thangka

T1H4A1N1G2K5A1

noun

A painted or embroidered linen banner, usually depicting Buddhist themes, originating in Tibet; a prayer flag.

UncommonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounthangka (plural thangka or thangkas)

plural thangkas · alternative tanka · alternative tangka · alternative thanka

  1. A painted or embroidered linen banner, usually depicting Buddhist themes, originating in Tibet; a prayer flag.

    When the talks by Lama Thubten Yeshe on Buddhist and Christian meditation were published, the text included a reproduction of a Christian icon and a Tibetan thangka.

    1996, Gerald Christianson, Thomas M. Izbicki, editors, Nicholas of Cusa on Christ and the Church, BRILL, →ISBN, page 265
    1 more example

    Like so many things in Nepal, thangka—Tibetan ritual paintings—are now cranked out for the tourist market, yet the best ones remain undiminished by commercialization, and even the cheapest can't hide the dense Buddhist symbolism inherent in the form.

    2002, David Reed, The Rough Guide to Nepal, Rough Guides, →ISBN, page 70

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Tibetanཐང་ཀ
  2. Englishthangka

Borrowed from Tibetan ཐང་ཀ (thang ka, literally “painting”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 唐卡
  • 唐卡 (tángkǎ)painted or embroidered linen banner
Finnish thangka
  • thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Polish thangka
  • thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Vietnamese thangka
  • thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Cite this entry
APA

thangka. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka

MLA

“thangka.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thangka,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka.

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