Pali Script Transliteration

Pali is the canonical language of Theravada Buddhism. The same word — dhamma, nibbāna, mettā — appears in different scripts depending on the country and tradition. This tool makes it easy to move between those scripts without manual lookup, whether you are a monk studying texts from multiple traditions, a Pali scholar working across sources, or a student learning to read chanting.

The transliteration tables and algorithm were developed by Bhante Buddhañāṇo Thera, originally as LibreOffice macros, and have been adapted here with his permission. Conversion is fully bidirectional: Thai to IAST, IAST to Sinhala, Sinhala to Thai, and any other direction via IAST as the common pivot.

Thai Pali script

The notation used in Thai Theravada manuscripts and chanting books. Closely related to modern Thai but with a few additional consonant pairings reserved for Pali sounds.

Sinhala script

Used in Sri Lankan Buddhist texts. Aksharas mark consonant-vowel combinations directly; aspirates have dedicated letters.

IAST

The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration. A Latin-based romanization with diacritics that lets Pali (and Sanskrit) be written unambiguously in the Roman alphabet.

What scripts does this Pali transliteration tool support?

This tool supports three scripts: Thai Pali script (used in Thai Theravada manuscripts and chanting books), Sinhala script (used in Sri Lankan Buddhist texts), and IAST — the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, a Latin-based romanization system with diacritics.

Is the Pali transliteration bidirectional?

Yes. Conversion works in all directions: Thai to IAST, IAST to Thai, Sinhala to IAST, IAST to Sinhala, and Thai to Sinhala (via IAST as the common pivot). No information is lost in conversion.

Who developed the transliteration algorithm?

The transliteration tables and algorithm were developed by Bhante Buddhañāṇo Thera, originally as LibreOffice macros, and have been adapted here with his permission.