The New Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan

The New Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan Melvyn C. Goldstein Editor

T. N. Shelling and J. T. Surkhang Assistant Editors

WITH THE HELP OF

Pierre Robillard

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Berkeley • Los Angeles • London

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England ©2001 by The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The new Tibetan-English dictionary of modern Tibetan I Melvyn C. Goldstein, editor; T. N. Shelling and J. T. Surkhang, assistant editors ; with the help of Pierre Robillard. p. cm. ISBN 0-520-20437-9 (alk. paper) 1. Tibetan language-Dictionaries-English. I. Goldstein, Melvyn C. II. Shelling, T. N. III. Surkhang, J. T. PL3637.E5 N48 2001 495'.4321-dc21

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Contents

Acknowledgments and Preface ............................................... vii Pronunciation ............................................................. ix Using the Dictionary .................................. .' .................... xi Grammatical Introduction .................................................. xiii Abbreviations ........................................................... xvii Tibetan-English Dictionary ................................................... 1

Acknowledgments and Preface The opening of Tibetan areas in China to the outside world and the development of numerous Tibetan communities in exile have brought Western students and researchers face-to-face with an enormous mass of Modern Tibetan official and unofficial written materials. This dictionary has been prepared to assist Westerners to read those materials. Compilation of the dictionary was made possible by grants from the International Research and Studies Program ofthe Department ofEducation (P017A30010) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (RT-21671-95), and I am grateful for their support of this project. I am also very grateful to Tashi Tsering and Ben Jiao for their careful and thoughtful assistance in defining lexical entries, to Pierre Robillard for his unstinting advice and assistance in creating and fine-tuning the Tibetan and linguistic fonts and for converting the entire dictionary into camera-ready copy. And last but certainly not least, I also want to offer thanks to Jan McDonald for her help in proofreading the final camera-ready copy and the many graduate and undergraduate students at Case Western Reserve University who worked on this project. This dictionary of modern Tibetan contains a wide range of lexical items used in political, social, economic, literary and scientific discourse. It includes the tens of thousands of new words that have been coined or have come into use since the incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China in 1951, as well as new terminology used in the Tibetan exile communities in South Asia. It also contains the core lexical terminology that is used in everyday life and standard modern writing, together with a large corpus of proverbs and sayings that appear frequently in contemporary literary materials. In addition, the dictionary includes lexical items characteristic of the specialized genre called I:Jj<1t::.'&J"l· or "government language." This genre was used by Tibetan government officials in all government documents, edicts and reports until the uprising in Tibet in 1959. Since large numbers of these materials have been preserved in Tibet's archives and will likely someday become available for research, it was decided to include terms characteristic of this specialized genre of modern Tibetan in the current dictionary. The items included in this dictionary derive from many sources. First, the terms contained in Goldstein's previous dictionary (Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan, 1978) were edited and revised when appropriate. The second source of entries derives from a large corpus of modern literary materials that were read to discover new terms and to check and revise terms from the previous dictionary. Tens of thousands of additional lexical items were selected from these textual (and conversational) sources. And although it is impossible to mention every source from which a word was found, in general these included newspapers, novels, short stories, histories, political articles/reports and textbooks. The main newspapers and magazines consulted were: L:iz:;;·~n:.:>:,t::.·").qt::.·, (J,j""'e1~r~~:.·r.:t:i411.1·, 4~r:r, "\a-lt::.'>l'l:l]~·, ~­ ")a-JC:.'>l'-CJf"i'"g·, Qi''>ln,·~"i·~·a:;t:IJ~·~""·, \Ji''>ln_·z:;;~~:.·~n,-a:;t!]'>l'',p:::, :!F~n_-.qz:;;·~c:,'>j·, .q'=i·~·ia-J·~'ll·~·,~w, ~-~I:Jj~·qfil\'~""·, ~-f'a·ia-J'~t:IJ·~· ~

~

~

~11.1·, ~FeJ"i·Ji·~I:Jj·.

The main novels, folktales and histories that were utilized were: t!]~t:IJ·t!]~·, 'l'l'~t:IJ~·l:lp)a-J'~"'i·; "\Sn.J·L:if3,·~a-J·J;t:,·~· .:>:,t:,·~·n:)·~'>l·Qiz:;;·Ji"· ~z:;;·il:;t:IJ ~·!!:le· ~- ~n_-~"·il:;I:Jj. ~- ~n_·~~:.·q·q~ ""·q· q~'>j· ~""· a:;c:,·~·t:IJ7a-l'~""· fiF'il)I:Jj·m""·~·~·~z:;;· ' ~z:;;· i"·"c:.·~·!:IJC3:J;q'a-J' ...., ' ....,...., ~....,,

~'

~~'

....,

'

.,;,''.;)

