Pāli Glossary – (A-K)

August 12, 2016; Revised May 27, 2017; February 19, 2020; May 29, 2022 (#4 added)

“Tipiṭaka English” Convention

1. I have revised the Pāli words to align with the convention used by most English texts. This convention was apparently adapted by the early European scholars (Rhys Davis and others) in order to keep the length of the word short. I will use this convention in new posts and try to update old posts gradually. See the following two posts for details:

• “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1
• “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 2

Additional Pronunciation Keys: 

.”a” is pronounced like “u” in cut;   “ā” is pronounced like “a” in father

• “i” is pronounced like “i” in sit;   “ī” is pronounced like “ee” in bee
• “u” is pronounced like “u” in “put”;   “ū” is pronounced like “oo” in cool
•  “ō” is pronounced like “oe” in “Moe”;  “ē” is pronounced like “a” in pay
•  “c” needs to be pronounced like “ch” as in “charm” or “chicago”
• “ñ” needs to be pronounced like “gn” in “signor”

2. This glossary is in two posts because there are a total of over 400 Pāli words included now. This is the first part of the glossary; second part at “Pāli Glossary – (L-Z)“.

• I have been able to get the audio files incorporated, and also have provided links to key posts whenever possible/needed.
• We also have a “Popup Pāli Glossary with Pronunciation“, thanks to Mr. Seng Kiat Ng. If that GoldenDict dictionary is installed on your computer, you will be able to access this glossary from each post directly. Furthermore, it could provide translations from other online dictionaries as well.

3. Relevant posts on any of the words can be found by using the “Search” box on the top right.

4. Anyone can download the audio files here:

“Pāli Word Pronunciation – Audio Files“