Tibetan Print Dictionaries


General Use

  • Bkra shis Tshe ring & Li’u te cu, 扎西次仁 & 刘德军, eds. English-Tibetan-Chinese dictionary = Dbyin Bod Rgya gsum shan sbyar gyi tshig mdzod. 英藏汉对照词. Beijing: Min zu chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian jing xiao, 1988.
        Useful for reverse look-up.
  • Dpal ldan bkra shis, ed. Bod Dbyin tshig mdzod = Tibetan-English dictionary. Gansu : Gansu Nationalities Press, 1999.
        Written in Amdo, so may contain dialect terms.

Historic Dictionaries

(published in the late 19th- early 20th centuries or in various locales)

  • Csomo de Körös, Alexander. Essay towards a dictionary, Tibetan and English. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. 1834. Organized by first Tibetan letter (not root letter).
        Created in Ladakh (and possibly also Sikkim).
  • Jäschke, H. A Tibetan-English Dictionary, with special reference to the prevailing dialects (to which is added an English-Tibetan vocabulary). London. 1881.
        Created in Ladakh.
  • Desgodins, Auguste. Dictionnaire thibetain-latin-français. 1899.
        Created in Khams, near Batang.
  • Sarat Chandra Das. A Tibetan-English Dictionary, with Sanskrit Synonyms. Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. 1902.
  • Lama Dawasamdup Kazi (Zla-ba-bsam-'grub, Kazi; 1868-1922). An English-Tibetan dictionary, containing a vocabulary of approximately twenty thousand words with their Tibetan equivalents. Calcutta, The University, 1919. PL3637 .Z6
  • Charles A. Bell. English Tibetan colloquial dictionary. 1920.
  • Original basis for the Bod Rgya tshig mdzod chen mo =Zang Han da ci dian (1985):
  • Zhang Xu [=Zhang Yisun], Zang Han jilun cihui. Hong Kong: Xichui wenhua yuan, 1937.
        A glossary, based on work started 1928 in Sichuan. Original held by Tuttle.
  • Zhang Xu [=Zhang Yisun], Han Zang yuhui. Chengdu: Xichui wenhua yuan, 1938.
        Another glossary. Original held by Tuttle.
  • Zhang Xu [=Zhang Yisun], Zang Han yiming da cihui, ([Chengdu]: Xichui wenhua yuan, 1939.
        First real Tibetan-Chinese dictionary. Original held by Tuttle.
  • Minoru Gō, ed. An Eastern Tibetan dictionary (revised) and A study of the Eastern Tibetan language, with special reference to the initial consonants. Okayama, Japan, 1954 [1943].
        Based on work done in Amdo.
  • Ngag dbang chos dar [Awang Quetaier]. A mdo kha skad tshig mdzo = A duo kuoyu cihui. Lanzhou, 1980.
  • Chos kyi grags pa. Dge bshes Chos kyi grags pas btsams pa'i brda dag ming tshig gsal ba = Gexi Quzha Zangwen cidian: Zang, Han duizhao. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang/ Minzu chubanshe, 1995 [1949].
        Compiled by a Buryat Mongol in 1946.

Tibetan Specialty Dictionaries

Medicine

  • Pasang Yoten. Dictionary of Tibetan Materia Medica. Motilal Banarsidas Publishers, 1998.
  • Tshe ring thag gcod & Tshe ring sgrol ma Drung ttsho (Tsering Thackchoe & Tsering Dolma Drungtso). Bod lugs sman rtsis kyi tshig mdzod Bod Dbyin shan sbyar. = Tibetan-English dictionary of Tibetan medicine and astrology. Dharamsala : Drungtso Publisher, 1999.

Food & Drink

  • Tshan chung (ed). Bod kyi nyer mkho' zas rigs tshig mdzod = Zang zu chang yong yin shi ci dian = Tibetan traditional food and drink dictionary. Zi-liṅ: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2000.

Honorifics

  • Rdo dgon gsang bdag rdo rje and Lhun par bstan ‘dzin lha ‘dzoms. Zhe sa’i lag deb blo gsar dga’ ston. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2002.
        Organized by literary Tibetan words (yig skad). Includes translations in table format for colloquial Tibetan (kha skad), honorific form (zhe sa), Chinese, and English.  Also includes the following appendices: 1) Example sentences in Tibetan, but organized by English words; and  2)  “A Brief Explanation of the Use of Honorific Address for Persons of Different Rank,” in Tibetan and English.

Verbs

  • Li yung khrang (Li Yingchang), ed. Bya tshig gtsig mdzod = Zangwen dongci cidian [Tibetan Verbs Dictionary]. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1988 [1993]. Ref: PL3637.T52 B93 1988b

Poetic Synonyms

  • Palkhang Lotsawa ; edited by G. Tharchin. Snyan ngag, 'dod pa blo gsal gzhon nu rnams la nye bar mkho ba mngon brjod pad dkar 'phreng ba: Śabdavidya = A collection of synonyms. Kalimpong : Tharchin, 1961.
  • Ngag dbang tshul khrims, Btsan lha. Brda dkrol gser gyi me long. Pe-cin : Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1997. Ref: PL3635 .B73 1997
        Note by Dan Martin: "Bstan-lha's is the very best thing there is for 12th-century vocabulary, among other things. Its strength is that it combines hundreds of glossary texts of all periods into one handy alphabetized dictionary. But it generally isn't much help with Amarakosha-type, which is to say Abhidhana[mngon-brjod]-type, poetic vocabulary." [See next entry for his recommendation.]
  • Rnam rgyal tshe ring. Bod yig mngon brjod gcig shes kun grol. Lanzhou: Kan su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1991.
         Note by Dan Martin: "There is nothing better than this for Abhidhana[mngon-brjod]-type, poetic vocabulary." This dictionary may thus also be helpful for understanding the poetic titles of works.

Tibetan Abbreviated Words

  • Rnam rgyal tshe ring. Bod yig skung yig phyogs sgrig. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1994. BQ133.M47 1988
        Pocket guide to dbus med abbreviations. Essential for reading manuscripts.
  • Shes rab, ed. Skung yig gsal byed nor bu'i me long. Pe-cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
        Much more extensive guide to dbus med abbreviations. Essential for reading manuscripts.

Homonyms

  • Tshe dbang rnam rgyal. Dag yig ma nor lam bzang/ Zang wen tong yin zi dian. Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1997. 
        Organized by root letter. Particularly useful for interpreting misspelled words.

Buddhist Terminology

  • Tsepak Rigzin. Nang don rig pa'i ming tshig Bod Dbyin shan sbyar = Tibetan-English dictionary of Buddhist terminology. Dharamsala : Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993. Ref: BQ130 .R5411 1993
  • Mgon po dbang rgyal. Chos kyi rnam grangs. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1988.
        Buddhist terminology on various aspects of Buddhism arranged in numerical enumeration (the two XX, the three XX, and so forth).
  • Bod Rgya nang don rig pa'i tshig mdzod. Chengdu : Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang. 1993. Ref: BQ130 .B63 1993.

C.V. Starr
East Asian Library

Address
300 Kent Hall
1140 Amsterdam Ave., M.C. 3901
New York, NY 10027

Telephone
(212) 854-4318

Fax
(212) 662-6286

E-mail
starr@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

Hours
view calendar