Sandhi practice (quiz)
Words join by sandhi (euphonic combination) in real Sanskrit, but dictionaries list the unjoined stems. So sandhi is a cross-dictionary skill: to find a word inside a compound or a sentence you must reverse the sandhi to recover the separate words, then look each up. These 30 questions drill the rules — and the lookup move — from Lessons 10–11 of Charles Wikner's A Practical Sanskrit Introductory.
Answers are hidden until you reveal them. The rules only really make sense in sound — say each combination aloud and hear why it joins the way it does.
Vowel sandhi
Six principles cover every case of a vowel meeting a vowel. Work the Apply questions, then check the rule in the answer.
Quiz · vowel sandhi
13 questions
What is sandhi, literally and in principle?
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Sandhi = 'placing together' — the principle of sounds combining naturally and harmoniously (without awkwardness), for ease of pronunciation. Sanskrit's script is phonetic, so the written notation changes when the sound changes.When does vowel sandhi apply (and when not)?
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When a word ending in a vowel is followed by a word beginning with a vowel (in the same sentence or line). A final vowel is NOT changed before a consonant, or in pausa (e.g. at the end of a sentence).Apply vowel sandhi: a + i → ?
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e— principle 2 — a/ā before a simple vowel other than a takes the guṇa form.Apply vowel sandhi: a + u → ?
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oApply vowel sandhi: a + a → ?
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ā— principle 1 — the same simple vowel (short or long) doubles to its long (dīrgha) measure.Apply vowel sandhi: i + i → ?
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īApply vowel sandhi: ā + i → ?
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e— principle 2 applies whether the leading a is short or long.Apply vowel sandhi: a + e → ?
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ai— principle 3 — a/ā before a guṇa or vṛddhi sound takes the vṛddhi form.Apply vowel sandhi: a + o → ?
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auApply vowel sandhi: i + a → ?
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ya— principle 4 — a simple vowel other than a, before a different vowel, becomes the semivowel (antaḥstha) of the same mouth position (i→y, u→v, ṛ→r, ḷ→l).Apply vowel sandhi: u + a → ?
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vaApply vowel sandhi: e + a → ?
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e (a elided, written with an avagraha: e ’). principle 6 — when e or o is followed by a short a, the a is elided and replaced by an avagraha (e ’, o ’).Principle 4: a simple vowel other than a, before a different vowel, is replaced by what?
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The antaḥstha (semivowel) of the same mouth position: i/ī → y, u/ū → v, ṛ → r, ḷ → l. (e.g. i + V → yV.)
Guṇa & vṛddhi grades
The strengthened grades underlie much of vowel sandhi (and the way roots build their forms).
Quiz · guṇa & vṛddhi
4 questions
What is the guṇa grade of i / ī (and of u / ū, and ṛ)?
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guṇa of i/ī = e; of u/ū = o; of ṛ = ar. (guṇa 'strengthens' a simple vowel by adding a measure of a.)What is the vṛddhi grade of i / ī (and of u / ū, and a)?
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vṛddhi of i/ī = ai; of u/ū = au; of a = ā. (vṛddhi adds a further measure of a on top of guṇa.)What is the guṇa of u?
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oHow does Pāṇini define the guṇa and vṛddhi vowels?
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guṇa = a, e, o; vṛddhi = ā, ai, au.
Visarga sandhi
What a final visarga (← s/r) becomes before the next sound.
Quiz · visarga sandhi
4 questions
Visarga sandhi — apply: rāmaḥ + gacchati → ?
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rāmo gacchati— final -aḥ before a voiced (ghoṣa) consonant becomes -o.Visarga sandhi — apply: rāmaḥ + āgataḥ → ?
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rāma āgataḥ. before a vowel other than a short a, the -s of -aḥ is simply dropped, leaving -a (the two words stay separate: rāma āgataḥ).What happens to final -aḥ before a short a?
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It becomes -o, and the following short a is elided and replaced by an avagraha — so -aḥ + a → -o ’ (e.g. rāmaḥ + atra → rāmo ’tra).What does a final s or r become before an unvoiced (aghoṣa) sound or a pause?
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A visarga (ḥ). Exception: before c/ch, ṭ/ṭh, or t/th it is replaced by the sibilant (ś, ṣ, or s) of that consonant's mouth position.
Consonant sandhi
Quiz · consonant sandhi
4 questions
What does a final -m become before any consonant?
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An anusvāra (ṃ).What happens to a final unvoiced -k, -ṭ, -t, -p before a voiced (ghoṣa) sound?
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Each is replaced by the voiced (ghoṣa) consonant of the same mouth position: -k→-g, -ṭ→-ḍ, -t→-d, -p→-b. (Before an aghoṣa sound they stay unchanged.)A word ends in a short vowel and the next word begins with ch-. What is inserted?
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A c — so -V + ch- → -V cch- (the ch is doubled to cch).Before a pause (avasana), a word may end in only one of eight consonants. Which?
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k, ṭ, t, p, ṅ, n, m, or ḥ (visarga) — or any vowel except ṛ and ḷ.
Internal sandhi
The retroflex changes (s → ṣ, n → ṇ) that reshape stems and endings — useful for
recognising a citation form.
Quiz · internal sandhi
2 questions
Internal sandhi: after which sounds is a following s replaced by ṣ?
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After k, r, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, e, ai, o, au — even with an intervening anusvāra or visarga — unless the s is final or followed by r. (This is why endings like -su appear as -ṣu after such stems.)Internal sandhi: after which sounds is a following n replaced by ṇ?
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After ṣ, r, ṛ, ṝ (even across intervening ka-/pa-varga, y, v, h, or a vowel) — when the n is followed by a vowel, m, v, y, or n.
Reversing sandhi for a lookup
The payoff: undoing sandhi to find a word in any dictionary.
Quiz · sandhi & dictionary lookup
3 questions
Why does sandhi matter for using a dictionary?
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Words join by sandhi in real text, but dictionaries list the unjoined stems. To find a word inside a compound or sentence you must REVERSE the sandhi (sandhi-vigraha) to recover the separate padas, then look each up — exactly the 'split it with the sandhi rules' technique for hard words.A dictionary/paradigm cites a noun with a final visarga (e.g. rāmaḥ). What must you remember before applying external sandhi in a sentence?
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Citation forms already have the to-a-pause (avasana) sandhi applied, so a final visarga usually stands for a final -s. Replace the visarga with s, then apply the visarga-sandhi rule for the actual following sound.Samprasāraṇa: a semivowel is replaced by the simple vowel of its mouth position (and the following vowel elided). How does this trip up a dictionary lookup — e.g. for the dhātu yaj?
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Derived forms can hide the root: yaj appears as ij- (ij-ya), svap as sup- (sup-ta), vac as uc- (uc-atha), prach as pṛcch- (pṛcch-ati). You may have to undo samprasāraṇa to recognise the dhātu the dictionary lists.
See also
- Reading Monier-Williams (with quizzes) — Lesson 14's "split a hard word with the sandhi rules" applied to MW
- Transliteration practice quiz — the other cross-dictionary skill quiz
- Encoding & Transliteration — schemes and the SLP1 encoding