.:x;~:.·~~:.·.;a~:.'>l:o, t!]'>l""·q~f3,·:;"i·~·, ~t:,·~c·qz:;;a-J~·q~z:q'>l·, ~c:.·t:IJ7a-l'I:Jj'>l""'ia-J·§·.lj~·s·~"i·~n.J·~l'r.:t~tlj'>l'Zi·, and the nineteen volumes of the series L:il·~·n:)·~'>l·~I:Jj·t!]"\'>1'"\::1"\'l:l]~n,-~·a:;.qz:;;a-J'>l'~I:Jj~·. In addition to these materials, a variety of dictionaries, glossaries and word lists have also been consulted: From CHINA z:;;~·.q.lj'>l'i'>l·~·:!Jtlj~·. q.e(z:;;t!]·~~:.-~I:Jj·l:lj'>li1.1'-CJ'-CJ~I:Jj~·. China, 1957. ll:l!·~z:q·a-J·~.:x:,·i1.1a-J'-CJ.;at::.·. China, 1958. "\t:IJ'~tlJ·I:Jj~-'·q~t:IJ~·. China, 1979.

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;;·i;ir:;·$Jc:.·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1979.

i;iz:;;·~·4il\.~'"'-·~·~·~B:r:rll!z:;;·d;llJ·a-t~r:;·. China, 1983. ~c:.·z:;;~·~il\· (Ed.). ~·2:ir:;·d;'l]·a-tlz:;;·~d)·Ji·, China, 1985. z:;;ZJ·.i~·~·qf.i.·q·~;z:;;-8·. China, 1986. ,n:-~il\'~il\· and iJ\~·~<1)·£· (eds.). 2:ir:;·~~t4il\.~'"'-·~·.ii~·sf.i.·qa-t·:uc:'~r':25i·q1~·d;9·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1987. q~·.~:j~·J;·~c:.·. '\Sil\·2:ir:;·~·9~a-t·45i.~"'·~·d;9·a-t~r:;·. China, 1988.

s·d;9·d;9·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1989. ~·i;ir:;·45i.~"'·~·rll~·et:.:~·r:;c:·~·rll~·s·rll~r~· ctil)·~·$Jc:·. China, 1989. ~·i;iz:;;·~a-t~-r~l:lJ~·~c:·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1990.

mq·~·r:l,~t::·4:Jt:.:·~·~5i·a-t~·r:;9·Ui9·~9~·q~9~·. China, 1990. ~·i;ir:;·4il\'~'"'-·d;'l]·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1991. i;ir:;·~·45i.~"'·~·z:;;srll·gf.i.·d;'l]·a-t~r:;·. China, 1991. ~·::;~~·~9·J:Jf.i.·~·i;ir:;·~·~z:;;·4Ci.~"'·. China, 1992. ~c:.~-~~·i~·9~c:.·~·d;l:lJ·a-t~r:;·.

China, 1992. i;ir:;·~·d)c:.·~il\·~9·qf.i.·d;'l]·a-t~r:;·. China, 1993. ~-~f.i,·d;tl)·a-t~r:;·'"'-q·9~rll·~·c11t:.:·. China, 1993. il)t::'~9·qf.i.·d;9·a-t~r:;·. China, 1994. i;iz:;;·~·r:;§Oi·ll!r:;·~·r:;~~-~'l]~·~9·qf.i.·d;'l]·a-t~r:;·. China, 1994. q~~·~t:.:·. i;ir:;·r:;§il)·~·9~a-t·4il\'~'"'-·d;9·a-t~r:;·. China, 1994. mq·a-tf.i.·~d)·a-t~·a-tC:iJi·qir:;·rll9'~q·. China, 1994. 2:ir:;·~·r:;sil\·~r:;·~·f::~·(),~...,·~l:lJ·qf.i.·d;9·a-t~r:;·. China, 1994. i;lz:;;·~·r:;§il)·~r:;·~·~F~·~I:IJ·d;9·a-t~z:;;·. China, 1994. "ii:IJr:l,'qf.i.·{~~·. (),ec:.~·z:;;ZJ·~·~r:;·.iirll·~·~·r11t:.:·. China, 1995. i;ir:;·~·rll·9~a-t·~·i;iz:;;·mil\·~t:.:·a-t~r:;·. China, 1998. From INDIA S.C.Das. Tibetan-English Dictionary. India, 1902. C.A. Bell. English-Tibetan Colloquial Dictionary. India, 1905. 1~.9~a-t·~G-$JtlJ·~a-t·~f.i.·~·tlJ~"i·J:Jf.i.·'"'-rll·~·q~tlJ~·~·. India, 1964. L.S. Dagyab. 2:iz:;;·q~r:l,·d;9·a-t~r:;·. India, 1966. Acharya Sengye T. Naga and Tsepak Rigzin. 2:ir:;·r:;§
Pronunciation Consonants g - similar to g in gone k - similar to k in keep gy - similar to gu in regulate ky - similar to cu in cute fi - similar to ny in canyon IJ- similar to nga in sing-a-long n - similar to n in name m - similar to m in man 1 - similar to 1 in let lh - this is made something like an 1 with a heavy puff of aspiration said simultaneously p - similar to p in pet b - similar to b in bet j - similar to j in jet c - similar to eh in champ dz - similar to ddz in adds up ts - similar to ts in Patsy s - similar to s in sit t - similar to t in tip d- similar to d in dip h - similar to h in hip sh- similar to sh in ship tr - similar to tr in triumph dr- similar to dr in drill r - similar to r in rip w - similar to w in wet y - similar to y in yet

Vowels a - similar to a in pa u -similar to o in to o - similar to o in so a - similar to a in alone e. similar to the e in prey e- similar to e in bet but with the teeth almost closed o - similar to a in all ti - similar to the ti in the German ftillen o - similar to eu in the French seul

Tone markings Tibetan has three major tones: high, low and falling (high falling and low falling). High tone is indicated by a line over the vowel, low tone by a line under the vowel and falling by a diagonal line over a vowel: da

X.

