Lesson 1 - declension of ‘ta’, sandhi

• 1. Reading: see the dedicated reading & translation page.

Declension of the pronoun ‘ta’ (sabbanāmagaṇa)

• Masculine declension

  case	singular	plural
  Nom.	so	te, ne
  Acc.	taṃ, naṃ	te, ne
  Ins.	tena, nena	tehi, tebhi, nehi, nebhi
  Dat/gen.	tassa, nassa, assa	tesaṃ, tesānaṃ, nesaṃ, nesānaṃ
  Abl.	tasmā, nasmā, asmā, tamhā, namhā	tehi, tebhi, nehi, nebhi
  Loc.	tasmiṃ, nasmiṁ, asmiṃ, tamhi, namhi	tesu, nesu

  • mem aid: 1 - t ⇒ n
    • 2 - sa, sma, smiṁ: ta ⇒ a

• Neuter declension

  case	singular	plural
  Nom./Acc.	taṁ, naṃ	te, tāni, ne, nāni

  • (the rest as masculine)

• Feminine declension

  case	singular	plural
  Nom.	sā	tā, tāyo, nā, nāyo
  Acc.	taṃ, naṃ	tā, tāyo, nā, nāyo
  Ins. / Abl.	tāya, nāya	tāhi, tābhi, nāhi, nābhi
  Dat/gen.	tāya, nāya - tassā, nassā, assā, tissā - tassāya, nassāya, assāya, tissāya	tāsaṃ, tāsānaṃ, nāsaṃ, nāsānaṃ
  Loc.	tāyaṃ, nāyaṃ, tassaṃ, nassaṃ, assaṃ, tissaṃ	tāsu, nāsu

  • mem aid: 1 - t ⇒ n
    • 2 - sa, smā, smiṁ, sā, saṁ: ta ⇒ a
    • 3 - dat. gen.: ending in sā: add ya
    • 4 - ta ⇒ ti, sa ⇒ saṁ

Sandhi

• Euphonic combination
• What is a sandhi (euphonic combinations)? (English definition): The linguistic act of combining two words (actually letters) for the sake of an easier pronunciation

Saññā (f.) (grammar) √ñā: (gram) grammatical term; technical term; definition; lit. name

• Forty-one letters (41) starting with ‘a’ and ending with ‘ṃ’ are the letters – akkhara.
• Out of the 41 letters, first eight letters: ‘a’, ‘ā’, ‘i’, ‘ī’, ‘u’, ‘ū’, ‘e’ and ‘o’, are vowels – sara.
• Among vowels, three vowels, ‘a’, ‘i’ and ‘u’ are called short vowels – rasa sara.
• The remaining five letters, ‘ā’, ‘ī’, ‘ū’, ‘e’ and ‘o’ are called long vowels – dīgha sara.
• Thirty-three (33) letters starting from ‘k’ till ‘ṃ’ are called consonants – vyañjana/byañjana.
• Out of the consonants, twenty-five letters starting from ‘k’ and ending with ‘m’ are called group letters – vaggakkhara
• Vagga letters are divided into five groups: ka-vagga, ca-vagga, ṭa-vagga, ta vaggga and pa-vagga
• Last letter of each vagga (group) is called group-endings – vagganta. There are five vagganta letters: ‘ṅ’, ‘ñ’, ‘ṇ’, ‘n’ and ‘m’.
• The last consonant of the alphabet is called niggahīta (ṁ)
• 9 saññās under sandhi:
  • 41 letters – akkhara
  • 8 vowels – sara
    • 3 short vowels – rasa sara
    • 5 long vowels – dīgha sara (be careful: vuddhis are only ā, e, o)
  • 33 consonants – vyañjana / byañjana
  • 25 group letters – vaggakkhara
    • 5 groups: ka-vagga, ca-vagga, ṭa-vagga, ta vaggga and pa-vagga
    • group-endings – vagganta ‘ṅ’, ‘ñ’, ‘ṇ’, ‘n’ and ‘m’
  • mem aid: akkhara, saras, vyañjana, vagga
• 3 types of sandhi
  • sara sandhi: letter + vowel (yassa + indriyāni ⇒ yassindriyāni)
  • vyañjana / byañjana sandhi: letter + consonant (ava+vādo = ovādo)
  • niggahīta sandhi: ṁ + letter / the insertion of niggahīta is also included in niggahītasandhi (yaṁ+hi=yañhi)
• Two consonants together are called a saṁyoga / saññoga (conjunct)
• The vowels e and o are shortened before double consonants (conjunct) but the remaining vowels may remain long
• When two words are separated it is called visandhi (disjoining)
• 3 grammar traditions
  • Kaccāyana
  • Moggallāna
  • Saddanīti (Myanmar)

