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 229 of 554
- दोषल doṣalaof a faulty nature, defective, corrupt.
- दोषस् doṣasevening, darkness.
- दोषिक doṣikafaulty, defective, bad; (as), m. sickness, disease.
- दोषिन् doṣinbecoming defiled or impure or contaminated; faulty, defective; criminal, wicked, bad.
- दोषन् doṣan(defective; substituted for dos, q.v., in certain cases), the fore-arm, the lower part of…
- दोषण्य doṣaṇyabelonging to the arm, seated in the arm (as a disease).
- दोषा2 doṣāthe arm. (For 1. doṣā see col. 2.)
- दोस् dos(nom. sing. dos, du. m. doṣau, n. doṣī, acc. pl. doṣas or doṣṇas, inst. sing. doṣā or…
- दोह dohamilking; milk; a milk-pail; making profit out of anything, satisfaction, success.
- दोहन dohanamilking, a milker; giving or yielding milk or other desirable objects; (ī), f. a…
- दोहनीय dohanīyaproper to be milked.
- दोहस् dohasmilking;
- दोहित dohitamade to yield milk, milked.
- दोहिन् dohinmilking; giving milk, granting or yielding desirable objects; a milker.
- दोहीयस् dohīyasgiving much milk, yielding abundance of milk.
- दोह्य dohyato be milked, milkable; (as), m. (?) a cow;
- दोहडिका dohaḍikāa kind of Prākṛt metre consisting of thirty-five syllables, (commonly called dohā.)
- दोहद dohadathe longing of a pregnant woman, that craving after particular objects which is regarded…
- दोहदिन् dohadineagerly longing for, desirous of, craving after.
- दोहल dohala= dohada, longing, wish, desire, craving after; (ī), f. the Aśoka tree.
- दौःशलेय dauḥśaleyaprobably a metronymic from Duḥ-śalā.
- दौःशासनि dauḥśāsania patronymic from Duḥ-śāsana.
- दौःशील्य dauḥśīlyabad inclination or custom, bad character, badness of disposition, wickedness.
- दौःष्वप्न्य dauḥṣvapnyaevil dreams;
- दौःसाधिक dauḥsādhikaa door-keeper, a warder, a porter; a beadle; the superintendent of a village;
- दौःस्त्र dauḥstradiscord or wrangling contention between women.
- दौकूल daukūlaor daukūlaka, as, ī, am, covered with fine silk, see dukūla; (am), n. cloth made of…
- दौगूल daugūlaabove.
- दौत्य dautyathe state of a messenger, an embassy or message, mission; the office of a messenger…
- दौरात्म्य daurātmyaevil-mindedness, badness of soul, wickedness, depravity, mischievousness.
- दौरित dauritamischief.
- दौरुधर daurudhararelating to the lunar mansion called Durudhara, q.v.
- दौरेश्रवस daureśravasaa patronymic of the priest of the serpents called Pṛthu-śravas.
- दौरेश्रुत daureśrutaa patronymic of the serpent-priest Timirgha.
- दौर्ग daurgarelating to Durga or Durgā.
- दौर्गसिंह daurgasiṃhabelonging to or composed by Durga-siṃha.
- दौर्गायण daurgāyaṇaa patronymic from Durga.
- दौर्ग्य daurgyadifficulty, inaccessibility.
- दौर्गत्य daurgatyamisfortune, bad circumstances, want, wretchedness, distress.
- दौर्गन्धि daurgandhior daurgandhya, am, n., bad or disagreeable smell, badness of smell, fetor.
- दौर्जन daurjanaconsisting of wicked men.
- दौर्जन्य daurjanyawickedness, maliciousness, depravity, vileness.
- दौर्जीवित्य daurjīvityaa miserable life, a wretched state of existence.
- दौर्बल daurbalaor daurbalya, am, n., impotency, feebleness, weakness, debility.
- दौर्भागिणेय daurbhāgiṇeyathe son of a woman disliked by her husband; (ī), f. the daughter of such a woman.
- दौर्भाग्य daurbhāgyaill luck, misfortune, bad condition; the unhappiness of a woman resulting from the…
- दौर्भ्रात्र daurbhrātraa bad understanding between brothers.
- दौर्मद्य daurmadyaa drunken brawl, a fight, battle.
- दौर्मनस्य daurmanasyaevil-mindedness, evil disposition; mental pain, discomposure of mind, affliction…
- दौर्मन्त्र्य daurmantryabad consultation or counsel, evil advice.
- दौर्मित्रि daurmitria metronymic from Dur-mitrā, q.v.
- दौर्मुखि daurmukhia patronymic from Dur-mukha.
- दौर्योधन dauryodhanabelonging or relating to Dur-yodhana etc.
