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 72 of 554
- अव्यलीक a-vyalīkanot false, true, veracious, not disagreeable.
- अव्यवधान a-vyavadhānaclose, contiguous, immediate; not screened, not concealed, open, careless.
- अव्यवहित a-vyavahitaadjoining, contiguous.
- अव्यवसाय a-vyavasāyanegligence, inactivity.
- अव्यवसायिन् a-vyavasāyinnegligent, inactive, remiss.
- अव्यवस्था a-vyavasthāirregularity, deviation from established rule; incorrect legal opinion.
- अव्यवस्थित a-vyavasthitanot conformable to law or practice; unacquainted with the law or custom; ill-regulated…
- अव्यवहार्य a-vyavahāryaunactionable, not to be discussed in law.
- अव्यवहृत a-vyavahṛtanot determined or investigated by law; not spoken.
- अव्यवाय a-vyavāyaabsence of interval, non-separation.
- अव्यसन a-vyasanaor a-vyasanin, ī, inī, i, free from evil practices, not vicious, moral, correct, steady.
- अव्यस्त a-vyastaundecomposed, simple; not separated, undispersed, collected.
- अव्याकुल a-vyākulanot disturbed, composed, calm, firm.
- अव्याकृत a-vyākṛtaundecomposed, simple; (am), n. elementary substance from which all things were created…
- अव्याख्या a-vyākhyāwant of clearness of explanation, obscurity.
- अव्याख्यात a-vyākhyātaunexplained, obscure.
- अव्याख्यान a-vyākhyānanon-explanation, absence of explicitness.
- अव्याख्येय a-vyākhyeyainexplicable, unintelligible; not requiring to be explained, easy.
- अव्याज a-vyājaabsence of fraud, simplicity, honesty.
- अव्यापक a-vyāpakanot spread over or pervading the whole, not an invariable concomitant, special…
- अव्यापिन् a-vyāpinnot pervading, not comprehensive, not invariably concomitant, special, individual…
- अव्याप्त a-vyāptanot pervaded with, peculiar, individual, limited.
- अव्याप्ति a-vyāptiinadequate pervasion or extent (of a definition); e.g. ‘man is a cooking animal,’ which…
- अव्याप्य a-vyāpyanot to be pervaded generally, not extending to the whole circumstances, peculiar; (a)…
- अव्यापन्न a-vyāpannanot dead, not quite extinct, just alive.
- अव्यापार a-vyāpāravacation from work, state of being unemployed; a business not practised or understood…
- अव्यायाम a-vyāyāmanon-exertion, absence of lassitude or of fatigue from exertion.
- अव्यायत a-vyāyatanot occupied, not detached, holding firm (?).
- अव्यावर्तन a-vyāvartananot returning, not coming back, not circulating.
- अव्याहत a-vyāhataunresisted, unimpeded; not disappointed.
- अव्याहारिन् a-vyāhārinnot uttering (?).
- अव्याहित a-vyāhitaundisputed.
- अव्युच्छिन्न a-vy-ucchinnanot interrupted.
- अव्युत्पन्न a-vyutpannanot accomplished, not proficient, inexperienced.
- अव्युष्ट a-vyuṣṭanot yet shining (as the dawn).
- अव्यृद्धि a-vyṛddhinot failing.
- अव्येष्यत् a-vyeṣyator antī, at, Vedic not disappearing, not vanishing.
- अव्रण a-vraṇawithout rents or scars, without splinters; unhurt, unscarred, sound; avraṇaṃ śukram, a…
- अव्रत a-vrataor a-vratika, as, ā, am, lawless, disobedient, wicked; not observing religious rites or…
- अव्रत्य avratyaoffence against the rule of an ascetic, violation of a religious obligation.
- अव्रात्य a-vrātyaone who is not a Vrātya.
- अव्राजिन् a-vrājinnot wandering or travelling as a mendicant (?).
- अश्1 aś(in classical Sanskrit A. only), aśnoti, -nute, āśa, ānaṃśa, ānaśe, aśiṣyate or akṣyate…
- अशन् aśana missile-stone, or stone for slinging, stone, rock; a cloud.
- अशन1 aśanareaching, reaching across.