(high short), daa (high falling), dfi, (low short), df}a (low falling). The length of vowels is also phonemic in Tibetan and long vowels are indicated by the vowel written twice, for example, daa (high long), daa (low long). When vowels have no markings, it indicates a tone slightly lower than the preceding high vowel, e.g., m~~mi, or slightly higher than the preceding low vowel, qf!baa.

Using the Dictionary The order of dictionary entries is main entry, pronunciation in parenthesis, meaning or meanings, and illustrations of usage. For example: fl·r.:;~~ (kMril) scarf CJl c.:.~·fl·r.:;~~·..,~a.r·~~·~~r~"i· I bought three scarves. A number of special conventions are employed in this dictionary that require comment. Verbs

Core verbs are single morphemes like§;.;;· ("to do"). They are either active or involuntary/inactive (similar to transitive and intransitive), and typically undergo declension in accordance with tense. For example, the verb "to do" has four stems: present=§;.;;·, past=~~·. future= ~r; imperative= s~·. Dictionary entries will indicate whether a verb is active or involuntary by means of the abbreviations "va." for verb active and "vi." for verb inactive/ involuntary. If the verb has multiple stems, the main entry is cited in the present tense stem followed by its other stems. For example, the four stem verb "to do" will be cited as follows: §;.;;·: p. ~~·; f. ' imp. s~· c~e) va. to do, to work However, many verbs have less than four stems and some have only one stem. A one stem verb will be listed as follows: "i' (n_e) vi. to be sick/ ill To facilitate looking up the verb stems one encounters in written materials all stems will be listed separately, e.g., the past tense stem of the verb "to do" cs~·), is not only listed in the main entry §r.:;·' but is also listed as a separate entry: s~· (c§£) p. of §;.;;·

(

Derived Verbs and Gerundial Nominals

Tibetan has a category of derived verbs and gerundial nominals that require more complicated presentation conventions. Derived verbs consist of a nominal word or compound such as the noun "work" (i"l.l~''lJ) and a verb that verbalizes the nominal, e.g., the verbalizing verb §')· ("to do"). Thus, where English has a separate verb "to work," Tibetan conveys this verbal notion by a nominal (i1l~1''1J' work, job)+ a verbalizer csr.:;· to do), i.e., i"l.l~''lJ'S"\' means "to do work" or "to work." In a similar fashion, the verbal notion "sing" is conveyed by the nominal "song" (tlfl'l~·) together with another common verbalizing verb,"!~.::· ("to send"), so that t1fl'l~·t1f~.::· literally means "to send a song" but really means "to sing." The four main verbalizing verbs in Tibetan are: S-"'. ("to do"), t1f~.::· ("to send"), ~tlf· ("to throw/do"), and ijr.:;· ("to say"). The parallel honorific verbalizers are "!"iC.:.'f'~1 e::r.:;· ("to do), ~"i· ("to throw, to do), t1f~c.:.· ("to say"),~.. ("to say). Verbalized nominal phrases are listed in the dictionary with the noun or noun compound as the main entry. For example, the above mentioned examples will be presented as follows: i"l.l~·'lJ· (l§ega) work, job; va.-S')'. "ll'1~· (sh§£) song; va.-"l~c·. (·ni'lJ· (gQloo) revolt, uprising; va.-~tlf·. Note that an em-dash(-) is placed before the verbalizing verb as a substitute for the main entry. Thus, va."l~c.:.· really means va. "'l'l~·"'~c:. In some cases where more than one verbalizing verb can be used, the verbalizing verbs are listed in sequence, e.g., 71r':!F~· (gadralJ) indexing alphabetically; va.-~tlf; _.c:(~·; _r:<~r.:;· to number/

