Buddhist Term Lookup
Look up a Buddhist term and see what it means and how to say it. Search 73 terms from our glossary in Pali, Sanskrit or English, with or without the dots and bars: “nibbana” finds nibbāna, and “shunyata” finds śūnyatā. Open any term for the pronunciation rules that apply to it, letter by letter.
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How the pronunciation hints work
Each hint restates a rule from our guide to how to pronounce Pali and Sanskrit, which draws on Ānandajoti Bhikkhu’s guide, the Dhammayut Order’s chanting guide, Charles Duroiselle’s grammar and the University of Texas course on ancient Sanskrit. The lookup reads the letters of a word and shows the rules they call for: a long vowel held twice as long, an aspirate said as one sound with a breath, a double consonant said twice, a dotted letter with the tongue drawn back. Where the guides disagree, as on the nasal ṁ, on v, and on e and o before two consonants, the hint says so rather than choosing.
It does not respell every word. The guides agree on the sounds but not always on where the syllables divide, so the lookup shows a full respelling only for the words the guide’s worked examples take one by one, such as bud-dha and nib-bā-na. For Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese terms it gives the name only: Wylie transliteration spells Tibetan letters, not sounds.
Where the meanings come from
Every definition is the one-line opener of an entry in our glossary, where each term carries its own sources, from the Pali discourses to the PTS Pali-English Dictionary. Open “Glossary entry” for the full entry, or “Full guide” for the page that explains the idea at length.
Learn the words for good with the Buddhist terms flashcards, or browse the glossary A–Z. See all our free tools.
Frequently asked questions
Which terms can I look up?
The 73 terms of our glossary, from anattā and bodhicitta to vipassanā and zazen. Each comes with its Pali or Sanskrit form where there is one, a one-line definition, and links to the full glossary entry and the guide that explains it. Search by the term, by its Pali or Sanskrit spelling, or by an English word in its definition.
Why are Buddhist words spelled two ways, like nibbāna and nirvāṇa?
Because many come in two languages: Pali, the language of the Theravāda canon, and Sanskrit, the language of many Mahāyāna texts. Dhamma and dharma, kamma and karma, nibbāna and nirvāṇa are the same words in each. The lookup shows both forms and gives the hints for each.
Can I search without diacritics?
Yes. The lookup ignores the dots and bars, so 'nibbana' finds nibbāna and 'sunyata' or 'shunyata' finds śūnyatā. You can also search in English, for a word in a definition such as 'impermanence'.
Does it show how to pronounce Tibetan or Japanese terms?
No. Our pronunciation guide gives rules for Pali and Sanskrit only. Tibetan terms are shown in Wylie transliteration, which spells Tibetan letters, not sounds, so the lookup does not turn them into pronunciation hints.
Why doesn't the lookup respell every word?
The guides agree on the sounds but not always on where syllables divide, especially in Sanskrit clusters, so a respelling made by rule would claim more than they agree on. The lookup gives the rules that apply letter by letter, and shows a full respelling only for the words our guide works through.
Sources
- The e-Buddhism.com glossary: 73 terms, each with its sources on its own page
- How to Pronounce Pali and Sanskrit, e-Buddhism.com: the rules the hints restate, and the worked examples the tool quotes
- Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, 'A Guide to the Pronunciation of Pāḷi' (July 2008), Ancient Buddhist Texts
- 'Pronunciation', A Chanting Guide (Dhammayut Order in the United States, 4th ed. rev. 2017), dhammatalks.org
- Charles Duroiselle, A Practical Grammar of the Pāli Language (Rangoon, 1906), BuddhaNet
- Karen Thomson and Jonathan Slocum, 'Ancient Sanskrit Online: Series Introduction', Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin