Pāli (Theravāda)
Pedagogical Pali (Theravada monastic)
Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Middle; Theravada monastic pedagogy) · historical / hidden variety
Pedagogical Pali (Pāli, Theravāda) is the actively recited form of Pali maintained by Theravada Buddhist monasteries and lay practitioners across Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and the global Theravada diaspora. Distinct from the canonical Pali corpus (pi, historical-attested Tipitaka in Devanagari/academic notation) by: (1) primary use of Romanized notation in international monastic and Vipassana meditation pedagogy; (2) standardized monastic pronunciation conventions, with regional variants (Sinhala-Pali, Burmese-Pali, Thai-Pali, Cambodian-Pali) all taught in their respective traditions; (3) lexical preferences from active chanting (mettā "loving-kindness" as the canonical love-term, kusala "wholesome" for "good", anumodanā as the canonical rejoicing-acknowledgement formula); (4) active oral pedagogy in monastic Pali-grammar studies (vyākaraṇa). Anchored at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, the historical center of Theravada scholasticism where Buddhaghosa compiled the Visuddhimagga commentary tradition (5th c. CE).
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Pedagogical Pali (Theravada monastic)
Water
udaka
/udaka/
Fire
aggi
/aɡːi/
Sun
suriya
/suɾija/
Moon
canda
/tɕanda/
Star
tārā
/ˈt̪aːraː/
Mother
mātā
/maːtaː/
Father
pitā
/pitaː/
I
ahaṃ
/ɐˈhɐŋ/
You
tvaṃ
/t̪ʋɐŋ/
Name
nāma
/ˈnaːma/
Eye
cakkhu
/tɕakːʰu/
Hand
hattha
/hatːʰa/
Heart
hadaya
/hadaja/
Love
mettā
/metːaː/
Tree
rukkha
/rukːʰa/
House
gehā
/ɡehaː/
Dog
sunakha
/sunakʰa/
Cat
biḷāra
/biɭaːɾa/
Eat
bhuñjati
/bʱuɲdʒati/
Drink
pivati
/pivati/
One
eka
/eka/
Two
dve
/d̪ʋe/
Hello
namo
/namo/
Thank you
anumodanā
/anumodanaː/
Good
kusala
/kusala/
Cuckoo
kokila
/koːkilɐ/
Computer
gaṇaka
/ɡɐɳɐkɐ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Middle; Theravada monastic pedagogy) languages
| Meaning | Pedagogical Pali (Theravada monastic) | Pali | Modern Spoken Sanskrit | Sanskrit | Maharastri Prakrit | Vedic Sanskrit | Dogri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | udaka /udaka/ | उदक /udaka/ | जलम् /dʑalam/ | जलम् /dʑalam/ | उदग /udaɡa/ | आपः /aːpaɦ/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ |
| Fire | aggi /aɡːi/ | अग्गि /aɡːi/ | अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ | अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ | अग्गि /aɡɡi/ | अग्निः /aɡniɦ/ | अग्ग /aɡː/ |
| Sun | suriya /suɾija/ | सुरिय /surija/ | सूर्यः /suːɾjaɦ/ | सूर्यः /suːɾjaɦ/ | सूर /suːɾa/ | सूर्यः /suːrjaɦ/ | सूरज /suːraj/ |
| Moon | canda /tɕanda/ | चन्द /tɕanda/ | चन्द्रः /tɕandɾaɦ/ | चन्द्रः /tɕandɾaɦ/ | चंद /tʃanda/ | चन्द्रमाः /tɕandramaːɦ/ | चन्न /tʃanː/ |