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index alphabetically. In order to conserve space, verbalized nominal phrases normally will not include the English gloss of the verbal meaning (e.g., "to work," "to sing," and "to revolt") because we feel the user will be able to derive these. However, in cases where we decided deriving the verbal meaning is not obvious, the verbal meaning was included. Two examples of this are the nouns ~·o-J"i~· (gun) and llJO)o-l'~· (airplane): ~·a-1"\~· (m~nda) gun; va.-:litlj' to shoot a gun. l:ljil)a-1'~· (n~mdru); airplane; va.-tlj~c:: to fly an airplane. Another genre of derived verbals consist of verbalizing verbs such as s.;;· or tlj~c::: used with nominal compounds that themselves are a combination of two verbs. For example, the term "liberation" or consists of the verb "J:;J~c:_~r" to bind" plus the verb ~~nr "to release." When placed together, these convey the meaning "liberation" and enter into other nominal compounds such as "liberation movement" C::J~r;::_~·o.~fl.l·fl.l~·~,fl.l"). This nominal compound in turn is verbalized to convey the verbal notion "to liberate" by adding the common verbalizing verb llJ~c:_·. Such compounds will be listed in the dictionary in the same manner as the simple nominals cited above, e.g.: q~r;::_~·o.~fl.l· (jiiJdroo) liberation; va.-11J~c:_·. Once again note that the gloss "to liberate" is not cited. Verbal nouns Verbal nouns are verbs which in the gerundial or present participle form function as a noun in the sense that they name an action or state of being. Examples of these in English are: Running is good exercise. Eating fatty foods is bad. Being happy is important. Tibetan has a class of noun-verb (and verb-verb) compounds that can be read depending on context either as verbs or verbal nouns. For example, the term F''~-"· can be read as a verbal phrase meaning "to turn around," the fl' being a noun ("mouth") and~"'· being a verb ("to change"). However, these two syllables can also be used together as a verbal noun meaning "turning around" or "changing direction." When used in this sense as a verbal noun, the compound can in turn be verbalized by adding the verbalizer tlj~r;::_·. Thus, fl'~-"·q·~s and fl'~-"'tlj~c:_·q·:i,.;;· both mean "turned around." Such constructions will be listed with the verbal noun as the head word, e.g., fl'~-"· (kagyur) turning around, changing direction; va. F''~-"·; -tlj~c:_· The second listing of fl'~-"· after the va. indicates that fl'~.:r_· also functions as a verb by itself. Illustrative materials in dictionary entries Many dictionary entries include examples of usage. These are always preceded by the symbol <J! as in the following example: "l''~F~· (gadraiJ) numbering/ indexing alphabetically; va.-:litlj; _q~·; -~~"i· to number/ index alphabetically CJ! fi~·~o-J·a;c:_·a-J·"]·~c:_~·tlj~·q~c:_·q~"i·:.r:i."\· He numbered all the boxes alphabetically. Note that the verb used in this example (l::J~"\') is the past tense stem of the verb ~~.;;· whose present tense is the one listed in the main entry. Some illustrative materials such as this were constructed by the editors, but most derive from examples encountered in the literature. In the case of terms from the government language genre (shungyik), the original sentences/clauses were generally used, even though they are difficult.

Grammatical Introduction Introduction A number of the characteristics of the Tibetan language make compiling and using a Tibetan dictionary difficult. Tibetan, unlike Indo-European languages, does not indicate where "words" begin and end. Consequently, instead of the reader encountering a string of clearly delimited words, a string of syllables (separated by dots called ~"r) is ecountered. The reader, therefore, must decide how to group the syllables into word units and thus what combinations of syllables to look up in the dictionary. For example, in the sentence G"\'"\ii-lllJ·eirllJ~9~·.t:i·.:J;ili·.th:;,)ZlJ ("Tibetan soldiers are tall."), the eight syllables comprise the following five words: .G.c:;· ("Tibet"), .c:;ii-19·~· ("soldier"), l:lJ~9~·i::i· ("body"), .:J;"i·i::i· ("tall") and P)9 ("are"). Disaggregating Tibetan's syllables into discrete word units, however, is difficult because most syllables in Tibetan possess independent meaning, and strings of syllables can be read in different ways depending on context. For example, just as the English word "soldier" is disyllabic, so too is the Tibetan word for "soldier" (t:;ii-ll:l]·~·). However, while neither of the two English syllables has an independent meaning both of the Tibetan syllables do. The syllable .c:;J-JI:l]' means "war" and~· means "person" or "not." Both Tibetan syllables, moreover, occur in other constructions, and even when side-by-side may not be linked together semantically. For example, in the sentence .Gt:;'t:;a:J9·~·Q~·'IJ·~"'·~,l)'J:.I'~S (''The Tibetan army had no choice but to flee"), although the syllable "'a:J9· is immediately adjacent to ~·, it is linked semantically to i:i.c:;· ("Tibet") not to . In this sentence, ~· conveys its second meaning of "not" and modifies Q~· ("flee") so that ~·Q~·'IJ·~.c:;· means "no choice but to flee." Thus, the breakdown into word units in this sentence is not i:i.c:;· (Tibet), t:;a:JI:l]·~· ("soldier) and Q~· {"flee"), but rather i:i"''"'ii-111]' ("Tibetan army") and g,.Q~·. Moreover, because it is easy for Tibetans to combine syllables in new ways for style or to convey new concepts, there is constant flux in lexical terminology, even for relatively basic ideas. All languages change, of course, but in Tibetan the extent of "flux" is far greater than in English. Consequently, although we have tried to include all frequently occurring word units such as t:;ii-19·~· and .G.c:;·.c:;J-JI:l]', the reader will certainly encounter combinations that are not listed. In such cases, each individual syllable should be looked up and an attempt made to infer the compound meaning from its parts. To facilitate this process, an overview of the main principles of word formation in Tibetan is presented below. Word Formation 1. Nominal compounds Nominal compounds consist of two or four syllables each of which is a nonderived noun. 1.1 Synonymic compounds Synonymic compounds consist of two syllables that are synonyms. The overall meaning of the compound word is identical to the meaning of each of the component parts. For example, ~.q~·4,9~· ("power, strength") is composed of two syllables: ~.q~· ("power, strength") and 4,ZlJ'l:f ("power, strength"). (a) ~.q~·~~·~·J-Jc.·z:i·.q~c::_·.q·~"· (They) seized many areas by force. (b) 4,ZlJ~·~~·'~fa:Jc::.·z:i·.qi!Jc::.·r:r~.c:; .. (They) seized many areas by force. (c) ~.q~·4,"l~·~~··~rJ-Jc::.·z:i·.q~F.q·~"· (They) seized many areas by force. Other common synonymic compounds are: :lJc::.'l:fQi:i-:z:: ("quality," "number," "amount!!) and 1~·~.q~· ("time," "period").

