Some Basic Sandhi – The Assimilation of the Letter y

Some Basic Sandhi – The Assimilation of the Letter y

In order to understand how verbs from group 3 get formed, you need to understand how the letter y gets assimilated when combined with other consonants. This is called consonant sandhi.

c + y > cc

√muc 3 ya (be free) + ya > mucca

mucca + ti > muccati (he is free) (sk mucyate)

j + y > jj

vi + √raj (desire) + ya + ti > virajjati (he is detached)

√saj (cling) + ya + ti > sajjati (he is attached)

d + y > jj

√bhid (break) + ya + ti > bhijjati (it is broken)

√khād (eat) + ya + ti > khajjati (it is eaten)

√chid (cut) + ya + ti > chijjati (it is cut)

√mad (be intoxicated) + ya + ti > majjati (he is intoxicated)

√vid (be found, exist) + ya + ti >vijjati (he is existing)

ā + √pad (step) + ya + ti > āpajjati (he experiences)

dh + y > jjh

√budh (know, wake up) + ya + ti > bujjhati (he wakes up)

√gidh (be greedy) + ya + ti > gijjhati (he is greedy)

√idh (succeed) + ya + ti > ijjhati (he succeeds)

√rudh (block) + ya + ti > rujjhati (he is obstructed)

vi + √sudh (be pure) + ya + ti > visujjhati (he is purified)

n + y > ññ
√han (kill) + ya + ti > haññati (he is killed)

√man (think) + ya + ti > maññati (he thinks)

p + y > pp

√dīp (shine) + ya + ti > dippati (he shines)

√kup (be angry) + ya + ti > kuppati (he is angry)

√rup (be broken) + ya + ti > ruppati (he is hurt)

bh + y > bbh

√lubh (be greedy) + ya + ti > lubbhati (he is greedy)

m + y > mm

√sam (be calm) + ya + ti > sammati (he is calmed)

v + y > vv > bb

√siv (sew) + ya + ti > sivvati > sibbati (he sews)

√div (shine) + ya + ti > divvati > dibbati (he shines)

s + y > ss

√dus (hate) + ya + ti > dussati (he hates)

√kilis (be dirty) + ya + ti > kilissati (he is dirtied)

You will find more examples of the assimilation of the letter y when you study the passive voice.