Lesson 2 - declension of ‘kiṁ’, sarasandhi

• 2.1. Reading: see the dedicated reading & translation page.

Declension of the pronoun ‘kiṁ’ (sabbanāmagaṇa)

• Masculine

  case	singular	plural
  Nom.	ko	ke
  Acc.	kaṁ	”
  Ins.	kena	kehi, kebhi
  Dat/Gen.	kassa, kissa	kesaṁ, kesānaṁ
  Abl.	kasmā, kamhā	kehi, kebhi
  Loc.	kasmiṁ, kismiṁ, kamhi, kimhi	kesu

  • mem aid: extra ‘i’ form, but not in abl.

• Neuter

  case	singular	plural
  Nom./Acc.	kaṁ, kiṁ	ke, kāni

  • (the rest as the masculine)

• Feminine

  case	singular	plural
  Nom.	kā	kā, kāyo
  Acc.	kaṁ	”
  Ins./Abl.	kāya	kāhi, kābhi
  Dat/Gen.	kāya, kassā	kāsaṁ, kāsānaṁ
  Loc.	kāyaṁ, kassaṁ	kāsu

  • note: no ‘i’ form, ‘a’ takes over

• If one does not know which gender the word kiṁ refers to the gender used is neuter kiṁ.

Sara sandhi

4 types of sara sandhi

• 1). Lopa (elision) – Elision of a vowel
  • pubba sara lopa sandhi (elision of the previous vowel)
    • paññā + indriyaṁ ⇒ paññindriyaṁ
    • loka + aggo ⇒ lokaggo
      • In traditional Pāḷi grammar, on most of such occasions the combination is considered to have happened by eliding the previous vowel (pubbasara)
  • para sara lopa sandhi (elision of the following vowel / succeeding vowel) It only occurs between dissimilar vowels. Dissimilarity of vowels is based on the difference of sounds. (a and ā, i and ī, u and ū are similar; the others are dissimilar)
    • cattāro + ime ⇒ cattārome
    • saññā + iti ⇒ saññāti
• 2) Ādesa – substitution
• 3) Dīgha – lengthening
• 4) Āgama – augmentation or insertion

Lesson 3 - declension of ‘aggi’, dhātugaṇa

• 3.1. Reading: see the dedicated reading & translation page.

Declension of aggi (m.) (rattādigaṇa)

case	singular	plural
Nom.	aggi	aggī, aggayo
Voc.	(bho) “	(bhonto) “
Acc.	aggiṃ	”
Ins.	agginā	aggīhi, aggībhi, aggihi, aggibhi
Dat/gen.	aggino, aggissa	aggīnaṃ, agginaṃ
Abl.	agginā, aggismā, aggimhā	aggīhi, aggībhi, aggihi, aggibhi
Loc.	aggismiṃ, aggimhi	aggīsu, aggisu

