअa in “about” (short)
āआa in “father” (long)
iइi in “sit”
īईee in “see” (long)
uउu in “put”
ūऊoo in “food” (long)
eएay in “day”; short before two consonants (mettā)
oओo in “go”; short before two consonants (sotthi)

Consonants

Throat

kकk in “skin”
khखk with a puff
gगg in “go”
ghघg with a puff
ṅङng in “sing”

Palate

cचch in “church” (never k)
chछch with a puff
jजj in “jam”
jhझj with a puff
ñञny in “canyon”

Tongue curled back

ṭटt, tongue tip curled back
ṭhठthe same with a puff
ḍडd, tongue curled back
ḍhढthe same with a puff
ṇणn, tongue curled back

Teeth

tतt on the teeth (French t)
thथt with a puff, “at home” (never “thin”)
dदd on the teeth
dhधd with a puff, “adhere” (never “this”)
nनn in “nut”

Lips

pपp in “spin”
phफp with a puff, “uphill” (never “f”)
bबb in “bat”
bhभb with a puff, “abhor”
mमm in “mat”

Others

yयy in “yes”
rरa light tapped r
lलl in “love”
ḷळl with the tongue curled back
vवbetween v and w
sसs in “sun” (never z)
hहh in “hand”
ṃंniggahīta: 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

masculinedhamma, buddhamost -a stems; nominative -o (dhammo)
femininemettā, paññāmostly -ā, -i, -ī stems
neutercitta, rūpa-a stems; nominative -aṃ (cittaṃ)
singular / pluraldhammo / dhammāPali has two numbers; the old dual is lost

Grammar: the 8 cases (dhamma, masc.)

nominativedhammo · dhammāsubject
accusativedhammaṃ · dhammeobject; goal of motion
instrumentaldhammena · dhammehiby, with
dativedhammāya, dhammassa · dhammānaṃto, for
ablativedhammā, dhammasmā, dhammamhā · dhammehifrom; because of
genitivedhammassa · dhammānaṃof
locativedhamme, dhammasmiṃ, dhammamhi · dhammesuin, on, at; when
vocativedhamma · dhammāO …!

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

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

presentbhavati, hoti · bhavanti, hontihe/she is · they are; also bhavāmi/homi “I am”
aorist (past)ahosi · ahesuṃhe/she was · they were (also abhavi)
futurebhavissati, hessati, hohitiwill be
optativebhaveyyamay be, should be (wishes, rules, conditions)
imperativebhavatu, hotu · hontulet it be · let them be
conditionalabhavissawould have been (rare)

Grammar: non-finite forms

absolutive -tvābhavitvā, hutvā; gantvā, disvāhaving been; having gone, having seen
infinitive -tuṃbhavituṃ, kātuṃ, gantuṃto be, to do, to go
present participle -nt / -mānabhavanto, bhavamānabeing
past participle -ta / -nabhūta, kata, dinnabecome, done, given
future passive -tabba / -anīyakātabba, karaṇīyato be done, what should be done

Grammar: compounds (samāsa)

dvandasamaṇabrāhmaṇā“ascetics and brahmins”: X and Y
tappurisarājaputta“king’s son”: Y of/by/for X
kammadhārayamahāpurisa“great man”: Y that is X
digutiratana“the three jewels”: a numeral first
bahubbīhimahāpañña“(one) having great wisdom”: describes someone else
avyayībhāvayathābalaṃ“according to strength”: indeclinable, adverb-like

Grammar: sandhi (joining sounds)

vowel droppedna + atthi → natthi“there is not”
vowels mergetatra + ayaṃ → tatrāyaṃa + a → ā
i + voweliti + evaṃ → iccevaṃi becomes y, ty → cc
ṃ + vowelevaṃ + āha → evam āhaṃ becomes m
ṃ + consonantsaṃ + gaha → saṅgahaṃ takes the nasal of the next consonant
doublingpa + kamati → pakkamatia consonant is doubled after a prefix

Prosody: heavy and light syllables

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

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

Prosody: main metres

siloka (anuṭṭhubha)4 × 8 syllablesthe commonest; even lines usually end ⏑ – ⏑ x
tuṭṭhubha4 × 11 syllablesyānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni (Ratana-sutta, Sn 222)
jagatī4 × 12 syllablesa tuṭṭhubha line with one more syllable; the two are often mixed in one verse
vetālīyalines of 14 + 16 mattācounted in morae, with the cadence – ⏑ – ⏑ –
opacchandasakalines of 16 + 18 mattālike vetālīya, cadence – ⏑ – ⏑ – –
mattāchandasmetres counted in mattāvetālīya, 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 formulasevaṃ me sutaṃ. ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā …“Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One …”
numerical listscattāri ariyasaccānithe 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 versesgeyya is one of the nine kinds (aṅga) of the Teacher’s word
dialogue, questionstaṃ kiṃ maññatha bhikkhave, rūpaṃ niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ vā ti? aniccaṃ bhanteteaching by question and answer (SN 22.59)
refrainseko care khaggavisāṇakappo“let one wander alone like the rhinoceros horn” ends each verse of Sn 35–75
chiasmus, ring structurena hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācanaṃ / averena ca sammantimirrored order (Dhp 5); many suttas end by returning to their opening
word-playlujjatī ti kho bhikkhu, tasmā loko ti vuccati“it crumbles (lujjati), so it is called the world (loka)” (SN 35.82)
epithetsbhagavā, tathāgata, sugataand the ‘iti pi so’ list: arahaṃ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno …
framing storiespaccuppannavatthu · atītavatthu · samodhānaa Jātaka’s present story frames the past story, then identifies the characters; Vinaya rules each have an origin story
uddānaa mnemonic verse after each vaggalists 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

