Ven Narada Thera - An Elementary Pali Course Lesson XIII

Exercise 13-A: Translate into English.

1. Ko naama tva.m?

who / by name / you

Who (are) you?

Alt: What is your name?


2. Ko naama eso?

who / by name / he

Who (is) he?

Alt: What is his name?


3. Ko naama te aacariyo?

who / by name / your / teacher

Who (is) your teacher?

Alt: What is the name of your teacher?


4. Idaani eso ki.m karissati?

now / he / what / will do

What will he do now?


5. Ki.m tva.m eta.m pucchasi?

what / you / him / ask

What do you ask him?


5. Ki.m tva.m eta.m pucchasi?

why* / you / this / ask

Why do you ask this?


6. Esaa naarii te ki.m hoti?

that / woman / to you / what / is

What is that woman to you?


7. Sve, kim'ete karissanti?

tomorrow / what / they / will do

What will they do tomorrow?


8. Kassa bhikkhussa ta.m potthaka.m pesessaama?

to who / to monk / that / book / (we) will send

To which monk will we send that book?


9. Tesa.m dhanena me ki.m payojana.m?

their / with wealth / to me / what use

What is the use of their wealth to me?**


10. "Ko jaanaati ki.m eso karissatii'ti?"

who / knows / what / he / will do

"Who knows what he will do?"


11. Kissa phala.m naama eta.m?

of which / fruit / by name / that

Of which fruit is that?


12. Kaaya.m disaaya.m tassaa jananii idaani vasati?

in which / quarter / her / mother / now / lives

In which quarter does her mother live now?


13. Kassa dhamma.m sotu.m ete icchanti?

whose / doctrine / to hear / they / wish

Whose doctrine do they wish to hear?


14. "Yo Dhamma.m passati so Buddha.m passati,

yo Buddha.m passati so Dhamma.m passati."

who / Dhamma / sees / he / Buddha / sees

who / Buddha / sees / he / Dhamma / sees

"He who sees the Dhamma sees the Buddha,

he who sees the Buddha sees the Dhamma."


15. Ya.m tva.m icchasi ta.m etassa aarocehi.

what / you / wish / it / to him / tell

What you wish, tell it to him.

Alt: Tell him what you wish.


16. Ya.m te karonti tam*** eva gahetvaa para.m loka.m gacchanti.

what / they / do / it (that) / just / having taken / [to] the other world / go

Whatever they do, that alone they take and go to the other world.


17. Yassa.m disaaya.m so vasati tassa.m disaaya.m ete'pi vasitu.m icchanti.

in which quarter / he / lives / in that quarter / they-too / to live / wish

In whichever quarter he lives, they wish to live in that quarter too.


18. Eso naro eka.m vadati, esaa naarii añña.m vadati.

that / man / one / speaks / that / woman / another / speaks

That man says one [thing], that woman says another.


19. Paresa.m bha.n.daani maya.m na ga.nhaama.

others' / goods / we / do not take

We do not take other [people]'s goods.


20. Etaani phalaani maa tassa saku.nassa detha.

these fruits / do not / to that / to bird / give!

Do not give these fruits to that bird.

Alt: Do not give these fruits to his bird.


21. Idaani sabbe'pi te Bhikkhuu uttaraaya disaaya aññatarasmi.m aaraame vasanti.

now / all-too / those / monks / of northern direction / in a certain temple / live

All of those monks live in a certain temple in the northern direction now.


22. Etasmi.m nagare sabbe naraa apara.m nagara.m agami.msu.

in that city / all / men / [to] other city / went

All the men in that city went to the other city.


23. Kiñci'pi kaatu.m so na jaanaati.

anything / to do / he / does not know

He does not know to do anything.


24. Katama.m disa.m tumhe gantu.m iccheyyaatha — puratthima.m vaa dakkhi.na.m vaa pacchima.m vaa uttara.m vaa?

which of many / direction / you / to go / wish / east or / south or / west or / north or

Which direction do you wish to go — east, south, west or north?


25. Kataraaya disaaya tva.m suriya.m passasi — pubbaaya.m vaa aparaaya.m vaa?

to which of two / to direction / you / sun / see / in eastern or / in western or

To which of the two directions do you see the sun — eastern or western?


* 'Ki.m' can be 'why' when used adverbially. In these situations, 'ki.m' is indeclinable, i.e. no change across cases, genders and numbers.

** See also Ex.13B-12.

*** When a niggahita (.m) is followed by a vowel, it is sometimes changed into 'm'. See note in Exercise 10-A.


Exercise 13-B: Translate into Pali.

1. Who is she?

kaa / (hoti) / esaa

Kaa esaa?


