sandhi

S1A1N1D2H4I1
UK/ˈsændi/UK/ˈsʌndi/US/ˈsɑndi/India, Nepal, South Asia/s̪ɐn̪.d̪ʱí/

noun

Any of a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries, such as the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words.

RareScrabble 10

Meanings

nounsandhi (countable and uncountable, plural sandhis)

plural sandhis · alternative saṃdhi · alternative obsolete sundhi

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesAny of a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries, such as the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words.

    The rules on sandhi in Pâli may be divided into rules on vowel-sandhi, and rules on mixed sandhi where a vowel and a consonant are concerned. Consonantal sandhi does not occur in Pâli.

    1884, Edward Müller, A Simplified Grammar of the Pali Language, Trübner & Co., page 59
    1 more example

    Mixed sandhi has two divisions, viz. when a word ending in a vowel is followed by a word beginning with a consonant, and when a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word beginning with a vowel. Cases of mixed sandhi are very few, and in the second division are limited to the changes of anusvâra before a vowel.

    1879, R. C. Childers, “On Sandhi in Pali”, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, New Series, Volume 11, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, page 101

Origin

  1. Sanskritसं॒धि
  2. Englishsandhi

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit सं॒धि (saṃdhí, literally “junction; union”). Partial piecewise doublet of synthesis and synth.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سَنْدْهِي, وَصْل
  • سَنْدْهِي (sandhī)phonological process
  • وَصْل (waṣl)phonological process
Bengali সন্ধি
  • সন্ধি (śondhi)phonological process
Chinese Mandarin 連音 /连音
  • 連音 /连音 (liányīn)phonological process
Danish sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
Dutch sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
Finnish sandhi-ilmiö, sandhi
  • sandhi-ilmiöphonological process
  • sandhiphonological process
  • rajailmiöphonological process
French sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
German Sandhi
  • Sandhiphonological process
Hindi सन्धि
  • सन्धि (sandhi)phonological process
Hungarian szandhi
  • szandhiphonological process
Indonesian sandi
  • sandiphonological process
Italian sandhi, legamento
  • sandhiphonological process
  • legamentophonological process
Japanese 連音
  • 連音 (ren'on)phonological process
Korean 연음
  • 연음 (yeoneum)phonological process
Polish sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
Portuguese sândi
  • sândiphonological process
Punjabi ਸੰਧੀ
  • ਸੰਧੀ (sandhī)phonological process
Russian са́ндхи
  • са́ндхи (sándxi)phonological process
Spanish sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
Swedish sandhi
  • sandhiphonological process
Tamil புணர்ச்சி, சந்தி
  • புணர்ச்சி (puṇarcci)phonological process
  • சந்தி (canti)phonological process
Thai สนธิ
  • สนธิ (sǒn-tí)phonological process
Urdu سندھی
  • سندھی (sandhī)phonological process

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sandhi

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sandhi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandhi

MLA

“sandhi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandhi. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sandhi,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandhi.

Source: sandhi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.