पालि

Pali

Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Middle) · historical / hidden variety

FamilyIndo-European (Indo-Aryan, Middle) SpeakersExtinct (liturgical) ScriptDevanagari, Sinhala, Thai, Burmese, Khmer (multiple) CountriesTheravada Buddhist world Official inTheravada Buddhist canon Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3pli

Pali (𑀧𑀸𑀮𑀺) is the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, in which the Tipitaka (Pali Canon) — the foundational scriptures of Theravada — is preserved. A Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrit) language closely related to the dialects of ancient India around the Buddha's lifetime (5th c. BCE), Pali shows phonological reductions characteristic of Middle Indic (loss of ṛ, simplification of consonant clusters). Standardised in Sri Lanka in the 1st c. BCE under King Vattagamani when the canon was first written down. Today written in many local Brahmic scripts (Sinhala, Burmese, Thai, Khmer, Devanagari) — never had a unique script.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Pali

Water

उदक

/udaka/

Fire

अग्गि

/aɡːi/

Sun

सुरिय

/surija/

Moon

चन्द

/tɕanda/

Mother

माता

/maːtaː/

Father

पिता

/pitaː/

Eat

खादति

/kʰaːdati/

Drink

पिवति

/pivati/

Love

पेम

/pema/

Heart

हदय

/hadaja/

Tree

रुक्ख

/rukːʰa/

House

घर

/ɡʱara/

Dog

सुनख

/sunakʰa/

Cat

बिळाल

/biɭaːla/

Hand

हत्थ

/hatːʰa/

Eye

चक्खु

/tɕakːʰu/

Hello

नमो

/namo/

Thank you

अनुमोदामि

/anumodaːmi/

One

एक

/eka/

Good

सुन्दर

/sundara/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Middle) languages

Meaning PaliPedagogical Pali (Theravada monastic)Maharastri PrakritSanskritModern Spoken SanskritVedic SanskritDogri
Water उदक /udaka/ udaka /udaka/ उदग /udaɡa/ जलम् /dʑalam/ जलम् /dʑalam/ आपः /aːpaɦ/ पाणी /paːɳiː/
Fire अग्गि /aɡːi/ aggi /aɡːi/ अग्गि /aɡɡi/ अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ अग्ग /aɡː/
Sun सुरिय /surija/ suriya /suɾija/ सूर /suːɾa/ सूर्यः /suːɾjaɦ/ सूर्यः /suːɾjaɦ/ सूर्यः /suːrjaɦ/ सूरज /suːraj/
Moon चन्द /tɕanda/ canda /tɕanda/ चंद /tʃanda/ चन्द्रः /tɕandɾaɦ/ चन्द्रः /tɕandɾaɦ/ चन्द्रमाः /tɕandramaːɦ/ चन्न /tʃanː/
Mother माता /maːtaː/ mātā /maːtaː/ माय /maːja/ माता /maːtaː/ माता /maːtaː/ माता /maːtaː/ मां /mãː/
Father पिता /pitaː/ pitā /pitaː/ पिअ /piaː/ पिता /pitaː/ पिता /pitaː/ पिता /pitaː/ बापू /baːpuː/
Eat खादति /kʰaːdati/ bhuñjati /bʱuɲd͡ʒati/ खा /kʰaː/ खादति /kʰaːdati/ खादति /kʰaːdati/ अत्ति /atti/ खाना /kʰaːnaː/
Drink पिवति /pivati/ pivati /pivati/ पिब /piba/ पिबति /pibati/ पिबति /pibati/ पिबति /pibati/ पीना /piːnaː/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Pali
ahaṃ āvasathassa paccamukhe āpaṇe diṭṭhaṃ vatthaṃ paridhāpetuṃ icchāmi
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Pali
ahaṃ āvasathassa paccamukhe āpaṇe diṭṭhaṃ vatthaṃ paridhāpetuṃ icchāmi
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum pashë një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ես ուզում եմ փորձել կոստում որ տեսա խանութում դիմաց հյուրանոցի
हम होटल के सामने दुकान में देखल सूट पहिन के देखे के चाहत बानी
Аз искам да пробвам костюм който видях в магазин срещу хотела

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