How to Pronounce Theravāda

Have you ever wondered if you were pronouncing Theravāda correctly? Read this article to find out how to properly pronounce it.

Most resources on the web mispronounce Theravāda, and even Google failed me when I searched. The “Th” sound is not like the English “them” or “think.” It is simply a T with a puff of air—an aspirated T. If that sounds complicated, don’t worry. Many Americans already aspirate their T’s naturally. Begin the word with a crisp “T” and you’ll do better than most.

To confuse you further, the V often leans toward a soft W sound, something between the two. Many Southeast Asian countries even transliterate it with a W.

You’ll also notice the diacritical mark on the final vowel. That ā is longer—two beats in meter. All Pāḷi vowels are Latin-style vowels:

• A sounds like ah
• E sounds like hey
  And E also gets two beats.

In meter, it looks like this:

−⏑−⏑

So you would pronounce it: Te-Rah-Waah-Dah.
In Sri Lanka, the final “a” becomes more like “uh,” as in “duh,” so you get: Te-Rah-Waah-Duh.

If you want to be really cool, you can add the slight puff of air on the first T—almost like an elegant lady gently aspirating the sound:

“T-he-Rah-Waah-Duh”

Below is a recording by Venerable Anandajoti, who pronounces the V stronger than I do—likely because I spent more than 10 years in Myanmar.

▶️ Listen to the Pronunciation

• Audio
• Pronunciation
• Theravada