• Mem aid: no aggini (as it is itself a noun)
• Note: aggini and gini (synonyms) are also so declined (saddanīti)
• Some masculine nouns of ratti-group ending in ‘i’
  • aggi / gini / aggini (m.): fire (s.w. a)
  • joti (m.): fire (s.w. j, not jātaveda)
  • muṭṭhi (m.): fist
  • kucchi (m.): stomach
  • pāṇi (m.): hand
  • gaṇṭi (m.): explanation on complicated issues in a certain subject
  • sāli (m.): a type of rice (s.w. s)
  • vīhi (m.): rice
  • byādhi (m.): sickness
  • rāsi (m.): heap, group
  • dīpi (m.): leopard
  • bodhi (m.): (f.) sabbaññutañāṇa, ariyamagga; (m., f.) Bodhi tree (assattha); (m.) name of a prince
    • stanza about the use of the word bodhi
      • bodhi sabbaññutañāṇe(a)riyamagge ca nāriyaṁ paññattiyaṁ pume(a)ssattharukkhamhi purisitthiyaṁ”
  • isi (m.): sage, seer
  • muni (m.): sage
  • yati (m.): monk
  • kapi (m.): monkey
  • ahi (m.): serpent
  • jaladhi (m.): sea
  • gahapati (m.): householder
  • samādhi (m.): concentration
  • maṇi (m.): gem
  • giri (m.): mountain (s.w. g)
  • ravi (m.): sun
  • asi (m.): khagga
  • nidhi (m.): treasure
  • kimi (m.): insect
  • ari (m.): enemy
  • atithi (m.): (m.) āgantuko, visitor

Dhātugaṇa (root groups)

• Roots (dhātu) are the fundamental sounds (morphemes) which have verbal meanings. Verbs are made by adding a vikaraṇa paccaya (conjugational sign) and a verbal termination to the roots. All the roots in Pāḷi are classified into eight groups called dhātugaṇa. They are classified according to conjugational signs (vikaraṇa paccaya).
• The suffix added between the dhātu and the verbal termination is called the conjugational sign – vikaraṇa paccaya. There are thirteen such signs in Pāḷi.
• Following are the eight dhātugaṇa together with their vikaraṇa paccaya
  • bhūvādigaṇa – a (most common)
  • rudhādigaṇa – ṃ … a
  • divādigaṇa – ya
  • svādigaṇa (√su) – ṇā, ṇu, uṇā
  • kiyādigaṇa – nā
  • gahādigaṇa – ṇhā, ppa
  • tanādigaṇa – o, yira
  • curādigaṇa – (ṇ)e, (ṇ)aya (2nd most common)
  • mem aid: the ghost (bhū) cries (rudh), the deva (div) is happy (su), the kiṇṇara (ki) holds (gah) with stretched (tan) paws the thief (cur)

Curādi group

• Though it is mentioned in traditional Pāḷi books that the conjugational sign of the curādi group is ‘ṇe’ and ‘ṇaya’ the actual signs are ‘e’ and ‘aya’. The lingual ‘ṇ’ is just an indicator called anubandha. It indicates that when the conjugational sign is added to the root the first vowel gets strengthened (vuddhi). After that the anubandha sign ‘ṇ’ is dropped.
• During the process of vowel strengthening (vuddhi) a light vowel turns into its corresponding heavy vowel: a > ā, i and ī > e, u and ū > o When a light vowel is followed by a double consonant (saññoga) vuddhi normally does not occur
• A few roots belonging to the curādigaṇa
  • cinteti / cintayati: thinks
  • peseti / pesayati: sends
  • pāleti / pālayati √pāl: protects
  • poseti / posayati: nourishes, brings up
  • vedeti / vedayati: knows

Lesson 4 - declension of ‘daṇḍī’, bhikkhu, sayambhū

• 4.1. Reading: see the dedicated reading & translation page.

Grammar

• Time can be expressed in three cases
  • Accusative of time – kālatthe dutiyā
  • Instrumental of time – kālatthe tatiyā
  • Locative of time – kālatthe sattamī

Declension of daṇḍī (m.) (rattādigaṇa)

case	singular	plural
Nom.	daṇḍī	daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Voc.	(bho) daṇḍi	(bhonto) daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Acc	daṇḍiṃ, daṇḍinaṃ	daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Ins./Abl.	daṇḍinā	daṇḍīhi, daṇḍībhi
Dat/gen.	daṇḍino, daṇḍissa	daṇḍīnaṃ
Loc.	daṇḍini, daṇḍismiṃ, daṇḍimhi	daṇḍīsu
acc.	daṇḍinaṁ

