Tibetan - English - Dictionary
of Buddhist Teaching & Practice

© 1996 Rangjung Yeshe Translations & Publications
in cooperation with the Karma Kagyu Buddhist Network

Frequently Asked Questions:
Some printed Dictionaries
- DAS, S. CH.: A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanscrit synonyms, rev. by Gr. Sandberg and A.W. Heyde. Calcutta, 1902. XXXIV + 1353 p.; reprint in China, 1951.
- GOULD, B. and H.E. RICHARDSON: Tibetan Word Book, Oxford University Press, 1943. XVII + 447 p.
- JÄSCHKE, H.A.: A Tibetan-English Dictionary. London, 1881. XVII + 671 p.; reprint: 1934, 1949, 1959.
- SEMICOV, B.V., PARFIONOVIC, J.M. and B.D. DANDARON: Kratkij Tibetsko-Russkij Slovar┤. Moskva 1963. 581 p.
- OSANIN, I.M.: Kitajsko-Russkij Slovar┤. Moskva 1959. 1100 p.
- Hàn dé cídiân (Chinesisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch). Beijing: Shangwù yingshuguan, 1959. 789 p.
Pioneers for Tibetan Language
- Körösi Csoma Sándor (1834)
- Isaak Jakob Schmidt (1841; 1843)
- Heinrich August Jäschke (1866; 1871-76; 1881)
- Abbé C.H. Desgodins (1899)
- Saratchandra Das (1902)
Examples of the Dictionary (how it looks like)
bkra shis - 1) auspiciousness, good luck, good fortune, goodness, prosperity, happiness. 2) auspicious, favorable, fortunate, successful, felicitous, lucky. 3) verse of auspiciousness; benediction, blessing. 4) a personal name.
bde legs - 1) goodness, happiness, well-being, welfare, auspiciousness, good furtune. 2) well, fine.
phun sum tshogs - 1) abundant, plentiful, prosperous, splendid, sublime, supreme, wonderful, perfect, perfect and complete, satisfying, desirable, fortuitous, auspicious. 2) perfection, prosperity, wealth, abundance, excellence, abundant excellence, excellent abundance, glory.
rma rin chen mchog - Rinchen Chok of Ma. Early Tibetan translator, among the first seven Tibetans to take ordination from Shantarakshita and the chief recipient of the Magical Net of Mahayoga. He is known for translating the Essence of Secrets Guhyagarbha Tantra, the chief tantra of Mahayoga. Through the teachings he received form Padmasambhava he attained the level of a vidyadhara. Rinchen Chok means 'Sublime Jewel.'
yid ches pa - 1) to have faith in, have trust; believe, have conviction in. 2) confidence, conviction, trust, belief. 3) sincerely, confidently. 4) proof. 5) believable, trustworthy, reliable.
Transliteration System
The search in the Tibetan-English Dictionary accepts input only in the form of Roman, ASCII characters. The dictionary has adopted the Standardized Transliteration System published by Turrell Wylie, which is the most widely used Roman-Tibetan transliteration system.
Turrell Wylie: "A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 22, 1959, p.261-67 .
Search Algorithm
The dictionary search will return successful search results of the English translations not only for the word itself, but also will return hits for phrases in which the word occurs as part of the phrase. It behaves like a "grep" function.
Additionally if you enter an English phrase all entries are shown where these phrases are part of the Tibetan-English entry.

Copyright © 1996 Rangjung Yeshe Translations & Publications and Karma Kagyu Buddhist Network
Most recent update: January 7th, 1997
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