Dissecting Compound Words

Two or more words combined together to form a single composite term is called a compound – e.g.
blackboard, notebook, homemade etc. In older parts of the Pali canon, compounds are simple and seldom contain more than two or three elements:
nāma-rūpa = name & form,
ceto-vimutti = liberation of mind, But they become more complicated in later language: sīlasamādhipaññāvimuttivimuttiñāṇadassanaparibhāvitaṃ → sīla + samādhi + paññāvimutti + vimutti + ñāṇadassana + paribhāvitaṃ As a general rule, all members of a composite term are in their stem forms (no inflection of case, person or gender) except the final term which is inflected according to its gender, casting the whole composite to that inflection. pañca+upādāna+khandhā
pañca+upādāna+khandhānaṃ
pañca+upādāna+khandhesu The separate stems are joined using the rules of sandhi (joining) making compounds tricky sometime to tease apart. pañcupādānakkhandhā → pañca+upādāna+khandhā The Digital Pali Reader, though not foolproof, is useful as a first attempt at dissecting these compounded terms.

Sometimes it is just a sequence of words which often appear together and over time have become joined. These are called syntactic compounds. Other compounds however are of specific types, classified by the relation between the words.

Knowing the differences between the different types of compounds and how they function in the sentence is important when translating Paḷi. Very often the sense of compounds is intuitively evident, and one may translate the passage in an acceptable way without knowing the exact classification, but at times it is obscure, and there are definite cases where misunderstanding of the type of compound can lead to  mis-translations.

In this post I’ll

1. begin with an intuitive overview; and then
2. dig down into the formal classifications of compounds
   so the reader has the ability to further investigate this subject with other guide books.
3. and present a method to determine the Type of Pali compound

1. Overview of Compound words in Pali

So let’s begin with the simplest. Prefixes can be added to nouns thus forming  adverbs. Eg.

under + ground = underground.

Often adjectives and their noun are combined into a single compound word, in which case the noun is usually the final term:

white + horse = the white horse.

When the adjective is a superlative it often follows the noun:

man + foremost = foremost man (eldest man).

An adverb + a noun = an adjective. Having the quality of the noun…

A noun and an appositional noun can be compounded, in which case the apposition is the final term:

sariputta + elder = Sariputta, the elder.

However sometimes the second term is a noun that is being employed as an adjective:

lust + fire = fire-like lust or fire of lust.

A similar form is where a genitive sense is implied between two nouns:

virtue + wealth = wealth of virtue → rich in virtue;
wisdom + lamp = light/lamp of wisdom.

Two numbers combined usually implies addition:

one + twenty = one and twenty or twenty one.

The main exception is the term addha (half). addha generally means minus a half:

three + half = two & a half.

Sometimes this is explicit

ekūnavisati = one + less + twenty → nineteen.

The term addha (half) prefixed to a hundred denotes a hundred halved:

100 less a half → 50;

whereas if prefixed to a thousand it means

1000 less a half → 500

Numerals and nouns can be combined:

three + worlds;
four + truths;
five + faculties.

Sometimes these are considered plural and sometimes as collectives in which case they will be neuter singular.
A compound of two numeral/nouns usually implies an ‘or’:

two + days + three + days → two or three days.

Lists of nouns can be joined where the conjunctions ‘and/or’ have been dropped:

moon + sun → moon & sun;
fire + smoke → smoke & fire.

The gender of the compound is that of the final member. These are usually declined as plurals unless the collective sense is implied in which case they will also be in neuter singular.

Skin + flesh + blood;
Dancing + singing + music.

These can be spotted by the fact the words don’t qualify each other – add no extra meaning – and are just a list. In Pali the more dominant member usually is the last which is the opposite of English and so the order may be reversed when translating. Eg.

moon + sun = sun & moon.

These compounds are ambiguous as to the number of its individual members; for instance 'moon + sun' though in the plural could equally be rendered

'sun & moons',
'suns & moon' or
'suns & moons'...

Sometimes a compound is the same noun or adjective repeated twice:

kind + kind = very kind;
again + again = repeatedly etc.

A noun in an oblique (propositional) case, which is any case other than nominative & vocative, can be combined with a following noun, adjective or past participle and the propositional case ending lost.

village + gone = gone to the village (acc);
buddha + taught = taught by the Buddha (instr);
king + son = son of the king (gen);
king + worthy = worthy of the king (dat);
thief + fear = fear due to a thief (abl);
forest + going = going in the forest (loc).

As there is no evidence of the lost case of the members the relationship has to be deduced from context. Genitive and instrumental are common. Often knowing the exact case is irrelevant to understanding eg.

book-learning = learning from books or
learning by means of books.