• Mem aid: “i-karantayo aggi aggayo ī-karantino daṇḍī daṇḍino”
• Some other masculine nouns of the rattādigaṇa ending in ‘ī’
  • daṇḍī (m.): one who has a stick
  • hatthī (m.): elephant (s.w. h)
  • pakkhī (m.): bird
  • bhogī (m.): one who has wealth, wealthy person
  • sāmī (m.): lord, husband
  • kuṭṭhī (m.): leprosy patient
  • sukhī (m.): one who is endowed with bliss
  • pāpakārī (m.): evil doer
  • dhammacārī (m.): one who practices Dhamma, righteous person

Declension of bhikkhu (m.) (rattādigaṇa)

case	singular	plural
Nom.	bhikkhu	bhikkhū, bhikkhavo
Voc.	(bho) “	(bhonto) “, bhikkhave
Acc.	bhikkhuṃ	bhikkhū, bhikkhavo
Ins.	bhikkhunā	bhikkhūhi, bhikkhūbhi, bhikkhuhi, bhikkhubhi
Dat./Gen.	bhikkhuno, bhikkhussa	bhikkhūnaṁ, bhikkhunaṁ
Abl.	bhikkhunā, bhikkhusmā, bhikkhumhā	bhikkhūhi, bhikkhūbhi, bhikkhuhi, bhikkhubhi
Loc.	bhikkhusmiṁ, bhikkhumhi	bhikkhūsu, bhikkhusu

• Mem aid: nom. bhikkhavo, voc. bhikkhave
• Note:
  • hetu has nom./voc./acc.pl. hetuyo
  • jantu has nom./voc./acc.pl. jantuno, jantuyo
  • kuru as well
• Some more nouns ending in ‘u’ of the group ratti
  • setu (m.): bridge
  • meru (m.): mount Meru
  • jantu (m.): living being
  • maccu (m.): death
  • sattu (m.): enemy
  • bandhu (m.): relative (s.w b)
  • hetu (m.): cause

Declension of sayambhū (m.) (rattādigaṇa)

case	singular	plural
Nom.	sayambhū	sayambhū, sayambhuvo
Voc.	(bho) sayambhu	(bhonto) “
Acc	sayambhuṃ	”
Ins./Abl.	sayambhunā	sayambhūhi, sayambhūbhi
Dat/Gen.	sayambhuno, sayambhussa	sayambhūnaṃ
Loc.	sayambhusmiṃ, sayambhumhi	sayambhūsu

• Mem aid: no smā, mhā, uni
• Note:
  • sabbaññū has sabbaññuno instead of -uvo
  • maggaññū, dhammaññū, atthaññū, kālaññū, rattaññū, mattaññū, kataññū, viññū, vidū, vedagū, pāragū etc. are declined as sabbaññū

Kitaka

• Primary derivatives (kitaka) are the nouns formed by adding suffixes to roots/stems
• Secondary derivatives (taddhita) are nouns formed by adding suffixes to nouns

Lesson 5 - declension of ‘atta’, bhavalakkhaṇa, pubbasaradīghasandhi

• 5.1. Reading: see the dedicated reading & translation page.

Declension of atta (m.) (rājādigaṇa) (not for exam)

case	singular	plural
Nom.	attā	attāno
Voc.	(bho) atta, attā	(bhonto) attāno
Acc	attaṃ, attānaṃ	attāno
Ins.	attanā, attena	attanehi, bhi
Dat/Gen.	attano, attassa	attānaṃ
Abl.	attanā, attamhā, attasmā	attanehi, bhi
Loc.	attani	attanesu, attesu

• Note: ātuma is declined as atta in nom., voc., and acc., but the rest is like purisa
• Bhāva is a Pāḷi word for action
• Bhāvalakkhaṇa: The act of denoting the time of occurrence of a certain action with another action
• Mostly locative and genitive cases are used in the bhāvalakkhaṇa
• How is bhavalakkhaṇa constructed?: the present/past participle and its agent are declined in either locative or genitive case expressing the sense of ‘when’ (rukkhe patante sakuṇā palāyanti - rukkhassa patantassa sakuṇā palāyanti) when the tree falls the birds flee). The main verb of the sentence could be in different verbal tenses
• Sara sandhi
  • pubbasara dīgha sandhi: type of sara sandhi in which the following vowel is elided and the previous is lengthened (gacchanti + iti = gacchantīti)