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1.2 Premodifying compounds In premodifying constructions the first syllable modifies the second. Thus, in the word "hospital" (~Cii'f!t:::), the first syllable ~Cii· ("medicine") describes what kind of fit:.' (l.l') ("house," "dwelling") it is. Some other common examples of this are: 9dia.~·~· sky-boat: airplane and z:;a.~
XV

gr"'N.o:.·~·~fll·~·~·~"'l"'N'r:>-~·~z;;·.::r"l"'l·~a.rs"'-1·'-r:is

[They] prohibited foreign nationals from going to Lhasa. By adding a verbalizer this verbal noun is transformed back into a verbal construction. llj·~~·~-~rtl·~·~· ~z:q~·n-~·~~· s~· q· ~~· Foreign nationals went to Lhasa. 3.3 Summation compounds: Vb.-Vb. Summation compounds are composed of syllables each of which has a different meaning wherein the overall meaning of the new compound is the summation of the two independent ones. For example, ""~~-~~· "reform" is composed ofJ::!~~· ("to correct") and~~· ("to change"). Like the preceding compounds, these summati~n compounds function as nominals and take standard verbalizers. For example: ~:;;;·z:q~c:::z:q~.::;·q~·~·~c:.·q~~·~~·s~·q·~:;;;· ~

~

The new government did land reforms. A confusing factor in verb compounds is that sometimes the present tense of a verb is used and sometimes the past tense is used (for the same lexical item). Thus J::!~~·~.o:.· is also commonly written J::!~~·q~.o:.· using the past tense stem of the verb "to change." To assist users to deal with this problem we have tried to include the different versions of compounds, e.g., in this case both J::!~~·~~· and ""~~·q~.::;· are listed as separate entries. 3.4 Polar compounds: Vb.-Vb. Polar compounds consist of verbs with opposite meanings. The overall meaning is usually the abstract idea derived from the two syllables, although it may also be simply conjunctive with each syllable retaining its independent meaning. For example, !.l.~·~"\· breaks down into "going" and "staying" and together usually means either "movement" or "going and staying." For example: ~·~·!.l.~·~~·z:q~O)'l-~.::r"'-1· ("spring planting") breaks down into the first syllable:;;;§:;;;· ("spring") (from:;;;§:;;;· 11J') and the verb !.l.~.q~· ("to plant/ sow"). The first syllable tells us what kind of planting it was-a spring planting. This nominal compound can then be verbalized by the addition of a verbalizing verb. For example, ~c::·q·~~·"\§.z:;;·r:>-~.::r~·s:;;;·~·~:;;;·q·~s ("The farmers are doing spring planting.") 3.7 Sequential compounds: Vb.-Vb. In sequential compound constructions the first verb takes the past stem (if it has more than one stem) and the second either the past or nonpast. The overall meaning consists of the action of the second verb acting on that of the first. For example, in J::!~c::~·q~C1.J· the first syllable means "to bind" and the second "to release, "with the overall meaning of' to release or untie that which was bound." This compound is used to express the modern concept of "liberation." Sequential compounds are usually idiomatic in the sense that the meaning is not readily derivable from the constituent elements. Like other compounds, they are usually verbalized by one of the standard verbalizing terms such as z:q~c::· or S"\'. 4. Quadrisyllabic compounds Quadrisyllabic compounds consist of two disyllabic compounds. The relationship between these two

