Pronunciation guide: Devanagari, IAST and endings
Vowels
| अ | a | a in “about” |
| आ | ā | a in “father” (long) |
| इ | i | i in “sit” |
| ई | ī | ee in “see” (long) |
| उ | u | u in “put” |
| ऊ | ū | oo in “food” (long) |
| ऋ | ṛ | vowel r, like “ri” in “rich” (short) |
| ॠ | ṝ | the same, held longer |
| ऌ | ḷ | vowel l, like “le” in “table” |
| ए | e | ay in “day” (always long) |
| ऐ | ai | ai in “aisle” |
| ओ | o | o in “go” (always long) |
| औ | au | ow in “now” |
Vowel signs (mātrās) after a consonant: का kā · कि ki · की kī · कु ku · कू kū · कृ kṛ · के ke · कै kai · को ko · कौ kau. A consonant with no sign has a built-in short a (क = ka).
Consonants
Throat (velar)
| क | k | k in “skin” |
| ख | kh | k with a puff, “blockhead” |
| ग | g | g in “go” |
| घ | gh | gh in “doghouse” |
| ङ | ṅ | ng in “sing” |
Palate
| च | c | ch in “church” |
| छ | ch | ch with a puff, “staunch heart” |
| ज | j | j in “jam” |
| झ | jh | dgeh in “hedgehog” |
| ञ | ñ | ny in “canyon” |
Tongue curled back (retroflex)
| ट | ṭ | t with the tongue tip curled back |
| ठ | ṭh | the same with a puff |
| ड | ḍ | d, tongue curled back |
| ढ | ḍh | the same with a puff |
| ण | ṇ | n, tongue curled back |
Teeth (dental)
| त | t | t with the tongue on the teeth (French t) |
| थ | th | t with a puff, “at home” (never “thin”) |
| द | d | d on the teeth |
| ध | dh | dh in “adhere” |
| न | n | n in “nut” |
Lips
| प | p | p in “spin” |
| फ | ph | p with a puff, “uphill” (never “f”) |
| ब | b | b in “bat” |
| भ | bh | bh in “abhor” |
| म | m | m in “mat” |
Others
| य | y | y in “yes” |
| र | r | a light tapped r |
| ल | l | l in “love” |
| व | v | between v and w |
| श | ś | sh in “shine” |
| ष | ṣ | sh with the tongue curled back |
| स | s | s in “sun” |
| ह | h | h in “hand” |
An h after a consonant (kh, gh, th, dh, ph, bh…) means a puff of breath; it is never the English “th”, “ph” or “sh” sound.
Special signs
| कं | ṃ | anusvāra: a nasal hum, sounding like the nasal of the next consonant (saṃskṛta) |
| कः | ḥ | visarga: a soft breath echoing the vowel before it (devaḥ ≈ “deva-ha”) |
| क् | — | virāma: removes the built-in a (क ka → क् k) |
| कँ | m̐ | candrabindu: the vowel is said through the nose |
| कऽ | ’ | avagraha: an a dropped after e or o (so ’ham = so aham) |
What the marks in IAST mean
- Line on top (ā ī ū ṝ): a long vowel, held about twice as long.
- Dot under r, l (ṛ ṝ ḷ): r or l used as a vowel.
- Dot under t, d, n, s (ṭ ḍ ṇ ṣ): tongue tip curled back (retroflex).
- ṃ: anusvāra (nasal hum) · ḥ: visarga (echoing breath).
- ṅ: ng as in “sing” · ñ: ny as in “canyon” · ś: sh as in “shine”.
Long and short syllables, and stress
A syllable is heavy if its vowel is long (ā ī ū ṝ e ai o au), or it is followed by two consonants, or it ends in ṃ or ḥ; otherwise it is light. Usual modern stress (as in Latin): stress the second-last syllable if it is heavy (saṃ·skṛ·ta: skṛ is light, so the stress falls on the heavy saṃ; ma·hā·bhā·ra·ta; rā·mā·ya·ṇa); if not, go back to the third-last, then the fourth-last. Old Vedic pitch accents are not shown.
