संस्कृत → বাংলা
Sanskrit to Bengali
Bengali (Bangla) is one of the most Sanskrit-rich modern Indian languages — formal Bengali uses a very large number of tatsam words. This page shows how Sanskrit words became Bengali, gives everyday Sanskrit sentences with their Bengali meaning, and explains the differences in script and pronunciation.
Sanskrit and Bengali: the script
Bengali is written in the Bengali script (বাংলা লিপি), which has a top line like Devanagari but different letter shapes: संस्कृत becomes সংস্কৃত. Bengali pronunciation of Sanskrit has its own flavour — the short a often sounds like o, and व is read as ব (b) — so वन is heard as "bon".
Sanskrit and Bengali: the grammar
Bengali dropped grammatical gender entirely — verbs and adjectives do not change for male or female — and lost the dual number. Case relations use endings and postpositions: গৃহে survives in formal style, but everyday Bengali says বাড়িতে (at home). The old literary style সাধু ভাষা uses far more Sanskrit forms than modern চলিত ভাষা.
How Sanskrit words changed in Bengali
| Sanskrit | Bengali | English |
| हस्त | হাত | hand |
| दुग्ध | দুধ | milk |
| कर्ण | কান | ear |
| ग्राम | গ্রাম / গাঁ | village |
| गृह | ঘর | house, room |
| अग्नि | আগুন | fire |
| सप्त | সাত | seven |
| दन्त | দাঁত | tooth |
| पुष्प | ফুল | flower |
| कर्म | কাজ | work |
| अद्य | আজ | today |
| चन्द्र | চাঁদ | moon |
| सूर्य | সূর্য | sun (tatsam) |
| विद्यालय | বিদ্যালয় | school (tatsam) |
10 everyday Sanskrit sentences with Bengali meaning
| Sanskrit | Bengali | English |
| अहं गच्छामि। | আমি যাই। | I go. |
| त्वं कुत्र गच्छसि? | তুমি কোথায় যাচ্ছ? | Where are you going? |
| भवतः नाम किम्? | আপনার নাম কী? | What is your name? |
| मम नाम रामः। | আমার নাম রাম। | My name is Rama. |
| सः पुस्तकं पठति। | সে বই পড়ে। | He reads a book. |
| वयं विद्यालयं गच्छामः। | আমরা বিদ্যালয়ে যাই। | We go to school. |
| गौः दुग्धं ददाति। | গরু দুধ দেয়। | The cow gives milk. |
| जलं पिबतु। | জল খান। | Please drink water. |
| भवान् कथम् अस्ति? | আপনি কেমন আছেন? | How are you? |
| अहं कुशली अस्मि। | আমি ভালো আছি। | I am fine. |
Notice জল খান — Bengali "eats" water rather than drinking it, a well-known idiom. The Bengali year, Bangabda, and month names (বৈশাখ, জ্যৈষ্ঠ) come from Sanskrit; see the Bengali calendar.
How to translate Sanskrit into Bengali
- Find the verb (usually last) and read its ending to know the subject: -आमि = I, -असि = you, -अति = he/she.
- Read each noun's ending for its role — the Vibhakti chart lists them.
- Split joined words using sandhi rules.
- Rebuild the sentence in natural Bengali word order with the postpositions Bengali needs.
For word meanings, use the Sanskrit dictionary (Hindi and English). The same comparison for other languages: Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bengali derived from Sanskrit?
Bengali developed from Magadhi Prakrit, a descendant of Old Indo-Aryan, and draws a very large share of its formal vocabulary from Sanskrit.
How do you say 'What is your name?' in Sanskrit and Bengali?
Sanskrit: भवतः नाम किम्? Bengali: আপনার নাম কী?
Why does Sanskrit sound different when Bengalis read it?
Bengali reading habits carry over: the short a often sounds like o, and व is pronounced as ब (b).