The Alphabet & Pronunciation
The Alphabet & Pronunciation¶
There are 8 vowels and 33 consonants in the Pāli alphabet.
All of them are pronounced phonetically.
8 Vowels (sara) a ā i ī u ū e o
| atta | (self) | a | as in | cut, hut, utter (not bat) |
| āmisa | (material) | ā | as in | father, barn, art (not hate) |
| siri | (radiance) | i | as in | it, bit, mint, ink |
| sīla | (behaviour) | ī | as in | bee, tree, see (not slide) |
| kuṭi | (hut) | u | as in | put, foot, shook, look |
| thūla | (large) | ū | as in | rule, fool, boot, rooster, flute |
| mettā | (friendliness) | e | as in | met, set, Zen (short) |
| hemanta | (winter) | e | as in | air, hair, fair (long) |
| ottappa | (remorse) | o | as in | orange, omit (short) |
| odana | (rice) | o | as in | for, awning, awe (long) |
5 Guttural Consonants (kaṇṭhaja – produced in the throat)
| karuṇā | (compassion) | k | as in | key, candle, cook (not aspirate) |
| khetta | (field) | kh2 | as in | blackhead, backhand, bunkhouse |
| gāma | (village) | g | as in | good, get |
| ghara | (house) | gh | as in | big-house, log house |
| saṅgha | (community) | ṅ | as in | singer |
h - aspirate sound
5 Palatal Consonants (tāluja – produced on the front-palate)
| cuṇṇa | (powder) | c | as in | church, child, cello (not aspirate) |
| chatta | (umbrella) | ch | as in | witch-hazel, ranch-house, coach-horse |
| jina | (conqueror) | j | as in | jam, jug, jelly |
| jhāna | (meditation) | jh | as in | sledgehammer, judgehouse, hedgehog |
| ñāṇa | (wisdom) | ñ | as in | señor, canyon, banyan, nyet |
5 Cerebral or Retroflex Consonants
(muddhaja – produced at the top)
These retroflex consonants have no English equivalents. They are formed by curling the tip of the tongue back against the back of the palate.
| dukkaṭa | (wrong doing) | ṭ | retroflex t | |
| ṭhāna | (place) | ṭh | retroflex th | |
| gaṇḍa | (boil) | ḍ | retroflex d | |
| vuḍḍhi | (increase) | ḍh | retroflex dh | |
| goṇa | (ox) | ṇ | retroflex n |
5 Dental Consonants (dantaja – produced on the teeth)
| iti | (thus) | t | as in | top, tap, stay (not aspirate) |
| thera | (elder) | th | as in | thomas, lighthouse, anthill, cathouse |
| dāna | (gift) | d | as in | dead, did, dog |
| dhamma | (teaching) | dh | as in | deadhand, adherent, madhouse |
| namo | (veneration) | n | as in | now, name, no, nose |
5 Labial Consonants (oṭṭhaja – produced by the lips)
| putta | (son) | p | as in | put, pad, space (not aspirate) |
| phala | (fruit) | ph | as in | tophat, uphill, upheaval |
| bāla | (fool) | b | as in | brother, bucket, be |
| bhāra | (burden) | bh | as in | abhorrent, clubhouse |
| māra | (death) | m | as in | mother, maker, mumble |
8 Other Consonants & Semi-vowels
| yoniso | (thoroughly) | y | as in | yes, year, you |
| rukkha | (tree) | r | as in | (Spanish) señora, rapido |
| loka | (world) | l | as in | law, like, love |
| vihāra | (monastery) | v | as in | vision, advise |
| sīha | (lion) | s | as in | see, sing, story |
| hiri | (shame) | h | as in | hut, hope, inherent |
| oḷārika | (gross) | ḷ | as in | similar to girl (but retroflex) |
| saṃyojana | (fetter) | ṃ | as in | similar to sing |
| saṁyojana | (fetter) | ṁ | as in | similar to sing |
| saŋyojana | (fetter) | ŋ | as in | similar to sing |
Sanskrit Letters
| 2 more vowels | ||||
| ṛṣi | (sage) | ṛ | as in | rim, crisp (but retroflex) |
| pṝ | (fill up) | ṝ | as in | creek (but retroflex) |
| 2 diphthongs | ||||
| avadhyai | (disregards) Pāli ujjhāyati |
ai | as in | aisle, pie |
| kaukṛtya | (worry) Pāli kukkucca |
au | as in | down, hound, brown |
| 2 more sibilants | ||||
| śamatha | (tranquillity) | ś | as in | ship, shape |
| diṣṭa | (seen) | ṣ | as in | retroflex sh |
Double Consonants¶
Double consonants are pronounced individually, like in the English word unnecessary. For example:
| buddha | pronounced | bud-dha | not budha |
| mettā | pronounced | met-taa | not metaa |
| pabbajjā | pronounced | pab-baj-jaa | not pabajaa |
| moggallāna | pronounced | mog-gal-laa-na | not mogalaana |
How to use a Pāli dictionary?¶
Pāli alphabetical order is from a to ṃ.
a ā i ī u ū e o
k kh g gh ṅ
c ch j jh ñ
ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ
t th d dh n
p ph b bh m
y r l v s h ḷ ṃ
or use a digital dictionary!