संस्कृत → English
Sanskrit to English
English and Sanskrit are distant cousins — which is why the Sanskrit for 'mother' is mātṛ and for 'new' is nava. Here are the English words that came from Sanskrit, the family words both languages inherited, everyday phrases with their English meaning, and how to translate.
Two kinds of connection: loanwords and cognates
English and Sanskrit are related in two very different ways. Some English words are loanwords — borrowed from Sanskrit (often through Hindi) in the last few centuries: guru, karma, avatar. Many more are cognates: words that neither language borrowed from the other, because both inherited them from a shared ancestor, Proto-Indo-European, spoken roughly six thousand years ago. That is why the Sanskrit for "mother" is mātṛ and the Sanskrit for "new" is nava.
English words borrowed from Sanskrit
| English | Sanskrit | Original meaning |
| avatar | अवतार avatāra | a descent — a god taking form on earth |
| guru | गुरु guru | teacher; literally 'heavy, weighty' |
| karma | कर्म karma | action and its consequences |
| mantra | मन्त्र mantra | a sacred formula; 'instrument of thought' |
| yoga | योग yoga | union, discipline; from √yuj, 'to yoke' |
| nirvana | निर्वाण nirvāṇa | 'blowing out' — liberation |
| pundit | पण्डित paṇḍita | a learned person |
| chakra | चक्र cakra | wheel; an energy centre |
| juggernaut | जगन्नाथ jagannātha | 'lord of the world' — from Puri's huge temple chariots |
| swastika | स्वस्तिक svastika | a sign of well-being; from su + asti, 'it is well' |
| jungle | जङ्गल jaṅgala | originally 'dry, uncultivated land', via Hindi |
| loot | लुण्ठ luṇṭha | plunder, via Hindi लूट |
| ashram | आश्रम āśrama | a hermitage or retreat |
| dharma | धर्म dharma | duty, cosmic order |
| shampoo (no) | — | from Hindi चाँपो, 'press, massage'; not Sanskrit — a common mix-up |
Sanskrit–English cognates: the shared family words
Same ancestor, not borrowed — with a Latin, Greek or German relative for comparison.
| Sanskrit | English | Also related to |
| मातृ mātṛ | mother | Latin mater |
| पितृ pitṛ | father | Latin pater |
| भ्रातृ bhrātṛ | brother | Latin frater |
| स्वसृ svasṛ | sister | Latin soror |
| दुहितृ duhitṛ | daughter | German Tochter |
| नामन् nāman | name | Latin nomen |
| नव nava | new | Latin novus |
| द्वि dvi | two | Latin duo |
| त्रि tri | three | Latin tres |
| सप्त sapta | seven | Latin septem |
| अष्ट aṣṭa | eight | Latin octo |
| दश daśa | ten | Latin decem |
| दन्त danta | tooth (dental) | Latin dens |
| पद् pad | foot (pedal) | Latin pes, pedis |
| मूषक mūṣaka | mouse | Latin mus |
| अहम् aham | I (ego) | Latin ego |
| अस्ति asti | is | Latin est |
| जन् jan | to be born (genesis) | Greek genos |
| ज्ञा jñā | know | Greek gnosis |
| विद् vid | to know, see (wit, video) | Latin videre |
Everyday Sanskrit phrases with English meaning
| Sanskrit | Transliteration | English |
| नमस्ते | namaste | Hello / greetings |
| सुप्रभातम् | suprabhātam | Good morning |
| धन्यवादः | dhanyavādaḥ | Thank you |
| स्वागतम् | svāgatam | Welcome |
| क्षम्यताम् | kṣamyatām | Sorry / excuse me |
| भवान् कथम् अस्ति? | bhavān katham asti? | How are you? (to a man) |
| भवती कथम् अस्ति? | bhavatī katham asti? | How are you? (to a woman) |
| अहं कुशली अस्मि | ahaṃ kuśalī asmi | I am well |
| भवतः नाम किम्? | bhavataḥ nāma kim? | What is your name? |
| मम नाम … | mama nāma … | My name is … |
| अहं संस्कृतं पठामि | ahaṃ saṃskṛtaṃ paṭhāmi | I am learning Sanskrit |
| पुनः वदतु | punaḥ vadatu | Please say it again |
| शनैः शनैः वदतु | śanaiḥ śanaiḥ vadatu | Please speak slowly |
| अहं न जानामि | ahaṃ na jānāmi | I don't know |
| सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः | sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ | May all be happy |
| शुभरात्रिः | śubharātriḥ | Good night |
| पुनर्मिलामः | punarmilāmaḥ | See you again |
Translating Sanskrit into English: what trips people up
- There are no articles. बालकः can mean "a boy" or "the boy" — English needs you to choose.
- The verb usually comes last, and its ending already contains the subject: गच्छामि is a full sentence, "I go".
- Word order is free. Case endings, not position, show who did what to whom, so read the endings before you rearrange. See the Vibhakti chart.
- One word can be a whole phrase. Long compounds (समास) pack several words together: विद्यालयः = "abode of learning" = school.
- Some words are best left untranslated. Dharma, karma and ātman lose meaning in a one-word gloss — see Sanskrit words worth knowing.
Frequently asked questions
Are English and Sanskrit related?
Yes. Both belong to the Indo-European language family and inherited many basic words from a common ancestor, which is why mother/mātṛ, new/nava and two/dvi look alike.
Which English words come from Sanskrit?
Direct loans include avatar, guru, karma, mantra, yoga, nirvana, pundit and chakra. Jungle and loot reached English through Hindi.
How do you say 'thank you' in Sanskrit?
धन्यवादः (dhanyavādaḥ).
How do you say 'How are you?' in Sanskrit?
भवान् कथम् अस्ति? (bhavān katham asti?) to a man, and भवती कथम् अस्ति? (bhavatī katham asti?) to a woman.