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disyllabic units is that of premodification (i.e., the first disyllabic compound modifies the second). When a quadrisyllabic compound is encountered each of the two disyllabic subunits should be analyzed separately before the overall meaning is determined. For example, in ~·q"'·~·~ct;~~· ("Sino-Tibetan border"), the first disyllabic unit is a conjunctive compound and means "China!fibet." The second element is a premodifying compound meaning "border" (literally, place-space between). Thus, the first disyllabic unit modifies the second explaining what kind of a border it was. 5. Active and involuntary verbs Tibetan active verbs express action done by an actor (subject) and are noted in the dictionary by the abbreviation "va." Involuntary verbs express unintentionaV non-purposive action or states and are noted in the dictionary by the abbreviation "vi." The difference between active and involuntary verbs hinges on the dichotomy of intentionaVunintentional action. The English sentence "He slept" illustrates this. Tibetan has two separate verbs meaning "to sleep." One of these, 'l!~"'''?!"!J', is active (va.) and connotes sleep resulting from the intentional act of going to sleep. The other 9~~T;;'l!· is involuntary (vi.) and connotes unintentional sleep, i.e., falling asleep without wanting or trying to do so. Another example of this difference is the notion "to boil." Tibetan has two separate verbs to convey the active (va.) and involuntary (vi.) notions of boiling: ~-q~!"!J'':J-99' (He, she) boiled the water. (va.) ~·r:l.~!"!J·.q-99· The water has boiled. (vi.) Thus, the presence of vi. before a verb such as "change" will indicate that it means "to be" or "get changed," as distinguished from the va. form which means "to actively change or modify." Active verbs may have as many as four stems and involuntary verbs may have as many as three stems (they have no imperative stem). Examples of active verbs are seen in the following table: Past Present Future lmJ2erative r:l.§:.:_· r:l.§:.:_· r:l.§:.:_· r:l.§:.:_· 1-stem ~~· ~~~· ~· 2-stem q.q· r:l,q.q· qq· r:l,':JQ' 3-stem .qm'l!~· .qril9' ffi9~· ffi9' 4-stem All verb main entries are listed in their present tense form, although all tenses are included immediately following the main entry. For example: ffi9·: p. '111]9~·; f. qm9· ; imp. ffi9~· (13:)) va. to read. 6. Verb Honorifics Almost all active and involuntary verbs have honorific forms. These are either a separate stem, e.g.,~· "to buy" (non-honorific) and t!J~9~· "to buy" (honorific), or the non-honorific past stem is made honorific by adding a honorific verb like t!Jil)C::.' "to do" (h.). For example, ~~-q~~·!r~~· "He made it" becomes ~c.·~~·.q~~-9il)c.·q· ~"\· "He (h.) made (h.) it." When verbs have honorific and non-honorific stems both will be listed in the dictionary.

Abbreviations abbr. adj. arc. bh. CCP. eh. eh. eng. ch.tib. dat.-loc. eng. eng.tib.

f. gen. h. hind. id. imp. inst. KMT. Lit. m ong. neg.

p. poet. pres. PRC IUS.

sb. skt. skt.tib. sm. sm.* sth. shun g. tib. tib.ch. tib.hind. tt. usu. va. vi.

abbreviation adjective archaic term Bhutanese language Chinese Communist Party Chinese (language) Chinese and English language Chinese and Tibetan language dative-locative case English language English and Tibetan language future tense genitive case hororific Hindi language idiom imperative tense instrumental case Koumintang (party) literally Mongolian language negative particle past tense poetic metaphor present tense People's Republic of China Russian somebody Sanskrit Sanskrit and Tibetan same as same as (but indicates this is a non-standard spelling) something the genre of government Tibetan Tibetan language Tibetan and Chinese language Tibetan and Hindi languge traditional Tibetan society usually active verb involuntary/inactive verb signifies the main lexical entry signifies the start of an example

Addendum and Errata to

The New Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan* (February 1, 2002)

*This Addendum will be updated approximately every two months.

qq^-c$- // 1. sm. q^c-Øen-. 2. a kind of spindle (with an x-shaped top) for spinning thread; va.—ex(e.

Nœc( -l^- // shung. the daily inspection round made late at night by government officials at the Tsuglakhang and Ramoche Temples in Lhasa. They shout out very loudly asking the

Tsuglakhang's sweepers if they are at their post ; va.—v*]- to respond "yes" to this call

( -l^- inspection. (by the sweepers); va.—zeC-( to go to make the Nœc

w„e-[}-# w-d- // bloody (for suppression, oppression) ¶ nC#[-el^r-e#n-Âf-Nø(]-„(f-Nœ(c-dX*[-fw]-h·c-„e-[}#w-dz#-[}e-e](]-dXn-a-c*[-

The government suppressed the demonstrators in a

violent/bloodily manner (with bloodshed).

