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 232 of 554
- द्वितीयिन् dvitīyinstanding in the second place or rank;
- द्विस् dvistwice;
- द्वेधा dve-dhā= dvi-dhā, in two parts, into two parts, in a twofold way, twice;
- द्विता2 dvitā(a particle of affirmation or emphasis = the Greek δή, δῆτα, and occurring only in the…
- द्विष्1 dviṣdveṣṭi, dviṣṭe, didveṣa, dvekṣyati, dveṣṭum (Vedic dveṣṭos), to hate, show hatred against…
- द्विष्2 dviṣhostile, hating, disliking; (ṭ), m. an enemy, a foe; (ṭ), f., Vedic hostility, dislike…
- द्विष dviṣa(at the end of a comp.) hostile, hating; (as), m. an enemy;
- द्विषत् dviṣathating or detesting, hostile, inimical, unfriendly; (an), m. an enemy, foe.
- द्विष्ट1 dviṣṭa(for 2. see below), hated, disliked, odious; hostile.
- द्वेष dveṣa(opposed to rāga, kāma, icchā), hatred, hate, dislike, abhorrence; repugnance; malignity…
- द्वेषण dveṣaṇahating, disliking, inimical, hostile; (as), m. an enemy; (am), n. hate, hatred against…
- द्वेषणीय dveṣaṇīyato be hated.
- द्वेषस् dveṣasdislike, hatred, hostility; a mischievous man, an enemy;
- द्वेषिन् dveṣinhating, disliking, hostile, inimical; (ī), m. a hater, foe, an enemy;
- द्वेष्टृ dveṣṭṛone who hates, a hater, disliking, hating, inimical, an enemy, foe.
- द्वेष्य dveṣyato be hated; disagreeable, hateful, odious, detestable; (as), m. an enemy, a foe.
- द्विषण्डिक dviṣaṇḍikaa garment which protects from wind and cold;
- द्विषदा dviṣadāPolianthes Tuberosa.
- द्विषा dviṣācardamoms.
- द्विष्ट2 dviṣṭa(for dvy-aṣṭa), copper. (For 1. dviṣṭa see above.)
- द्वीप dvīpaan island, peninsula, any land surrounded by water, a sandbank; a place of refuge…
- द्वीपिका dvīpikāAsparagus Racemosus;
- द्वीपिन् dvīpinhaving islands; having spots like islands; (ī), m. a tiger, an ounce or panther, leopard…
- द्वीप्य dvīpyaliving on an island, an islander; (as), m. the largest sort of raisin, cubebs; a sort of…
- द्वृ dvṛdvarati, etc., to obstruct; to cover; to disregard; to appropriate.
- द्वेधा dve-dhāSee p. 445, col. 3.
- द्वेष dveṣaSee p. 445, col. 3.
- द्वेसत dvesatahaving the same length above and below the navel; (also read dvayasata.)
- द्वैगत dvaigataname of a Sāman.
- द्वैगुणिक dvaiguṇikaone who requires the double or cent per cent interest; (as), m. an usurer, money-lender.
- द्वैगुण्य dvaiguṇyathe double, double amount, double value or measure, double the amount; duality; doubling…
- द्वैजात dvaijātabelonging to the twice-born, consisting of twice-born men, belonging to one of the three…
- द्वैत dvaitaduality, the state of being doubled, duplicity, dualism in philosophy, the assertion of…
- द्वैतवन dvaitavanaa patronymic of the king Dhvasan; (as, ī, am), belonging or relating to Dhvasan…
- द्वैतीयक dvaitīyakareturning every second day, second;
- द्वैध dvaidhatwofold, double; (am), n. duality, duplicity, double existence or nature, twofold form or…
- द्वैध्य dvaidhya‘the state of being twofold,’ double nature, duplicity; diversity, variance, discrepancy…
- द्वैप dvaipabeing or living on an island, an islander; occurring on an island;, belonging to a tiger…
- द्वैपक dvaipakaliving on an island, an islander.
- द्वैपायन dvaipāyana‘the islandborn,’ name of Vyāsa, author or compiler of the Vedas and Purāṇas, (the place…
- द्वैप्य dvaipyaor -pī, am, of or relating to an island or peninsula, the inhabitant of an island or of…
- द्वैपक्ष dvaipakṣatwo factions or parties.
- द्वैपद dvaipadaa combination or compound of two words.
- द्वैपदिक dvaipadikafamiliar with the Dvi-padā.
- द्वैपराक dvaiparākaname of a Tri-rātra.
- द्वैपारायणिक dvaipārāyaṇikaone who performs the Pārāyaṇa twice.
- द्वैभाव्य dvaibhāvyadouble nature, division or separation into two.