- दौर्योधनि dauryodhania patronymic from Duryodhana, q.v.
- दौर्लभ्य daurlabhyadifficulty of attainment, rarity, scarceness.
- दौर्वचस्य daurvacasyaevil speech, bad language.
- दौर्वास daurvāsaor daurvāsasa, as, ī, am, belonging to or composed by Dur-vāsas; (am), n., scil. purāṇam…
- दौर्वीण daurvīṇathe sap or juice of bent grass; a clean leaf.
- दौर्व्रत्य daurvratyadisobedience, ill conduct.
- दौर्हार्द daurhārdabadness of heart; hard-heartedness; evil disposition of mind, enmity.
- दौर्हृद daurhṛdaevil disposition of mind, enmity; the longing of pregnant women,; longing, desire.
- दौर्हृदय daurhṛdayaevil disposition of mind, enmity.
- दौलेय dauleyaa turtle or tortoise.
- दौल्मि daulmian epithet of Indra;
- दौवारिक dauvārikaa door-keeper, warder, porter; the doorkeeper of paradise (?).
- दौवालिक dauvālikaname of a people.
- दौश्चर्म्य dauścarmyaa disease of the skin, a defect in the generative organs (supposed to be a disease of the…
- दौश्चर्य dauścaryaacting wickedly, evil conduct, wickedness; a bad deed.
- दौष्क dauṣkaone who swims or crosses a stream by the help of his arms.
- दौष्कुल dauṣkulaor dauṣkuleya, as, ī, am, sprung from a bad or low or contemptible family or race.
- दौष्कुल्य dauṣkulyasprung from a bad or low family; (am), n. lowness of origin, low extraction.
- दौष्कृत्य dauṣkṛtyabad conduct, badness of conduct, wickedness.
- दौष्ट्य dauṣṭyadepravity, badness, wickedness.
- दौष्ठव dauṣṭhavabadness, wickedness.
- दौष्मन्त dauṣmantaor dauṣmanti, is, m., ‘the son of Dush-manta,’ a patronymic of Bharata, the first sole…
- दौष्यन्त dauṣyantarelating to Dushyanta.
- दौष्यन्ति dauṣyantior dauṣvanti or dauḥṣanti, is, m. a patronymic of Bharata.
- दौहित्र dauhitraa daughter's son; a term applied to a rhinoceros; (ī), f. a daughter's daughter; (am), n…
- दौहित्रक dauhitrakarelating to a daughter's son.
- दौहित्रायण dauhitrāyaṇathe son of a daughter's son.
- दौहृद dauhṛda(see daurhṛda), the longing or desire of pregnant women for certain things, pregnancy;
- दौहृदिनी dauhṛdinīa woman who has the longing which attends pregnancy, a pregnant woman.
- द्य dyaSee a-dya.
- द्यस् dyasSee sa-dyas.
- द्या dyā= jyā, the sinew of a bow, a bow-string; (in Śatapatha-Br. XIV. 6, 8, 2, u-dya = uj-jya.)
- द्याम्पात dyāmpātaname of a man;
- द्यावा dyāvā(according to Sāy., Ṛg-veda VII. 65, 2) = dyāvā-pṛthivī, du. heaven and earth.
- द्यावापृथिवीय dyāvāpṛthivīyaor dyāvāpṛthivya, as, ā, am, relating to heaven and earth, sacred to them.
- द्यु1 dyudyauti, dudyāva, dyoṣyati, adyauṣīt, dyotum, to advance towards or against, approach…
- द्युत्1 dyut(at the end of a comp.) advancing against, assaulting.
- द्यु2 dyusharpness, in a-dyu, q.v.
- द्यु3 dyua name of Agni or fire; (u), n. a day, brightness; heaven, sky, ether, paradise; dyu is…
- द्युम्न dyumnasplendor, glory, majesty; clearness or serenity of mind, enthusiasm, inspiration; energy…
- द्युम्निन् dyumninmajestic; strong, spiritual; inspired, courageous; (Sāy.) having wealth, having food or…
- द्युवन् dyuvanthe sun; heaven.
- द्युस् dyusa contraction of divas, the genitive sing. of 3. div, day;
- द्यो dyothe sky, heaven, paradise, etc.; see 3. div. —Dyo-kāra, as, m. ‘a maker of brightness,’ a…
- द्युक dyukaan owl.
- द्युत्1 dyutoccurring in the Atharvaveda, and said to mean ‘to be broken, to break;’ it occurs IV…
- द्युत्2 dyutdyotate, didyute (Pāṇ. VII. 4, 67; part. didyutāna), dyotiṣyate, adyotiṣṭa and adyutat…
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).