- अशनि aśania missile, especially the thunderbolt and flash of lightning; the tip of a missile; name…
- अशित्र1 aśitraa thief.
- अशिन् aśinreaching far, enduring; Vedic superlative aśītama and aśiṣṭha.
- अश्2 aśaśnāti, āśa, aśiṣyati, āśīt, aśitum, to eat, consume; to taste, enjoy: Caus. āśayati…
- अशन2 aśanaeating, feeding; food (often at the end of compounds, e.g. mūla-phalāśana, as, ā, am…
- अशनाय aśanāya-yati, -yitum, to desire food, to be hungry.
- अशनाया aśanāyāhunger.
- अशनायित aśanāyitaor aśanāyuka, as, ā, am, Vedic hungry.
- अशित aśitaeaten, satisfied.
- अशितव्य aśitavyato be eaten.
- अशितृ aśitṛeating, an eater..2. aśitra, am, n. an oblation of rice, etc.
- अशित aśitafed, satiated, satiate; given to eat; (am), n. food.
- अशकुन a-śakunaan inauspicious omen.
- अशकुम्भी aśa-kumbhīname of the aquatic plant Pistia Stratiotes Lin.
- अशक्त a-śaktaunable, incompetent.
- अशक्ति a-śaktiinability, incapability, weakness, impotence.
- अशक्य a-śakyaimpossible, impracticable; not to be done.
- अशग aśaganame of the author of the Śāntipurāṇa.
- अशङ्क a-śaṅkafearless, undaunted; secure, certain.
- अशङ्कित a-śaṅkitacertain, undoubted; fearless.
- अशठ a-śaṭhavirtuous, sincere.
- अशत्रु a-śatruone who has no adversary; one whom no enemy defies; without opposition from enemies…
- अशन3 aśana= asana, name of the tree Terminalia Tomentosa W. and A.
- अशन aśanaSee under 1. aś, 2. aś.
- अशपत् a-śapatnot cursing, not imprecating.
- अशम् a-śamnon-welfare, harm, mischief.
- अशम a-śamadisquietude, uneasiness.
- अशान्त a-śāntaunappeased, indomitable, violent, wild; restless, anxious, unresigned; unconsecrated, not…
- अशान्ति a-śāntirestlessness, anxiety.
- अशाम्य a-śāmyaunappeasable.
- अशरण a-śaraṇadestitute of refuge, defenceless.
- अशरीर a-śarīrabodiless, incorporeal; (as), m. a name of Kāma, the god of love.
- अशरीरिन् a-śarīrinincorporeal.
- अशर्मन् a-śarmanunhappiness, pain, affliction; (ā, ā, a), unhappy, afflicted.
- अशस् a-śasnot blessing, not wishing well, not praising, cursing, hating.
- अशस्त a-śastainexpressible, ineffable, not esteemed, hated, ill-starred.
- अशस्ति a-śastinot wishing well, imprecation, evil design, curse; a curser, hater.
- अशस्त्र a-śastraweaponless, unarmed.
- अशाखा a-śākhāname of a grass.
- अशारीरिक a-śārīrikanot relating to or endowed with body, incorporeal.
- अशाश्वत a-śāśvataperishable, transient, temporary.
- अशासन a-śāsanawant of government, anarchy, disorder.
- अशासनीय a-śāsanīyaor a-śāsya, as, ā, am, ungovernable.
- अशासित a-śāsitaungoverned, undisciplined.
- अशास्त्र a-śāstraunscriptural, not conformable to sacred authority, heterodox.
- अशास्त्रीय a-śāstrīyaunscriptural, heterodox, illegal, immoral, irreligious.
- अशिक्षित a-śikṣitauntaught.
- अशित aśitaetc. See under 2. aś.
- अशित्र aśitraSee under 1. aś, 2. aś.
- अशिथिल a-śithilanot loose, firm, tight, hard.
- अशिन् aśinSee under 1. aś.
- अशिपद a-śipadanot causing the sickness called śipada.
- अशिमिद a-śimidanot destructive like a Śimidā.
- अशिमिविद्विष् aśimi-vidviṣepithet of the seven Parjanyas or rain-clouds.
- अशिर aśirafire; a name of the sun, ‘consumer or devourer;’ name of a Rākṣasa or goblin; (ā), f…
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).