„e-[}-# dC-( d- // sm. „e-[}-# w-d-. w*-d;r- // 2. lucky, fortunate. page 1

ee(-‰X-^ h·c-‰X-^ f*[-a- // 2. having no feelings/ opinions about sth. e(-xr-nC[# -u$n- // the post-1978 relaxation policy regarding classifying people as class enemies.

eC-# el(e- // a slice cut by a knife. eCr^ -c#v-c#v- // sm. eCr^ -b-[([-a(-. eCr( -Nå-#≈ // mayor. eC-˚ v(e- // ex-monk, monk who has lost his celibacy. eC-˚ enc- // new monk. E√[-gf- // sm. o(e-gf-. [e^]-v$[- // winter fertilizer. fe(-pe-zd$[- // 2. va. to find one's own way of subsisting/ living. fe(-zp%f-‰Xe- // va. to hide one's head under the bedding/ blanket. ‰X-q(- // leather flap hanging down from saddle on which thighs rest. ‰X-fe(-”^r- // va. a term used in Kham to convey fighting/ revolting against the Chinese [Lit. hit the Chinese on the head]. page 2

‰X-^ Nø[( - // upper part of the stomach. ‰X-^ f-v$e- // vi. to have intestines come out (due to a wound). N´e^ -c- // a person bent over from deformity. tdt(n-y*]-d;(-eC-˚ // the "Big Machinery (Repair) Factory" in Lhasa. V†en-;c- // an iron ladle used for measuring tsamba in tt. yCORRECTION:

yr-sdn- to yr-sd- .

CORRECTION:

yr-zdCn- // rice used to make yr-.

yr-fv- // a blanket used to cover fermenting chang to keep it warm. y$-h-z[*fn- // va. to dip a religious image (h-h-) hanging on a sting into a stream as a form of religious practice (the water carries the prayer).

uu-ŒXr-Nåen-ŒXr- // a diet of plain tsamba and black tea. u-s(en- // 1. salary in tea. 2. a position in the tt. army in charge of salary distributions in tea. page 3

zu#e-Ø*]-cd-vn-y(n-a-[}e- // a religious person is better than the best lay person. ii*-d-Vøn( -dtn- // sm. Nœ-^ i*-zw(c-dtn-. oØ-z[*[- // chasing/ galloping after sb. on horseback; va.—eo(r-. Vø-Ø(en-h·en-y$r- // person in charge of looking after and supervising class enemies (who were supposed to be reforming their thoughts).

Nø]( -Ìf- // tsamba lent to peasants in fall. Nød( n-V“]- // 2. person who cuts coprses in sky burials. pfp(r-f-z[([-a- // sm. Vø-Nørn-r]-a-. [[-x([-f#- // all the people living in a rural area as opposed to just those who received a share of land at the time of land division/ decollectivization.

[c-y-lv-r(- // the lv-r(- in charge of signal flags in the tt. army. [c-l(- // yogurt made from buttermilk.

page 4

[}e^ -dt$-„v-x(v- // release from tax obligations to one's lord when one passes the age of sixty.

[}r^ -Nœ-≈ n*c- // monk and lay officials (of tt. government). e[^r-c#v- // a wooden log. f[*v-bv- // bandolier (of bullets). z[^c-f- // a kind of flannel like f(-v-zdXr# -. 2. sm. ]c-eo(r-. z[*fn-[frn-ve-z∑*c- // a certificate that people over 18 receive to indicate they are eligible to vote. CORRECTION:

z[}-# Ì[-l^-n- // information desk.

z[}]* -zyc- // sm. Øe-ac-. ”(-b#r- // abbr. stone mason and carpenter. ”(-b#r-Nå-#≈ a- // abbr. the association of stone masons and carpenters (in tt.). V“r-r#-V“r# -r#- // 2. hesitating/ not making a decision about doing sth. ¶ w(-]r-[^-v(e-[r-„(f-v-zeC-( ei#n-pe-f-y([-dc-V“r-r#-V“#r-r#-dXn-]n-dN“[-dle

He couldn't decide whether to go home or go

to the market and was (staying) hesitating.

V“r# -we- // an army unit in tt. comprised of 25 soldiers. page 5

N“e^ -yr- // the "consoling" beer brought to the household of someone who has died. ]]e-h-”v- // vi. to have ink bleed (when written on paper). aae-ae-a$e-a$e-dX[* -f-dt$e- // not letting people raise their heads, suppressing people. ae-g°-dX[* -xn-f*[-a- // to be under someone's thumb/power. aen-'^e- // scraps of leather. Nå[(≈ -a-N√e( - // vi. to behave wrongly, to behave opposite of what is asked or is correct. ss-el#n- // 2. house and land (inheritable) ¶ s-f-eC(r-Ë*n-sC^e-e^-[*n-s-el#n-‰X^]-zj‹]-dX*[f-p%d-a-c*[After the parents died, the child was not able to continue to hold (inherit) on to the land and house.

s$-f*[- // sleeveless (dress). s$-x([- // dress with sleeves. s(-lv- // male plasterer. sX-# ve-]r-zdCv* - // member of an organization having secret relations with outsiders. CORRECTION: replace

sX-# ve-]r-c$v- with sX-# [eC-]r-c$v-. page 6

dCORRECTION:

dc-f#-y([- // sm. dc-f-y([-ac-.

