Pali Vocabulary and Usage
Word formation
Pali builds vocabulary through upasagga (prefixes), paccaya (suffixes) and samāsa (compounds). Common prefixes: pa- (forward, intensive), vi- (separation, distinction), saṃ- (together), anu- (along, following), pari- (around), abhi- (towards, over), ati- (beyond), su- (well), du- (badly). Abstract nouns use -tta and -tā; agent nouns use -aka, -in or -vant.
Root families
Learn roots with their families: √budh gives buddha 'awakened' and bodhi 'awakening'; √dā gives dāna 'giving' and dadāti 'gives'; √kar gives kamma 'action' and karoti 'does'; √vac gives vacana 'speech' and vutta 'spoken'.
Core vocabulary sets
Kusala/akusala (wholesome/unwholesome), puñña/pāpa (merit/demerit), rāga/dosa/moha (greed/hatred/delusion), mettā/karuṇā/muditā/upekkhā (the four brahmavihāras), sati/samādhi/paññā (mindfulness/concentration/wisdom), anicca/dukkha/anattā (the three characteristics). Bhagavā, bhikkhu, dhamma, saṅgha and nibbāna should be glossed in context, not by one fixed English word.
Worked example
Dhammacakkaṃ pavatteti. Dhammacakka is a compound of dhamma + cakka, 'wheel of Dhamma'; pavatteti is pa- + vatteti, causative of √vatt 'turn', so 'sets in motion'. Translation: 'He sets in motion the Wheel of the Dhamma.' The prefix pa- intensifies rather than reversing the meaning; the causative -eti means 'causes to turn'.
Traps
Do not translate dhamma only as 'religion'; do not ignore a prefix that changes the sense (vattati 'turns' vs pavatteti 'sets in motion'); do not split a compound into unrelated words; do not use a Hindi synonym that loses a technical distinction such as kusala versus puñña.