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Sanskrit phrasebook
From Wikitravel
Contents
[edit] Writing
Sanskrit is written in the Devanāgarī (देवनागरी) script, shared with Nepali, Marathi and a number of other Indian languages. Learning Devanagari is not quite as difficult as you might think at first glance, but mastering it takes a while and is beyond the scope of most travellers. See Learning Devanagari for a primer.
[edit] Pronunciation
Most English speakers find Sanskrit pronunciation rather challenging, as there are 11 separate vowels and 35 separate consonants, employing a large number of distinctions not found in English. Don't let this intimidate you: for most of its speakers, Sanskrit is not a mother tongue, and many native speakers are quite used to regional accents and mangling in various degrees.
[edit] Vowels
The key distinction is the difference between short and long vowels. In this phrase book, long vowels are noted with a macron (ā), which short vowels are listed without one. You will often come across non-standard romanizations, noted in parentheses below when applicable.
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| अ | a | as in about |
| आ | ā | as in father |
| इ | i | as in sit |
| ई | ī (ee) | as in elite |
| उ | u | as in put |
| ऊ | ū (oo) | as in flute |
| ऋ | ṛ | as in Scottish heard, trip. |
| ए | e | long e as in German "zehn". It is not a diphthong; the tone does not fall. |
| ऐ | ai | as in Mail, sometimes a longer ए. In Eastern dialects as in bright (IPA ıj). |
| ओ | o | as in German Kohle, not a diphthong; tone does not fall. |
| औ | au | as in oxford. In Eastern dialects as in German lauft, or English town. |
[edit] Consonants
Many Sanskrit consonants come in three different forms: aspirated, unaspirated and retroflex.
Aspiration means "with a puff of air", and is the difference between the sound of the letter "p" in English pin (aspirated) and spit (unaspirated). In this phrasebook, aspirated sounds are spelled with an h (so English "pin" would be phin) and unaspirated sounds without it (so "spit" is still spit). Sanskrit aspiration is quite forceful and it's OK to emphasize the puff: bharti.
Sanskrit retroflex consonants, on the other hand, are not really found in English. They should be pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Practice with a native speaker, or just pronounce as usual — you'll usually still get the message across.
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Equivalent/Comments |
|---|---|---|
| क | k | as in skip. |
| ख | kh | as in sinkhole. |
| ग | g | as in go. |
| घ | gh | as in doghouse. |
| ङ | ṅ | as in sing. Does not occur independently. |
| च | c | as in church. |
| छ | ch | as in pinchhit. |
| ज | j | as in jump. |
| झ | jh | as in dodge her. |
| ञ | ñ | as in canyon. Does not occur independently. |
| ट | ṭ | as in tick. Retroflex, but still a "hard" t sound similar to English. |
| ठ | ṭ | as in lighthouse. Retroflex |
| ड | ḍ | as in doom. Retroflex |
| ढ | ḍ | as in mudhut. Retroflex |
| ण | ṇ | retroflex n. |
| त | t | does not exist in English. more dental t, with a bit of a th sound. Softer than an English t. |
| थ | th | aspirated version of the previous letter, not as in thanks or the. |
| द | d | dental d. |
| ध | dh | aspirated version of the above. |
| न | n | dental n. |
| प | p | as in spin. |
| फ | ph | as in uphill. |
| ब | b | as in be. |
| भ | bh | as in abhor. |
| म | m | as in mere. |
| य | y | as in yet. |
| र | r | as in Spanish pero, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish rr, German or Scottish English. |
| ल | l | as in lean. |
| व | v | as in Spanish vaca, between English v and w, but without the lip rounding of an English w. (IPA: ʋ). |
| श | ś | as in shoot. |
| ष | ṣ | almost indistinguishable retroflex of the above. slightly more aspirated. |
| स | s | as in see. |
| ह | h | as in him. |
[edit] Numbers
Numbers
1 - ek
2 - du
3 - se
4 - jar
5 - panj
6 - sash
7 - hafd
8 - hesd
9 - nooh
10 - daah
11 - oozdaa
12 - doazdaa
13 - seezdaa
14 - jaahardaa
15 - panjardaa
16 - sashadaa
17 - hafdaa
18 - hesdaa
19 - nuzhadaa
20 - bisd
25 - bisduh penj
30 - siiy
40 - jehiy
50 - panjahiy ( or "panjah" )
60 - sashdiy ( or "sashdi" )
70 - 'hafteth
80 - 'hestath
90 - 'nwaad
100 - saad
200 - du-saad
300 - se-saad
400 - jar-saad
500 - panj-saad
600 - sash-saad
700 - hafd-saad
800 - hesd-saad
900 - nooh-saad
1000 - hezaar
2000 - du-hezaar
10000 - deeh-hezaar ( or "yekzeer" )
20000 - du-yekzeer
100000 - deeh-yekzeer ( or "saad-hezaar" )
1000000 - ek-milyoon
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