Pali Word Pronunciation Recordings

All pronunciations are as found in Sri Lanka. This generally conforms well to what is described in the ancient Pali grammar books. This page is still a work in progress. If you notice any errors, please contact info@readingfaithfully.org. See more notes at the end. Much gratitude to the monks who kindly and patiently made the recordings.

The ⚠ sign indicates that this word is easily mispronounced or confused with other words. Be careful!

A | B | C | D | E | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | Y

A

Abhaya

Abhiya Kaccāna

Acela Kassapa

Aciravata

Aciravatī

Adhikakkā

Aggivessana

Ajita Kesakambali

Ājivaka

Akaniṭṭha

Ākāsa

Āḷāra Kālāma

Ambalaṭṭhikā

Anāthapiṇḍika

Ānanda

Aṅga

Aṅgīrasa

Aṅgulimāla

Aṅguttarāpans

Annabhāra

Anuruddha

Āpaṇa

Assaji

Assalāyana

Assapura

Atappa

Aṭṭhaka

Aṭṭhakanāgara

Avantiputta

Aviha

B

Bāhukā

Bāhumatī

Baka

Bakkula

Bālaka

Bālakaloṇakāra

Beluvagāmaka

Bhaddāli

Bhagga

Bhaggava

Bhagu

Bhañña

Bhāradvāja

Bhesakalā

bhikkhu

bhikkhunī

Bhūmija

bilva

Bimbisāra

Brahmā

Bodhisatta

Brahmāyu

C

Campā

Caṇḍalakappa

Candana

Caṅkī

Cātumā

Channa

Cunda

D

Daṇḍaka

Daṇḍapāni

Dasama

Devadaha

Devadatta

Devakaṭa

Devala

Dhammadinnā

Dhanañjāni

Dhānañjānī

dhāropa

Dīgha Kārāyaṇa

Dīghanakha

Dīgha Parajana

Dummukha

Dūsī

E

Ekapuṇḍarīka

Esukārī

G

Gagga

Gaggarā

Gaṇakamoggallāna

gandhabba

Gayā

Ghāṭā

Ghaṭīkāra

Ghosita

Ghoṭamukha

Gopakamoggallana

Gosinga

Gotama

Gulissāni

Gundā

H

Haliddavasana

I

Icchānaṅgala

Isidatta

Isigili

Isipatana

J

Jambu

Jāṇussoṇi

Jayasena

Jeta

Jīvaka

Jotipāla

K

kahāpana

Kajaṅgalā

Kakusandha

Kāḷakhemaka

Kaḷārajanaka

Kālī

Kāliṅga

Kamboja

Kammāsadhamma

Kandaraka

kaṇṇikāra

Kāpaṭhika

Kapilavatthu

Kappina

Karavīka

Kāsi

kasiṇa

Kassapa

kaṭhina

Keṇiya

Khemiya

Kikī

Kimbila

Kisa Saṅkicca

Kīṭāgiri

Kokanada

kola

Komārabhacca

Komudī

Koravya

Kosala

Kosambī

Kosiya

Kukkuṭa

Kumāra Kassapa

Kuṇḍadhāna

Kuru

kusa

Kusinārā

L

Licchavis

Lomasakaṅgiya

M

Madhurā

Magadha

Māgandiya

Mahā Kaccāna

Mahā Koṭṭhita

Mahā Moggallāna

Mahānāma

Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī

Makhādeva

Makkhali Gosāla

Malli

Mallikā

Māluṅkyaputta

māluva

Mantāṅi

Mantāṅiputta

Māra

mataja

Mātanga

Mejjha

Migācīra

Migāra

Mithilā

Moliya Phagguna

mukhelu

muñja

N

Nādikā

nāga

Nagaraka

Nagaravinda

Nāgasamāla

Naḷakapāna

Naḷakāra

Nāḷandā

Nandaka

Nandana

Nanda Vaccha

Nandiya

nibbāna

Nigaṇṭha

Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta

Nigrodha

Nimi

O

Okkala

Opasāda

P

paccekabuddha

padumaka

Pajāpati

Pajjota

Pakudha Kaccāyana

Palāsa

Pañcakaṅga

Paṇḍuputta

Pārāsariya

Pāricchattaka

Pasenadi

Pāṭaliputta

pāti

Pātimokkha

patta

Pāvā

Pavāraṇā

Pāvārika

Payāga

Pessa

Pilakkha

Pilotika

Pingalakoccha

pisīla

Pokkharasāti

poṇa

Potaliputta

Potaliya

Pubbajira

Pubbavideha

Pukkusāti

Punabbasuka

Puṇṇa

Puṇṇa Mantāniputta

Puṇṇikā

Purāṇa

Pūraṇa Kassapa

R

Rāhu

Rāhula

Rājagaha

Rājaka

Rammaka

Rattapāṇi

Raṭṭhapāla

Revata

S

Saccaka

Sahampati

sāka

Sāketa

Sakka

Sakulā

Sakuludāyi

Sākyan

sāl

sāla

Sāmagāma

Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta

Samiddhi

Samīti

Sanankumāra

Sandaka

Sangārava

Sañjaya

Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta

Sañjikāputta

Sañjīva

Sarassatī

Sāriputta

Sāvatthī

Sāvitrī

Sela

Senānigama

Seniya

serāva

simbali

Sineru

Sirivaḍḍha

Somā

Subha

Subhaga

Subhūti

Sudassa

Sudassī

Sudhamma

Suṁsumāragira

Suṁsumāragiri

Sunakkhatta

Sunāparanta

Sundarika

T

Taṇḍulapāla

Tapassi

Tārukkha

Thullakoṭṭhita

tindukā

Todeyya

U

Udāyin

Uddaka Rāmaputta

Udena

Uggāhamāna

Ujuññā

Ukkacelā

Ukkaṭṭha

Upaka

Upāli

Upamaññā

Upananda

Upatissa

Uposatha

Uruvelā

Uttara

V

Vacchagotta

Vacchāyana

Vajji

Valāhaka

Vāmadeva

Vāmaka

Varadhara

Vāsabhā

Vāseṭṭha

Vassa

Vassakāra

Vedehikā

Vedehiputta

Vejayanta

Vekhanassa

Verañja

Vesāli

Vessāmitta

Vessavaṇa

Videha

Vidhura

Viḍūḍabha

Visākha

Visākhā

vittha

Y

Yama

Yāma

Yamataggi

Yona

Notes

Alphabetical order: Order follows generally standard English order. Diacrictics are ignored except in the case of otherwise identical words, in which case those without diacritics come first.

Anglicizing: In translations Pāli names are often modified to make them fit grammatically. For example plurals and possessives. As well, a final “an” is often added to make a word into a nationality, e.g. Vajjian. For the most part these ending have been removed in this list.

Final vowels: Some final vowels may sound longer than one might expect.

Variations: Several Pali names (and words) are very similar, so be careful to get the right one. As well, names often have slight variations between manuscripts.