Here is a brief guide on Pali Chanting Pronunciations.

‘Pali’ is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. It is taken as the language that the Buddha used during his life.


1. a as in father

2. e as in cage

3. i as in mint

4. o as in no

5. u in pool

6. Character with a . above or below like į¹ , in pronounced as ‘ng’

Buddhaį¹ bhagavantaį¹ abhivādemi

7. Character with ~ on top like Ʊ , is pronounced as ‘nya’ or ‘nyu’

Idam me Ʊātinam hotu, sukhitā hontu Ʊātayo

8. Characters with a ^ or – lie ā above, is prolonged for twice as long.

9. Combined Consonants such as “kh” , “gh”, “dh”, “th”, “ph”, “bh” are aspirated, emphasized.

Svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo

10. Repeated characters such as bb, dd, cc, mm are pronounced individually, distinct with slight pause.

11. Example

Arahaį¹ sammā-sambuddho bhagavā Buddhaį¹ bhagavantaį¹ abhivādemi.