2. What is his name?

ki.m / (hoti) / tassa / naama.m

Ki.m tassa naama.m?

Alt: Ko naama eso?


3. In which direction did he go?

katamaaya / disaaya / so / agami

Katamaaya disaaya so agami?

Alt: Kaaya disaaya so agami?


4. Is he a relative of yours?

nanu / eso / ñaati / tava

Nanu eso tava ñaati?


5. What is the name of that fruit?

ki.m / (hoti) / naama.m / etassa / phalassa

Ki.m etassa phalassa naama.m?

Alt: Ki.m naama etassa phalassa?


6. From whom did you buy those books?

kasmaa / tva.m / aki.no / etaani / potthakaani

Kasmaa tva.m etaani potthakaani aki.no?


7. With whom shall we go today?

kaaya / maya.m / gaccheyyaama / ajja

Kaaya maya.m ajja gaccheyyaama?


8. In whose garden are those boys and girls playing?

kassa / aaraame / ete / daarakaa ca / daarikaayo ca / kii.lanti

Kassa aaraame ete daarakaa ca daarikaayo ca kii.lanti?


9. In which direction do you see the sun in the morning?

katamaaya.m / disaaya.m / tva.m / passasi / suriya.m / paato

Katamaaya.m disaaya.m tva.m paato suriya.m passasi?

Alt: Kaaya.m disaaya.m tva.m paato suriya.m passasi?


10. Of what use is that to him or to her?

ki.m / payojana.m / etena* / tassa vaa / tissaa vaa

Etena tassa vaa tissaa vaa ki.m payojana.m?


11. To whom did he give those presents?

kissa / so / adaasi / te / pa.n.naakaare

Kissa so te pa.n.naakaare adaasi?


12. What is the use of your wealth, millionaire?

ki.m / payojana.m / tava / dhanena* / se.t.thi

Se.t.thi, tava dhanena ki.m payojana.m?


You are not going to take all that with you to the other world.

tva.m / na gacchasi / gahetvaa / sabba.m / (te saddhi.m) / para.m / loka.m

Tva.m (ta.m) sabba.m gahetvaa para.m loka.m na gacchasi.


Therefore**, eat well.

tasmaa / bhuñjaahi / su.t.thu

Tasmaa, su.t.thu bhuñjaahi.


Have no attachment to your wealth.

maa karohi / rati.m / tava / dhanassa

Tava dhanassa rati.m maa karohi.


Grief results thereby***.

soko / jaayati / tena

Tena soko jaayati.


Do merit with that wealth of yours.

karohi / puñña.m / (etena) / dhanena / tava

Tava dhanena puñña.m karohi.


Erect hospitals for the sick, schools for children, temples for monks and nuns.

karohi / gilaanasaalaayo ca / gilaanaana.m / paa.thasaalaayo ca / daarakaana.m / aaraame ca / bhikkhuuna.m ca / bhikkhuniina.m ca

Gilaanasaalaayo ca gilaanaana.m paa.thasaalaayo ca daarakaana.m aaraame ca bhikkhuuna.m ca bhikkhuniina.m ca karohi.


It is those good actions you take with you when you go to the other world.

taani taani**** / puññaani / (tva.m) / gahetvaa / (te saddhi.m) / yadaa…tadaa / tva.m / gacchasi / para.m / loka.m

Yadaa tva.m para.m loka.m gacchasi tadaa taani taani puññaani gahetvaa gacchasi.


13. Those who do good deeds are sure to be born in good states.

puññakaarino / have / jaayissanti / sugatiisu

Puññakaarino have sugatiisu jaayissanti.


14. Let him say what he likes.

ta.m / vadatu / ya.m / so / icchasi

Ya.m icchasi so ta.m vadatu.


15. We did not write all those letters.

maya.m / na likhimhaa / sabbaani / taani / lekhanaani

Maya.m sabbaani taani lekhanaani na likhimhaa.


16. You should not tell others all that you see with your eyes.

(tva.m) / maa vadeyyaasi / aññesa.m / sabba.m / ya.m / (tva.m) / passasi / tava / cakkhuuhi

Ya.m tava cakkhuuhi passasi sabba.m aññesa.m maa vadeyyaasi.


17. We like to live in cities in which wise men live.

maya.m / icchaama / vasitu.m / nagaresu / yesu / pa.n.ditaa / vasanti

Yesu nagaresu pa.n.ditaa vasanti (tesu) maya.m vasitu.m icchaama.


* Instrumental case.

** Use 'tasmaa'.

*** Use 'tena'.

**** Taani taani = all; whatever (See PED ta: distributive and iterative).