Sometimes the first member of the group retains its inflected ending. This is often the case where words have been borrowed from Sanskrit.

Similar to these, where two nouns are joined by a relating term, the relating term can be lost:

horse + carriage → a horse (drawn) carriage;
molasses + cooked rice → a cooked rice mixed with molasses.

The relation has to be deduced.

Two related nouns can be compounded when the relation is one of ‘being/identity’:

impermanent + perception = the perception ‘impermanence’;
self + view = the view ‘self’;
inferior + equal = equal in being inferior.

These often can be translated by reversing order and adding ‘which is’.

Similes can be formed by compounds ending with a word meaning ‘type', 'kind' (upamā) or 'form of' (rūpa). By far the most common is rūpa (form) meaning 'like' e.g.

'the archer who can split a hair' + form → like (with the form of) an archer who can split a hair

Compounds ending with noun-kāma –kārin, -cārin, -dassin, or –vāsin as last member imply

‘one who does..’

Compounds ending with the participle -gata 'gone to' as last member imply ‘being in’ for instance

palace+gone king = king in the palace.

Compounds themselves can stand alone as nouns or any of the above types of compounds can in effect be used as adjectives qualifying another noun as in

Blood-smeared mouth;

the suffix –ka & -ya is often appended to create this type of compound.

Some compounds can behave like relative clauses acting on the subsequent antecedent noun without a relative pronoun being expressed:

ascend+man tree = the tree (which was) ascended by the man;
conquered+faculties recluse = the recluse (with) faculties conquered;
brought+food recluse = the recluse (who was) offered food;
many+people village = a village (with) many people;
departed+people village = the village (from where) the people departed.

In both situations the compound must agree in case, gender and number with qualified noun and just to make it more interesting the qualified noun can come either before or after the compound!

2. Formal Classification of Pali Compounds

No single set of classes nor indeed terminology is accepted by all. Thus compounds get divided into six or eight types depending on which are seen as subsets of others. They are often referred to by their Pali names and I’ve also included some of the varying English designations.

The main categories of Pali compounds being:

• Syntactical (from western scholarship): just a sequence of words which often appear together and over time have become joined and usually have retained their inflected endings.
• Kammadhāraya: Descriptive Determinate or Adjectival Compounds
•      Digu: Numerical Determinate Compounds
• Dvanda: Copulative, Co-ordinative or Aggregative Compounds
• Tappurisa: Dependent Determinate Compounds
•      Upasagganipātapubbaka: Prepositional Compounds
• Avyayībhāva: Adverbial Compounds
• Bahubbīhi: Possessive, Exocentric, Relative or Attributive Compounds

Kammadhāraya (Adjectival) Compounds:

The key to recognizing these compounds is observing that the first terms adjectivally qualify the final member or are attributes thereof. Often ‘which is’ or ‘who is’ can be placed between the two components. There are four general types of kāmadhāraya compound constructions:

1. adjective + substantive noun  eg. black:board, the board which is black;
   Largely, the sum of the parts transcends the individual meanings; ie. a black:board is more than just any board that happens to be black but a special instance with a specific meaning. Common adjectives: mahā- (great), sabba- (all) & sa- (one's own).
   taruṇapuriso → taruṇa + puriso = a young man
   kusaladhammā → kusala + dhammā = wholesome qualities
2. adjective / adverb + adjective (or past participle) eg. new:found;
   Double adjectives or an adverb plus participle are common for instance, intense:lovely (beautiful), again:spoken (repeated), arriving:tired etc.
   Bhūta, the past participle of bhavati (to be) forms many compounds eg. evaṃ:bhūta 'being so'.
   sammāpaṭipanna → sammā + paṭipanna = rightly disposed
3. substantive noun + adjective  eg. ice:cold, cold as ice;
   A substantive may adverbially qualify an adjective, typically implying comparison and can be translated by the preposition 'as' eg. life:dear, dear as life.
   This type appears to overlap with Tappurisa, thus meanings can be ambiguous.
   pāṇasama → pāṇa + sama = dear as life (lit: ‘same as life')
4. substantive noun + substantive noun  eg. girl:friend;
   When the compound is of two substantive nouns the relation is one of apposition (which/who is). This is often used in titles:  minister X, Dr. Y etc. Another use is metaphoric eg. lotus:foot which in effect means 'lotus-like foot' or 'lotus which is your foot'.
   When the two members are feminine, the first one assumes the form of a masculine!
   tejodhātu → tejo + dhātu = fire element (fiery state)
   rāgaggi → rāga + aggi = fire like lust, lust which is like fire

Digu (Numerical) Compounds

Often seen as a subset of kammadhāraya,  Digu compounds begin with a number and are followed by a noun. In these compounds, the numbers are telling us literally how many of the nouns are involved.