विनय

vinaya

Say it: vi·na·ya

Sanskrit equivalent

vinayadhara

Meaning

Vinaya
  1. driving out, abolishing destruction, removal Vin.i.3 (asmi-mānassa), Vin.i.235, Vin.iii.3 (akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ vinayāya dhammaṁ desemi); SN.i.40; Snp verse 921; AN.i.91 (kodha˚, upanāha˚), AN.ii.34 (pipāsa˚); AN.iv.15 (icchā˚); AN.v.165 (id.); Snp-a.12; Pv-a.114 (atthassa mūlaṁ nikati˚). Often in phrase rāga˚, dosa˚, moha˚; e.g. SN.iv.7 sq.; SN.v.137 sq., SN.v.241; AN.iv.175; Ne.22.
  2. rule (in logic), way of saying or judging, sense, terminology (cp. iminā nayena SN.iv.95 (ariyassa vinaye vuccati loko); AN.i.163 (ariyassa vinaye tevijjo one called a threefold wise in the nomenclature of the buddhist); AN.ii.166 (ariyassa v.); Snp-a.403
  3. norm of conduct, ethics, morality, good behaviour Snp verse 916, Snp verse 974; Ja.iv.241 (= ācāra-vinaya C.); AN.ii.112 AN.iii.353 sq. (ariya-vinaye saddhā yassa patiṭṭhitā etc faith established in Buddhist ethics).
  4. code of ethics, monastic discipline, rule, rules of morality or of canon law. In this sense applied to the large collection of rules which grew up in the monastic life and habits of the bhikkhus and which form the ecclesiastical introduction to the “Dhamma,” the “doctrine,” or theoretical, philosophical part of the Buddhist Canon The history & importance of the Vinaya Piṭaka will be dealt with under the title “Vinaya” in the Dictionary of Names. Only a few refs. must suffice here to give a general idea. See also under Dhamma C., and in detail Geiger, Dhamma pp. 55–58
    ■ Often combined with dhamma: dhammato vinayato ca on the ground of Dh. and V. Vin.i.337; cp. Vin.ii.247
    ■ dhammo ca vinayo ca Vin.i.356; Vin.ii.285, Vin.ii.302; or (as (Dvandva) dhammavinaya (i.e. the teaching of the Buddha in its completeness) DN.i.229; Vin.ii.237 sq.; MN.i.284; MN.ii.181 sq. AN.i.283; AN.iii.297, AN.iii.327; SN.i.9; SN.iii.65; Ud.53; Vv-a.3 Often approaches the meaning of “Buddhist order, e.g. Vin.i.69; DN.i.176; MN.i.68, MN.i.459, MN.i.480; MN.iii.127; SN.ii.120; AN.i.185; AN.ii.123; AN.v.122
    ■ See further Vin.ii.96 (vinaye cheko hoti); AN.ii.168 (ayaṁ dhammo, ayaṁ v. idaṁ Satthu-sāsanaṁ); Vism.522; Vb-a.273; Kp-a.106 Kp-a.151; Snp-a.4, Snp-a.195, Snp-a.310
    ■ a-vinaya one who sins against the V. (like a-dhamma one who neglects the Dh. Vin.ii.295 sq.; Vin.iii.174; AN.i.18; AN.v.73 sq
    ■ The division of the books of the Vinaya is given at Dhs-a.18. Its character (as shown by its name) is given in the foll verse at Dhs-a.19: “(vividha-visesa-) nayattā vinayanato c’ eva kāya-vācānaṁ vinayy’ attha-vidūhi ayaṁ vinayo Vinayo ti akkhāto,” i.e. “Because it shows precepts & principles, and governs both deed and word, therefore men call this scripture V., for so is V interpreted” (Expos. i. 23).

-aṭṭhakathā the (old) commentary on the Vinaya Vism.72, Vism.272; Vb-a.334; Kp-a.97. -ānuggaha taking up (i.e. following the rules) of the Vinaya Vin.iii.21; AN.i.98, AN.i.100; AN.v.70. -kathā exposition of the Vinaya Vin.iv.142. -dhara one who knows or masters the V by heart, an expert in the V. Vin.i.169; Vin.ii.299 (with dhamma-dhara & mātikā-dhara); AN.i.25; AN.ii.147 AN.iii.78 sq., AN.iii.179, AN.iii.361; AN.iv.140 sq.; AN.v.10 sq.; Ja.iii.486 Ja.iv.219; Vism.41, Vism.72; Kp-a.151; Dhp-a.ii.30 (with dhamma-kathika & dhuta-vāda) [cp. BSk. vinayadhara Divy.21].; -piṭaka the V. Piṭaka Kp-a1 2, 97; Vb-a.431 -vatthu chapter of the V. Vin.ii.307. -vādin one who professes the V. (or “speaking in accordance with the rules of conduct”), aN V
■ follower DN.i.4 (here explained by Bdhgh as “saṁvara-vinaya-pahāna-vinaya sannissitaṁ katvā vadatī ti” v. DN-a.i.76, thus taking it as vinaya 3 = MN.iii.49 = Pp.58 (translation here: “speaking according to self-control”); DN.iii.135, DN.iii.175.

fr. vi + nī, cp. vineti

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