Pali and Sanskrit in Thai script, read aloud

The marks#

Six things a reader meets on the first page of a chanting book, each with one word that carries it and the reading the book prints for that word.

ตฺPhinthu (พินทุ)Also called the dot below, virāma

A dot under a consonant removes its vowel. The syllable ends on that letter, or the letter joins the next one as a cluster.

ตสฺส reads ตัสสะ

หํNikhahit (นิคหิต)Also called the circle above, niggahīta

A small circle above the last letter of a word is the nasal. In Thai reading it sounds as ัง, and chanting books print it that way in the reading line.

อรหํ reads อะระหัง

ภThe unwritten aAlso called สระอะที่ไม่มีรูป, the inherent vowel

A consonant with no vowel sign reads with a short a. Thai spells that vowel out with ะ or leaves it to ordinary words. Pali never writes it.

ภควโต reads ภะคะวะโต

พ๎Yamakkan (ยามักการ)Also called the cluster mark

An older mark set above the first consonant of a cluster, still met in old prints. Modern printing sets the same word with the dot below, as พฺราหฺมณ.

พ๎ราห๎มณ reads พราหมะณะ

ั ะThe reading line (คำอ่าน)Also called syllable reading

The line a chanting book prints under the Pali, one Thai syllable per Pali syllable, with ะ and ั written in. Both lines are the same words, and both are read.

สมฺมาสมฺพุทฺธสฺส reads สัมมาสัมพุทธัสสะ

ก่ ก้ ก๊ ก๋No tone marksAlso called ไม่มีวรรณยุกต์

Pali and Sanskrit carry none of the four Thai tone marks. A mark on a chant line is a sign the text has been rewritten as Thai.

อรหโต reads อะระหะโต

Sending a line#

The voices read the printed form and the reading form. Three things decide whether what you hear is the chant.

In a chant, the dot under a letter is the difference between two syllables and three.

ตสฺส is tas-sa. Without the dot the same three letters read ta-sa-sa, and the line loses its meter.

1. 01

   As printed

   Copy the Pali line with every mark. The dot below and the circle above are characters of their own, and a copy from a PDF or a typed line keeps them.

2. 02

   Or as the reading

   The reading line under it is ordinary Thai spelling and reads the same way. Use it when the source only has that form.

3. 03

   With nothing added

   No tone marks, no extra spaces, no Thai particles. The line reads as the book prints it.

Pali or Sanskrit#

Four rules of thumb from Thai school grammar, each with one word in both languages. The voices read both under the same marks.

• One s or three

  Pali has ส alone. Sanskrit keeps ศ and ษ beside it, and a word carrying either is Sanskrit.

  Pali

  สนฺติ

  Sanskrit

  ศานฺติ

• ฬ against ฑ

  Where Pali writes ฬ, Sanskrit writes ฑ. The Thai words กีฬา and กรีฑา came in one from each.

  Pali

  กีฬา

  Sanskrit

  กรีฑา

• The doubled ร

  Sanskrit's r before a consonant becomes รร in Thai spelling, as in ธรรม. The Pali form doubles the consonant instead, ธมฺม.

  Pali

  ธมฺม

  Sanskrit

  ธรฺม

• ฤ and its family

  The vocalic ฤ, ฤๅ, ฦ, and ฦๅ belong to Sanskrit. Pali has no such vowel, and its cognate words take อิ or อุ.

  Pali

  อิสิ

  Sanskrit

  ฤษิ

Questions#

Is Pali a language of its own, or a way of writing Thai?

A language of its own, with no native script. Thailand writes it in Thai letters, Sri Lanka in Sinhala, and scholars in Latin letters with diacritics. This page covers the Thai form.

Why do chanting books print two lines?

The top line is the Pali in its own orthography. The bottom line spells each syllable the Thai way for readers who have not learned the marks. Both are the same text.

Does the voice read Pali with a Thai accent?

It reads the marks as a Thai chanting book prints them, and it reads in a Thai voice. Play a line before deciding whether that is the read you want.

Can I mix Thai and Pali in one request?

Yes. A dhamma reading that quotes a Pali line in the middle of a Thai paragraph goes in one request. Each part reads under its own rules.

Does it read Sanskrit in Devanagari or in Latin letters?

This page covers Sanskrit in Thai script only. Devanagari and romanized Sanskrit are outside it.

Where can I hear it?

The chanting page carries a sheet of four lines with a clip for each, and a box that speaks any line you type. The console reads a whole chant on the free grant.