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 34 of 554
- अपपात्रित apa-pātritaa person not allowed by his kindred to eat or drink from a common vessel; a person who…
- अपपादत्र apa-pādatrahaving no protection for the feet, shoeless.
- अपपान apa-pānaa bad or improper drink.
- अपपित्व apa-pitvaseverance; turning away, separation.
- अपपूत apa-pūtabadly formed buttocks; (as, ā, am), having badly formed buttocks.
- अपपॄ apa-pṝ-piparti, to take away, remove.
- अपप्रजाता apa-prajātāa female that has had a miscarriage.
- अपप्रदान apa-pradānaa bribe.
- अपप्रे apa-pre-praiti, -tum, to go away, to withdraw.
- अपप्रोषित apa-proṣitart. vas), am, n., Vedic the having departed, a wrong departure or evil caused thereby.
- अपबध् apa-badhor apa-vadh (defect. verb), to repel, avert.
- अपबर्हिस् apa-barhisnot having the portion constituting the Barhis.
- अपबाध् apa-bādh-bādhate, -dhitum, to drive away, repel, remove.
- अपबाहुक apa-bāhukaa bad arm, stiffness in the arm.
- अपभय apa-bhayaor apa-bhī, īs, īs, i, fearless, undaunted.
- अपभरणी apa-bharaṇīthe last lunar mansion.
- अपभर्तृ apa-bhartṛtaking away, destroying.
- अपभाष् apa-bhāṣ-bhāṣate, -ṣitum, to revile.
- अपभाषण apa-bhāṣaṇaabuse, bad words, vituperation.
- अपभू apa-bhū-bhavati, -vitum, to be absent.
- अपभूति apa-bhūtidefect, damage.
- अपभ्रंश apa-bhraṃśaor apa-bhraṃsa, as, m. falling down or away; a bad fall; a corrupted word, a corruption…
- अपभ्रष्ट apa-bhraṣṭafallen away, corrupted (as a Prākṛt dialect).
- अपम apamathe most distant, the last; (as), m. the declination in astronomy; the ecliptic.
- अपमन्यु apa-manyufree from grief.
- अपमर्द apa-mardawhat is swept away, dirt.
- अपमर्श apa-marśatouching, grazing.
- अपमान apa-mānadisrespect, contempt, disgrace.
- अपमानित्र apa-mānitradishonoured, disgraced.
- अपमानिन् apa-mānindishonouring, despising.
- अपमान्य apa-mānyadisreputable, dishonourable.
- अपमार्ग apa-mārgaa by-way.
- अपमित्य1 apa-mityato be thrown away; see under apa-me below.
- अपमुख apa-mukhahaving the face averted; having an ill-formed face or mouth; (am), ind. except or without…
- अपमूर्धन् apa-mūrdhanheadless.
- अपमृज् apa-mṛj-mārṣṭi, -mārjitum, -mārṣṭum, to wipe off, remove.
- अपमार्जन apa-mārjanacleansing; shaving, paring, chips.
- अपमृष्ट apa-mṛṣṭacleansed.
- अपमृत्यु apa-mṛtyusudden death, dying by some accident, not of sickness or decay; a great danger or…
- अपमृषित apa-mṛṣitaunintelligible (as a speech).
- अपमे apa-me-mayate, -mātum, to change.
- अपमित्य2 apa-mityaor apa-mityaka, am, n. debt.
- अपयशस् apa-yaśasdisgrace, infamy.
- अपया apa-yā-yāti, -tum, to go away, to depart, fall off, go over to.
- अपयात apa-yātagone away, having retired.
- अपयातर्व्य apa-yātarvyato be gone away (used impersonally).
- अपयान apa-yānaretreat, flight.
- अपयु apa-yu-yuyoti, to repel, disjoin.
- अपर1 a-parahaving nothing beyond or after, having no rival or superior.
- अपर2 aparaposterior, hinder, later, latter (opposed to pūrva and often occuring as the first member…
- अपराह्ण aparāhṇaafternoon, the last watch of the day.