Common endings (inflections)
Nouns: deva (masculine, “god”)
| devaḥ | the god (subject) | devāḥ | the gods |
| devam | the god (object) | devān | the gods (object) |
| devena | by / with the god | devaiḥ | by the gods |
| devāya | to / for the god | devebhyaḥ | to / for the gods |
| devāt | from the god | devebhyaḥ | from the gods |
| devasya | of the god | devānām | of the gods |
| deve | in / on the god | deveṣu | in the gods |
| he deva | O god! | he devāḥ | O gods! |
Verbs: bhū “to be, become”, present tense
| bhavati | he / she / it is | bhavanti | they are |
| bhavasi | you are (one person) | bhavatha | you are (several) |
| bhavāmi | I am | bhavāmaḥ | we are |
Dictionary headwords are stems (deva, bhū); in texts the words carry these endings, and sounds join across word boundaries (sandhi).
Sanskrit Dictionary
Dictionary scope: अ a, आ ā, ब b, भ bh, इ i, ई ī, उ u, ऊ ū, ऋ ṛ, ॠ ṝ, ऌ ḷ, ए e, ऐ ai, ओ o, औ au, क k, ख kh, ग g, घ gh, ङ ṅ, च c, छ ch, ज j, झ jh, ञ ñ, ट ṭ, ठ ṭh, ड ḍ, ढ ḍh, ण ṇ, त t, थ th, द d, ध dh, न n, प p, फ ph, म m, य y, र r, ल l, व v, श ś, ष ṣ, स s and ह h · 114,538 entries
Every headword in Monier Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), in Sanskrit alphabetical order. Jump by letter above, use the page tabs, or keep scrolling — more words load as you go.
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55,387 headwords · page 210 of 554
- तितिरि titiri= tittiri, a partridge.
- तितिल titilaa sort of sweetmeat made of sesamum ground and baked with sugar; one of the seven Karaṇas…
- तितीर्षा titīrṣādesire of crossing over, wish to pass, wish to be freed from mundane existence, desire of…
- तितीर्षु titīrṣudesirous of crossing; wishing to attain; desirous of emancipation from existence.
- तित्तिड tittiḍaand tittiḍīka, incorrect forms for tintiḍa and tintiḍīka.
- तित्तिर tittira= tittiri, col. 3; (ās), m. pl., name of a race.
- तित्तिरि tittirithe francoline partridge; name of a Muni, pupil of Yāska, and said to be the first…
- तित्तिरिक tittirikathe francoline partridge.
- तित्तिरीक tittirīkavariegated like a partridge (tittiri) or made of Croton Tiglium (tittirī-phala).
- तित्तिरीफल tittirī-phalaCroton Tiglium.
- तिथ tithafire; love; time; autumn.
- तिथि tithia lunar day, the thirtieth part of a whole lunation, (the auspicious Tithis are Nandā…
- तिनाशक tināśakaa tree, = tiniśa.
- तिनिका tinikāHolcus Sorghum.
- तिनिश tiniśathe tree Dalbergia Ougeinensis;
- तिन्तिड tintiḍathe tamarind tree, Tamarindus Indica; acid seasoning, sour sauce, especially a sauce made…
- तिन्तिडिका tintiḍikāthe tamarind tree.
- तिन्तिडीक tintiḍīkathe tamarind tree; (am), n. the fruit of the tamarind; a sour sauce, especially one made…
- तिन्तिली tintilīor tintilikā or tintilīkā, f. the tamarind tree.
- तिन्दिश tindiśaa kind of plant, = ṭiṇḍiśa.
- तिन्दु tindua species of ebony, from the fruit of which is obtained a kind of resin used in India as…
- तिन्दुक tindukathe tree Diospyros Embryopteris or Diospyros Glutinosa; (ī), f. the resinous fruit of…
- तिन्दुकि tindukior tindula, as, m. the tree Diospyros Embryopteris.