CORRECTION:

dc-f*[- // sm. dc-f-y([-ac-.

dXe^ -dle-a-z[}-a(- // saying or doing sth. that is appropriate or that exactly fits the situation. [d$en-y$- // water given to a person at the time of death. [dXc-v$[- // manure used on fields in summer. [dXc-v$[-N´r-v-[e^]-v$[- // doing sth. that has no benefit, a useless act [Lit. putting winter manure on top of summer manure].

zdCe( -sXe^ - // abbr. 1. a rich nomad. 2. the class of rich nomads. ffc-s(en- // 1. salary in butter. 2. a position in the tt. army in charge of salary distributions in butter.

f#-n*c-ze(-a- // name of the Tashilhunpo government official in Lhasa who is in charge of the Tashilhunpo serfs/ subjects living in Lhasa.

f#e-cn- // a blindfold; va.—ex(e; vi.—e(]. f#e-f#-[e(n-Vøe-w^r-Vø-e#-f*[- // not taking care of sb. ¶ sC-^ e^-[*-h·n-cr-e#-s-f-›n-zw(en-v-f#e-f#[e(n-Vøe-w^r-Vø-e#-f*[-a-c*[-

Those children do not take care of their old parents.

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f#e-f#-[e(n-Vøe-w^r-Vø-f#-[e(n- // no hope of getting sth. ¶ d;(-a-h·-›n-x(v-dXn-Ë*n-d;(-eC-˚ [*c-f#ef#-[e(n-Vøe-w^r-f#-[e(n-a-c*[-

After the workers retired they had no hope of getting anything

from their factory.

f(-lv- // female plasterer. [fe-E√- // salary/ wage paid to a soldier (by the tt. government or by a military estate holder to the person hired to serve as tax soldier from that estate). CORRECTION:

[fe-d[e- // family that holds a military estate for which a tax soldier

must be provided.

f*-f[z-c#r-f[z- // rifle. [fe-[(]-dqe-z[(f-,$-x(]-Vµ]-wr- // military control commission. [frn-u- // tea given to servants. [fc-zp(f- // be/ get dizzy or light-headed; vi.—‰Xe. Ïn-a- // person who is injured/ wounded. ggK-q^-b- // sm. q^-b-. g$e-o- // sm. Øe-h$en-. egr-zeCf- // river bank. page 8

Ì-cn- // burlap/ hemp bag, gunny sack. hh-b*v- // thermos flask. h·r-y*-d- // (class of) large-scale traders. h·r-zdCr# -d- // (class of) middle-level traders. h·r-y$r-d- // (class of) small/ petty traders. kk-w-p#en-hen- // mending the cracks and drain pipes on a roof; va.—dX[* -. lldn-w(rn- // part of the class/ category of servant. CORRECTION:

lv-[a(]- // plasterer.

l*[-a-l*[-a- // the stronger, the more capable, the braver ¶ b(e-w-ei#n-W#-f#-l*[-a-l*[-a-[*-h·-zj‹rc*n-dor-n(r- The stronger and braver from both groups fought each other.

l(e-z[^c- // mashed potatoes. l(c-zR(en-zp*d- // sm. l(c-z[}[^ -zp*d-. l(v-zuen- // va. to put down/ quell an uprising or disturbance. page 9

el^r-f*[-c#r-v$en- // anarchism. ;;#-v#r-N´f-dben- // 1. inferior planks used for packing. 2. packing crate/ box. ;(-b*- // a type of cream. ;(r-„v- // 2. sm. zdf-h·r-. e;#-bv- // a necklace of e;#-. d;z-wr- // restaurant. xx([-a(-f*[-a(c-dor- [c-d-sXc^ -w^c-dor- // doing sth. that acts to destroy sth. one has [Lit. destroying what one has, making buttermilk into whey].

ccr-l*]- // loyalty or love toward one's own group, country, etc. vve-h·[- // estimating the weight of sth. by holding it in one's hand; va.—dX[* -. ve-h·[-p#e-a(- // sb. who is expert at estimating the weight of sth. by holding it in one's hand; va.—dX*[-.

vf-y$r- // small road/ path. page 10

v$r-‰Xe^ n- // sm. vf-zeC(-‰X^en-. v(-fu$e-x#e-h[- // final exam. N√d( -[W#v-x#e-h[- // midterm exam. bb-ŒXr-f // a piece/ section of meat equal to 1/27th of a sheep carcass (in tt.). br-[qCe( - // churning whole milk to make butter (i.e., using whole milk without first removing yogurt); va.—‰Xe.

b#-‰Xc^ -f#-Nœeç -az#-c$-we- // suicide unit/ group. eb#]-Ë*z-# vn-fw]- // sm. [fXv-dz#-vn-fw]-. nn-e]n-W#-f*-f[z- // giving a party or meal to a friend or relative when they visit or pass through the area where one lives [Lit. a gun shot from the local area]; va.—‰Xe.

ne-ne-v- // quietly, secretly. n(e-dben- // sawing planks; va.—‰Xe. nC[# -u$n-e(-xr- // sm. e(-xr-nC[# -u$n-. nC[# -u$n-Vµe^ -eo(r- // sm. e(-xr-nC[# -u$n-. page 11

nC-( f(- // sm. nC-^ f(mVµe^ -eo(r-nC[# -u$n- // sm. e(-xr-nC[# -u$n-.

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