- अपरेतरा aparetarāopposite to or other than the west, the east.
- अपरेद्युस् apare-dyuson the following day.
- अपरक्त apa-raktacolourless, bloodless, pale.
- अपरति apa-ratistopping, ceasing.
- अपरव apa-ravacontest, dispute; discord.
- अपरस्पर2 a-parasparanot reciprocal, not one (by) the other.
- अपराग apa-rāgaaversion, antipathy, enmity.
- अपराच् a-parācnot averted, i.e. fronting, in front.
- अपराजित a-parājitaunconquered, unsurpassed; (as), m. a poisonous insect; Viṣṇu; Śiva; one of the eleven…
- अपराजिष्णु a-parājiṣṇuor a-parājeya, as, ā, am, unconquerable, invincible.
- अपराध् apa-rādhor 5. P. -rādhyati, rādhnoti, -rāddhum, to wrong (with genitive), to offend, sin; to…
- अपराद्ध apa-rāddhasinned; criminal, guilty; erring.
- अपराद्धि apa-rāddhiwrong, mistake.
- अपराद्धृ apa-rāddhṛoffending, an offender.
- अपराध apa-rādhaoffence, transgression, fault; mistake; e.g. aparādhaṃ kṛ, (with genitive) to offend any…
- अपराधिन् apa-rādhinoffending; criminal; guilty.
- अपरापरण a-parāparaṇanot having descendants or offspring.
- अपरामृष्ट a-parāmṛṣṭanot touched.
- अपरिकलित a-parikalitaunknown, unseen.
- अपरिक्रम a-parikramaunable to walk round.
- अपरिक्रामम् a-parikrāmamwithout going about, standing still.
- अपरिक्लिन्न a-pariklinnanot moist, not liquid, dry.
- अपरिगण्य a-parigaṇyaincalculable.
- अपरिगत a-parigataunobtained, unknown.
- अपरिग्रह a-parigrahanon-acceptance, renouncing; deprivation, destitution, poverty; (as, ā, am), destitute of…
- अपरिग्राह्य a-parigrāhyaunfit or improper to be accepted, not to be taken.
- अपरिचयिन् a-paricayinhaving no acquaintances, misanthropic.
- अपरिचित a-paricitaunacquainted with, unknown to.
- अपरिचेय a-pariceyaunsociable.
- अपरिच्छद a-paricchadawithout retinue, not wealthy, poor.
- अपरिच्छन्न a-paricchannaor a-paricchādita, as, ā, am, uncovered, unclothed.
- अपरिच्छिन्न a-paricchinnawithout interval or division, continuous, connected, undistinguished.
- अपरिच्छेद a-paricchedawant of distinction or division; want of arrangement or order; want of discrimination or…
- अपरिज्यानि a-parijyāninot growing old; not losing; iṣṭāpūrtasyāparijyāni (˚ya-ap˚), is, f., name of a…
- अपरिणयन a-pariṇayanacelibacy.
- अपरिणीता a-pariṇītāan unmarried woman.
- अपरिणाम a-pariṇāmaunchangeableness.
- अपरिणामिन् a-pariṇāminunchanging.
- अपरितोष a-paritoṣaunsatisfied, discontented.
- अपरिपक्व a-paripakvanot quite mature.
- अपरिपर a-pariparanot going by a tortuous course.
- अपरिमाण a-parimāṇawithout measure, immeasurable, immense.
- अपरिमित a-parimitaunmeasured, unlimited, unbounded.
- अपरिमेय a-parimeyaimmeasurable, illimitable.
- अपरिम्लान a-parimlānanot withering, not decaying; (as), m., name of a plant, Gompherena Globosa.
- अपरियाणि a-pariyāṇinot walking about (used in execrations only); a various reading has a-paripāṇi.
- अपरिलोप a-parilopanon-violation.
- अपरिवर्तनीय a-parivartanīyanot to be exchanged.
- अपरिवाद्य a-parivādyanot to be reprimanded.
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).