| Star | tārā /ˈt̪aːraː/ | तारा /taːraː/ | तारा /t̪aːraː/ | तारा /taːraː/ | तारा /taːɾaː/ | तारा /taːˈraː/ | तारा /taːraː/ |
| Mother | mātā /maːtaː/ | माता /maːtaː/ | माता /maːtaː/ | माता /maːtaː/ | माय /maːja/ | माता /maːtaː/ | मां /mãː/ |
| Father | pitā /pitaː/ | पिता /pitaː/ | पिता /pitaː/ | पिता /pitaː/ | पिअ /piaː/ | पिता /pitaː/ | बापू /baːpuː/ |
| I | ahaṃ /ɐˈhɐŋ/ | अहं /ahaŋ/ | अहम् /ɐɦɐm/ | अहम् /ɐɦɐm/ | अहं /ahan/ | अहम् /ɐˈɦɐm/ | औं /ɔ̃ː/ |
| You | tvaṃ /t̪ʋɐŋ/ | त्वं /tvaŋ/ | त्वम् /t̪ʋɐm/ | त्वम् /tʋɐm/ | तुमं /tuman/ | त्वम् /tʋɐm/ | तूं /tũː/ |
| Name | nāma /ˈnaːma/ | नाम /naːma/ | नाम /naːmɐ/ | नाम /naːmɐ/ | णाम /ɳaːma/ | नाम /naːmɐ/ | नां /nãː/ |
| Eye | cakkhu /tɕakːʰu/ | चक्खु /tɕakːʰu/ | अक्षि /akʂi/ | नेत्रम् /neːtɾam/ | अच्छि /atʃːʰi/ | अक्षि /akʂi/ | अक्ख /akːʰ/ |
| Hand | hattha /hatːʰa/ | हत्थ /hatːʰa/ | हस्तः /hastaɦ/ | हस्तः /hastaɦ/ | हत्थ /hatːʰa/ | हस्तः /hastaɦ/ | हत्थ /hattʰ/ |
| Heart | hadaya /hadaja/ | हदय /hadaja/ | हृदयम् /hr̩dajam/ | हृदयम् /hr̩dajam/ | हिअ /hiaː/ | हृदयम् /hr̩dajam/ | दिल /dil/ |
| Love | mettā /metːaː/ | पेम /pema/ | स्नेहः /sneːhaɦ/ | प्रेम /preːma/ | पेम /peːma/ | स्नेहः /sneːɦaɦ/ | प्यार /pjaːr/ |
| Tree | rukkha /rukːʰa/ | रुक्ख /rukːʰa/ | वृक्षः /vr̩kʂaɦ/ | वृक्षः /vr̩kʂaɦ/ | रुक्ख /rukːʰa/ | वृक्षः /vr̩kʂaɦ/ | रुक्ख /rukːʰ/ |
| House | gehā /ɡehaː/ | घर /ɡʱara/ | गृहम् /ɡr̩ham/ | गृहम् /ɡr̩ham/ | घर /ɡʱaɾa/ | गृहम् /ɡr̩ham/ | घर /ɡʱər/ |
| Dog | sunakha /sunakʰa/ | सुनख /sunakʰa/ | कुक्कुरः /kukːuɾaɦ/ | श्वा /ɕvaː/ | सुणग /suɳaɡa/ | श्वा /ɕwaː/ | कुत्ता /kuttaː/ |
| Cat | biḷāra /biɭaːɾa/ | बिळाल /biɭaːla/ | मार्जारः /maːɾdʑaːɾaɦ/ | मार्जारः /maːɾdʑaːɾaɦ/ | मज्जार /madʒːaːra/ | मार्जारः /maːrdʑaːraɦ/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ |
| Eat | bhuñjati /bʱuɲdʒati/ | खादति /kʰaːdati/ | खादति /kʰaːdati/ | खादति /kʰaːdati/ | खा /kʰaː/ | अत्ति /atti/ | खाना /kʰaːnaː/ |
| Drink | pivati /pivati/ | पिवति /pivati/ | पिबति /pibati/ | पिबति /pibati/ | पिब /piba/ | पिबति /pibati/ | पीना /piːnaː/ |
| One | eka /eka/ | एक /eka/ | एकः /eːkaɦ/ | एकः /eːkaɦ/ | एग /eɡa/ | एकः /eːkaɦ/ | इक /ik/ |
| Two | dve /d̪ʋe/ | द्वे /dve/ | द्वे /d̪ʋeː/ | द्वि /dvi/ | दो /do/ | द्वौ /dʋɐu/ | दो /do/ |
| Hello | namo /namo/ | नमो /namo/ | नमस्कारः /namaskaːɾaɦ/ | नमस्ते /namasteː/ | — /—/ | स्वस्ति /swasti/ | नमस्कार /nəməskaːr/ |
| Thank you | anumodanā /anumodanaː/ | अनुमोदामि /anumodaːmi/ | धन्यवादाः /dʱanjaʋaːdaːɦ/ | धन्यवादः /dʱanjaʋaːdaɦ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ |
| Good | kusala /kusala/ | साधु /saːdʱu/ | साधु /saːdʱu/ | साधु /saːdʱu/ | साहु /saːhu/ | साधु /saːdʱu/ | चन्गा /tʃəŋɡaː/ |
| Cuckoo | kokila /koːkilɐ/ | कोकिल /koːkilɐ/ | कोकिल /koːkilɐ/ | कोकिल /koːkilɐ/ | कोइल /koˑilɐ/ | — | — |
| Computer | gaṇaka /ɡɐɳɐkɐ/ | गणक /ɡɐɳɐkɐ/ | संगणकः /sɐŋɡɐɳɐkɐh/ | गणक /ɡɐ.ɳɐ.kɐ/ | — | गणक /ɡɐɳɐkɐ/ | — |
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