- तिन्दुकिनी tindukinīthe senna plant, = āvartakī.
- तिन्दुविल्व tinduvilvaname of the birthplace of the Lyric poet Jaya-deva.
- तिप् tiptepati, etc., to sprinkle, to distil or drop, to ooze or leak.
- तिम् timtimyati, titema, etc., to be or become wet or damp etc.; to become pacified or quiet…
- तिमित timitamoistened, moist, wet, damp; quiet; unmoved, unshaken; steady, fixed.
- तिमि timior sometimes tima, as, m., a kind of whale or fabulous fish of an enormous size, said to…
- तिमित timitaSee under rt. tim above.
- तिमिर timiradark, gloomy; (am), n. darkness; darkness of the eyes, blindness; a class of morbid…
- तिमिरय timirayatimirayati, -yitum, to obscure, darken, eclipse.
- तिमिराय timirāyatimirāyate, etc., to appear dark, to darken.
- तिमिरिन् timirinthe cochineal insect.
- तिमिरि timiria kind of fish (not the timi).
- तिमिर्घ timirghaname of a man with the patronymic Daureśruta.
- तिमिश timiśaprobably a wrong reading for tiniśa.
- तिमिष timiṣaa kind of pumpkingourd, Benincasa Cerifera; a water-melon (nāṭāmra).
- तिमीर timīraa kind of tree;
- तिरय tirayaSee next col.
- तिरश्च् tiraścetc. See under tiryañc.
- तिरस् tirasthrough (with acc. in Vedic, e.g. tiraḥ pavitram, through the strainer; tiras tamāṃsi…
- तिरय tirayatirayati, -yitum, to keep hidden or concealed, to prevent from appearing, hinder, stop…
- तिरस्य tirasyatirasyati, etc., to disappear.
- तिरोहय tirohayatirohayati, -yitum, to hide, conceal.
- तिरोह्न्य tiro-'hnyaSee tiro-ahnya, col. 2.
- तिरस्कर tiras-karaetc. See under tiras, col. 2.
- तिरिजिह्विक tirijihvikaor am, m. or n. (?), Erythrina Crista Galli (?).
- तिरिटि tiriṭior tiriṭa, as (?), m. the joint of the sugar-cane.
- तिरिणीकण्ट tiriṇīkaṇṭanom. ending(s) -= tirijihvika — see cross-reference
- तिरिन्दिर tirindiraname of a man.
- तिरिम tirimaor tiriya, as, m. a sort of rice;
- तिरीट tirīṭaa kind of head-dress, a tiara, a diadem; gold; (as), m. the tree Symplocos Racemosa.
- तिरीटक tirīṭakaa kind of bird.
- तिरीटिन् tirīṭinfurnished with a headdress.
- तिरो tirofor tiras. See under tiras.
- तिरोहित tiro-hitaSee under tiras.
- तिर्पिरिक tirpirika= tilpilika.
- तिर्पिलि tirpiliname of an author.
- तिर्य tiryaprepared from the seeds of sesamum (?);
- तिर्यग tiryagafor tiryag-ga. See tiryañc.
- तिर्यञ्च् tiryañcor tiryac, aṅ, tiraścī, or according to Vopa-deva also tiryañcī, ak, going or lying…
- तिरश्च tiraścathe cross-board of a bedstead.
- तिरश्चता tiraścatāacross, transversely, through.
- तिरश्चथा tiraścathāaside, secretly.
- तिरश्ची tiraścīname of a Ṛṣi, descendant of Aṅgiras.
- तिरश्चीन tiraścīnalying across, oblique, transverse, sideways, awry, horizontal; irregular; ā-tiraścīnam, a…
- तिल्1 tiltelati, etc., to go or move;
- तिल्2 tiltilati, telayati, etc., to be unctuous or greasy; to oil or anoint.
