अस्ति
ásti/ɐ́s.ti/
The English phrase "is" is translated in Sanskrit as अस्ति (ásti).
The word अस्ति is a verb used to state that something exists or has a particular quality.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form अस्ति is the third person singular, present indicative active form of the root 'as'. While अस्ति means 'is' (singular), सन्ति is the corresponding form for 'are' (plural). To say 'I am', you use the first person singular form अस्मि instead of अस्ति. To say 'you are' (singular), the form changes to असि.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of अस्ति is /ɐ́s.ti/ (ásti). It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In many Sanskrit sentences, the word अस्ति is omitted entirely. It is common to express 'the flower is red' by simply saying 'the flower red'.
- Sanskrit allows for a 'negative' version of 'is' using the prefix न, turning अस्ति into नास्ति. This single word effectively means 'there is not' or 'does not exist'.
- The Sanskrit word अस्ति is a direct ancient relative of the English word 'is'. Both descend from the same root word used by speakers of Proto-Indo-European thousands of years ago.
Examples in context
- भारतदेशस्य राजधानी नवदेहली अस्ति।The capital of India is New Delhi.This sentence uses अस्ति to identify the capital of a country.Tatoeba #3632538 by taro, translation #487564 by minshirui
- "रेशम फिरिरी" इति नेपालीगीतं अत्यन्तं प्रसिद्धम् अस्ति।"Resham Firiri" is a very popular Nepali song.This sentence uses अस्ति to describe the popularity of a song.Tatoeba #11858218 by taro, translation #11858214 by taro
- जलं अस्तिThere is water.
- तस्य कार्यं शक्यमेवHis work is indeed possible.
- तत्र एकः वृक्षः अस्ति।tatra ekaḥ vṛkṣaḥ asti.There is a tree there.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Aryan and Kavya are looking for a book in a library.
- आर्यन Aryanकिं पुस्तकम् अत्र अस्ति?kim pustakam atra asti?Is the book here?
- काव्या Kavyaआम्, पुस्तकम् अत्रैव अस्ति।ām, pustakam atraiva asti.Yes, the book is right here.
- आर्यन Aryanएतत् उत्तमम् अस्ति।etat uttamam asti.This is great.
- काव्या Kavyaइदानीम् पठतु।idānīm paṭhatu.Read it now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry अस्ति, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries अस्ति, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