• singular (collective) tilokaṃ → tayo lokā = three worlds
  catusaccaṃ → cattāri + saccāni = four truths
  saḷāyatanaṃ → cha + āyatanāni = six sense bases
  navasataṃ → nava + sataṃ = nine-hundred = 9 lots of 100, (not 9+100)
• plural pañcakkhandhā → pañca + khandhā = five aggregates
  dasadisā → dasa + disā = ten directions

Dvanda (Copulative) Compounds

Dvanda compounds are two or more nouns that are added together with no added meaning due to the compounding. They are either singular or plural taking the gender of the final member; and often singular neuter Eg.

• Numerals indicating a number: (If there's a number + a noun then its a Digu, above.) catusaṭṭhi → catu + saṭṭhi = four and sixty (64)
• lists of nouns with an implied copulative ‘and/or’ sense. udayabbayaṃ → udayaṃ + vayaṃ = arising and vanishing
  ajelakaṃ → ajā + elakā = goats and rams
  candimasuriyā → candimā + suriya = moon and sun
  samaṇabrāhmaṇā → samaṇa + brāhmanā = ascetics and Brahmins

Tappurisa (Dependent) Compounds

Tappurisa compounds are 'case' based, where the first member depends on the second. The relationship between the two words is expressed by an oblique case, i.e. accusative, instrumental, dative, genitive, ablative, or locative. Eg.

Mad-house: house of the mad.

These can usually be translated by reversing the order and adding one of the case prepositions (of, for, in, on, by, with etc.)

• acc: araññagato → arañña + gata = gone to the forest
• dat: arahattamaggo → arahatta + magga = path for/to arahantship
• gen: rājaputto → rāja + putta = son of a king (prince)
  mettābhāvanā → mettā + bhāvanā = development of kindness
• ins: buddhabhāsito → buddha + bhāsita = spoken by the Buddha
  paññāvimutti → paññā + vimutti = liberation by wisdom
• abl: rukkhapatito → rukkha + patita = fallen from the tree
• loc: araññavāso → arañña + vāsa = living in the forest
  indriyasaṃvara → indriya + saṃvara = restraint in the senses
  kāmataṇhā → kāma + taṇhā = restraint of senses(Note : words for desire take their object in the locative)

Upasagganipātapubbaka or prepositional compounds are seen as a subset of tappurisa. Here the first term is either a preposition or a prefix added to the second term eg.

Before the eyes.

Tappurisa compounds can be used as nouns and also as adjectives eg.

Hand-made biscuits - biscuits made by hand.

In this role, they can appear similar to bahubbiihi compounds (below). The key is that when the final member of a tappurisa compound is an adjective then we have a tappurisa functioning as an adjective rather than a bahubbiihi compound (see below) which would function adjectivally but end with a noun.

Avyayībhāva (Adverbial) Compounds

Avyayībhāva or adverbial compounds can be formed with an indeclinable preposition or a particle/prefix as an initial member eg.

Over-head, under-ground etc.

They are used as adverbs (indicating where or how the action is being done) and are themselves indeclinable, though usually based on the neuter nominative/accusative singular.
bahigāmā → bahi + gāma = outside the village
anutīre → anu + tīra + e = along the bank of
antaravīthi → antara + vīthi = along/middle the road
uddhaṃsota → uddhaṃ + sota = against the stream

Bahubbīhi (Attributive) Compounds

Bahubbīhi, attributive or possessive compounds, are not technically a separate class but are determined by their usage. They are a determinate compounds (tappurisa or kammadhāraya) that ends in a noun, which are then employed and declined like adjectives.

adjective+noun noun

They always refer to (or qualify) something outside of the compound. eg.

a two-car family, a bare-foot man

Some grammarians call them “relative compounds,” others “possessive compounds”, while some call them “attributive compounds” or “exocentric compounds.”

They usually take noun declension in –a and agree in case, gender & number with the external noun they qualify. This means that if the last member is naturally feminine but used to qualify a male noun it will become masculine – and vice versa.

Notice, there not all grammarians agree about what is and what is not a bahubbiihi. Their formation is not as simple as described above. Sometimes the  adjective+noun order is reversed - noun+adjective, as in china+hattho = severed-hand
hattha+cchinno = hand-severed. Finally, there are some examples of bahubbiihi compounds given by some grammars that don’t seem to fit either of the above patterns; such as compounds that end in adjectives and are preceded by adverbs.