- तिल tilathe sesamum plant (Sesamum Indicum) which bears an oily seed; the seed of this plant…
- तिलक tilakaa species of tree with beautiful flowers, (so called either because it is similar in some…
- तिलकक tilakakaname of a man.
- तिलकाय tilakāyatilakāyate, etc., to form the Tilaka mark on the forehead, to ornament.
- तिलकित tilakitamarked with the Tilaka, ornamented; freckled, spotted.
- तिलकिन् tilakinmarked with the Tilaka; freckled, spotted.
- तिलु tiluan adj. derived by Sāy. fr. tila, and meaning ‘fertile,’ ‘rich;’
- तिल्पिञ्ज tilpiñja= tila-piñja, q.v.
- तिल्य tilyasuited for the cultivation of sesamum, grown with sesamum; (am), n. a field of sesamum.
- तिल्व tilvaor tilvaka, as, m. the tree Symplocus Racemosa, = iṅgudī, Terminalia Catappa.
- तिल्विल tilvilahaving a fertile soil, prolific, rich;
- तिल्विलाय tilvilāyatilvilāyate, etc., Vedic to be fertile or rich, to cause fertility of soil.
- तिलकनिज tilakanijaname of a race.
- तिलिङ्ग tiliṅganame of a place mentioned in the Kāka-rudra-saṃvāda.
- तिलिङ्गिल tiliṅgilaname of a people; (also timiṅgila, tileṅgala.)
- तिलित्स tilitsaor tiliccha, as, m. a large snake; (according to some = Gokhura; according to others =…
- तिल्पिलिक tilpilika= tirpirika.
- तिल्ल् tilltillati, etc., to go or move; (a various reading for 1. til.)
- तिव्य tivyaname of a Brāhman.
- तिष्ठत् tiṣṭhatstaying, remaining, abiding, standing, being, etc.
- तिष्य tiṣyaname of a mythical being who like Kṛśānu is a kind of heavenly archer; an asterism…
- तिष्यक tiṣyakathe month Pauṣa.
- तिसृ tisṛthree; see tri, —Tisṛ-dhanva, am, n., Vedic a bow with three arrows.
- तिसृका tisṛkāname of a Grāma.
- तिस्रा tisrāthe grass Andropogon Aciculatus.
- तिहन् tihansickness; a good disposition; rice; a bow.
- तीक् tīktīkate, etc., to go or move;
- तीक्ष्ण tīkṣṇasharp (in all senses), hot, pungent, warm, fiery; acid (= khara-uṣṇa); virulent, harsh…
- तीक्ष्णक tīkṣṇaka= muṣkaka, Bignonia Suaveolens or (according to others) the scrotum or testicles; black…
- तीक्ष्णिष्ठ tīkṣṇiṣṭhasharpest, etc.
- तीक्ष्णीयस् tīkṣṇīyassharper, etc.
Source and licence. Monier Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1872; first edition). Digital text: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries (MW72, csl-orig/v02/mw72), © Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon project contributors, Cologne University, accessed 7 October 2026, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, provided without warranty.
Changes made here: entries for अ a, आ ā, ब b, भ bh, इ i, ई ī, उ u, ऊ ū, ऋ ṛ, ॠ ṝ, ऌ ḷ, ए e, ऐ ai, ओ o, औ au, क k, ख kh, ग g, घ gh, ङ ṅ, च c, छ ch, ज j, झ jh, ञ ñ, ट ṭ, ठ ṭh, ड ḍ, ढ ḍh, ण ṇ, त t, थ th, द d, ध dh, न n, प p, फ ph, म m, य y, र r, ल l, व v, श ś, ष ṣ, स s and ह h only; meanings trimmed for length and MW abbreviations expanded; Devanagari generated from the SLP1 keys with indic_transliteration; spelling notes, IPA pronunciations and labelled (“inferred”/“not given”) etymologies added. This adapted dictionary text is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Fonts: Noto Serif and Noto Serif Devanagari (SIL Open Font License).