- द्वैमातुर dvaimāturahaving two mothers, i.e. a natural mother and a step-mother; having another mother…
- द्वैमातृक dvaimātṛkanourished by rain and rivers (as a country; cf. devamātṛka and nadīmatṛka).
- द्वैमित्रि dvaimitriborn of two friends.
- द्वैयह्निक dvaiyahnikaof or belonging to two days.
- द्वैयोग्य dvaiyogyaa combination of two.
- द्वैरथ dvairatha‘chariot-duel,’ a single combat in chariots, single combat in general; (as, ī, am)…
- द्वैराज्य dvairājyaa dominion divided between two princes.
- द्वैरात्रिक dvairātrikaof or belonging to a period of two nights.
- द्वैवर्षिक dvaivarṣikabiennial, happening after two years.
- द्वैविध्य dvaividhyathe state of being twofold, duality, twofold manner or character, duplicity, diversity…
- द्वैशाण dvaiśāṇaworth two Śāṇas;
- द्वैषणीया dvaiṣaṇīyāa sort of betel pepper.
- द्वैसमिक dvaisamikatwo years old.
- द्वैहायन dvaihāyanathe age of two years, the state of being two years old.
- द्व्यंश dvy-aṃśafor this and other comps. beginning with dvy see under dvi, p. 445, col. 1.
- ध1 dhathe nineteenth consonant of the alphabet and the fourth of the fourth or dental class…
- ध2 dhaplacing, putting; holding, containing, possessing, having; causing, etc.; (as), m. an…
- धक्1 dhakan exclamation of wrath.
- धक्2 dhaksee uśa-dhak; cf. 2. dah.
- धकित् dhakit= dhik, q.v.
- धक्क् dhakkdhakkayati, etc., to destroy or annihilate.
- धट dhaṭaa balance, the scale of a balance, a pair of scales; the sign of the zodiac Libra; ordeal…
- धटक dhaṭakaa kind of weight equal to 14 Vallas or 42 Raktikās.
- धटिन् dhaṭinan epithet of Śiva,; (inī), f. a cotton cloth or string fastened round the loins;
- धटोत्कच dhaṭotkacaname of a man;
- धडि dhaḍiname of a man.
- धण् dhaṇdhaṇati, etc., to sound;
- धत्तूर dhattūraor dhattūraka, as, ā, m. f. the white thorn-apple, Datura Alba;
- धन्1 dhandhanati, etc., to sound;
- धन्2 dhandadhanti, etc., Vedic to cause to move or run, to put in motion; to bear fruit, produce…
- धन dhanathe reward given to a victor in a combat, spoil taken from an enemy, booty, prey; a gift…
- धनक dhanakaavarice, covetousness, desire for riches; name of a Yādava, son of Dur-dama or Durmada…
- धनाय dhanāyadhanāyati, etc., to wish for wealth, long for riches, be desirous of anything (with…
- धनाया dhanāyāthe desire of obtaining riches, covetousness.
- धनिक dhanikarich, wealthy, opulent; pious, virtuous, excellent; (as), m. a wealthy man; a…
- धनिन् dhaninpossessing wealth or treasures, opulent, wealthy, rich, well off; (ī), m. a rich man; a…
- धनिष्ठ dhaniṣṭhavery rich; (superl. of 2. dhan), Vedic very swift; (ā), f. the more modern name of the…
- धनीका dhanīkā= dhanikā, f. a young woman.
- धनीय dhanīyadhanīyati, etc., to wish for riches.
- धनीयक dhanīyakaor dhaneyaka, am, n. coriander seed, = dhanyāka.
- धनू1 dhanūa store of grain. (For 2. dhanū see p. 448, col. 1.)
- धनेयु dhaneyuname of a son of Raudrāśva.
- धन्य dhanyabringing wealth, bestowing opulence (Vedic); opulent, wealthy, rich; fortunate, happy…
- धन्यक dhanyakaname of a man.
- धन्याक dhanyākaa plant bearing a small pungent seed used by the Hindūs as a condiment, Coriandrum…
- धनस्यक dhanasyakathe plant Asteracantha Longifolia (= go-kṣura).
- धनाश्री dhanāśrī(?), f., name of a Rāgiṇī; (according to Hanu-mat, the third wife of Śrī-rāga.)
- धनु dhanuor 2. dhanū, ūs, f., a bow; a measure of four Hastas or cubits; the sign of the zodiac…
- धनुष dhanuṣaname of a Ṛṣi.
- धनुष्क dhanuṣka(at the end of an adj. comp.) = dhanus, a bow; (am), n. a small bow.
- धनुस् dhanus(generally n.), a bow; a measure of length equal to four Hastas or = (1/2000) Gavyūti…
- धन्य dhanyaSee p. 447, col. 3.
- धन्व् dhanv(allied to rts. dhav and dhāv and 2. dhan), Vedic dhan-vati, -te, dadhanve, etc., to run…
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).