In practice, the majority of Bahubbiihi are kāmadhāraya in nature.

three-headed, white-haired, kind-hearted etc.

thus they closely resemble the English possessive suffix '-ed'. Nine times out of ten they can be rendered by -ed or 'having/being'

Possessive compounds can also be formed by addition of the suffix

–(i)ka or –(i)ya.

dīghāyukā manussā = long-lived people
piṇḍapātiko bhikkhu = alms-collecting monk
maraṇadhammā sattā = death-natured beings, mortal beings
But sometimes they have to be rendered by means of a relative clause. pāpiccho bhikkhu = bad-wished monk => a monk (who has) bad intentions
ālayarāmā pajā = attachment-delighted population => peoples (who) delight in attachment If you imagine the compound's members and qualified noun as labelled:

A+B C

tha relative clause can be rendered by:

the C

of/by/in/from whom/which/whose

B

is/are/has

A

Eg.

conquered+faculties recluse = the recluse whose faculties are conquered;
brought+food recluse = the recluse to whom food is brought;
many+people village = a village in which the people are many;
departed+people village = the village where the people have departed.

This is a rough & ready formula and often a better rendering can be gained once the overall meaning has been ascertained.

See Bomhard for more detailed classifications of compounds. And Duroiselle  pg .91 Chp 12 for many examples. Perniola pg.157 for detailed analysis and Collins chp. 6 (all available on the Pali resources page).

Verbal compounds in Pali

Some verbs are compounded with nouns, most often with an ‘ī’ inserted between: noun + ī + verb. The verb is often a derivative of kar ‘to do’ or bhū ‘to be’.

Special forms of verbs only appeared at the end of some compounds they are

–karo ‘doing’
–kāro ‘making,
-ggāho ‘seizing’,
-dharo ‘holding’ &
-pāto ‘dropping’.

Agent nouns (describing one who acts) can be formed by compounding nouns with the above special verb endings:

pot + do = potter;
wheel + do = cartwright;
village + dwell = villager;
bowl + grip = bowl carrier;
doctrine + know = doctrine bearer;
self + supporting = one who is financially independent.

Or they may just qualify the verb:

frequent + do = repeated or continuous action;
abundant + make = increase;
ashes + become = reduce to ashes.

Compounds of an infinitive verb joined with -kāmo often imply ‘wishing to…’. The infinitive ending in -tuṃ can sometimes be retained by the first member where the ṃ is dropped leaving only -tu.

Gantu + kāma = the desire to go.

Or with action nouns  -anakāmo

Complex compounds

Yes compounds of different types can themselves be combined to form complex composites creating compounds within compounds! These are generally used as relative clauses and their presence is a general indication of the late origin of the text. Eg.

death + fear + terrified = terrified (by) a death-fear = terrified by a fear of death;

3. Method to assessing which Type of Pali compounds

Alan McClure suggests a schema for discerning the type of compound word in Pali
  (bracketed comments are my own):

1. If the compound is composed of only numerals and the first number is larger than the second then it is a dvanda; if the second number is larger, then it is a digu.
2. If the compound starts with a number and is followed by a non-numeral, there are two possibilities. If the two members would be in the same case, if they were to be separated, then the compound is a digu; if the two members would be in different cases, then it is a tappurisa. (this would have to be discerned from context)
3. If the compound starts with an indeclinable that qualifies the following terms, and the whole compound is acting as an adverb, the compound is an avyayiibhāva.
4. For all other compounds, try to determine the case of the last member as well as the case of the first member would have been had it not been compounded

Then:
5. If the cases certainly differ, then it is a tappurisa compound.
6. If the cases would certainly be the same, then it is a kammadhāraya or a dvanda. A dvanda will have two or more words that don’t qualify each other but are simply being added together with the word “and/or” between them. In a kammadhāraya, however, the first member of the compound will qualify the final member.
7. If it is impossible to tell the cases of the parts of the compound, then it may be a tappurisa or kammadhāraya compound and context and doctrinal familiarity (also reference to a commentary) should be your guide to figuring out the solution. Not all compounds are easily analysed.
8. If you have a compound that fits the “type” of one of the above compounds but the last member is a noun, or is used as a noun, i.e. is a substantive, but yet this last member is agreeing (case, gender, number) with an external noun as would an adjective, regardless of its normal gender, then you are dealing with a bahubbiihi compound. Such a compound will have an exocentric focus and be "possessed" by an external noun rather than having a relationship to it via simple apposition.
9. If you have a compound that fits the “type” of one of the above compounds but the last member is not a noun, there may still be a chance that it is a bahubbiihi compound if this last member is agreeing (case, gender, number) with an external noun. In this case, however, despite the exocentric nature of the compound, one will not be able to say that the external referent possesses this compound, but it must be related via a relative clause.

Ok, next we'll look at how different declension cases are used in Pali...