Pāḷi Grammars
ES

Kaccāyana-Byākaraṇaṃ · chapter 1 of 8

§21

Ivaṇṇo yaṃ navā

Occasionally, the letter ‘i’ [becomes] ‘y’.

Text and translation

Read in the chapter →

21. 21. Ivaṇṇo yaṃ navā (51)

[I-vaṇṇo + yaṃ + navā = 3 words]

Pubbo ivaṇṇo sare pare yakāraṃ pappoti navā.

Paṭisanthāravuty assa (Khu. i, 67), sabbā vity ānubhūyate.

Navā ti kasmā? Pañcah' aṅgehi samannāgato (Vin. v, 343), muttacāgī anuddhato.

Occasionally, the letter ‘i’ [becomes] ‘y’.
When a vowel follows, the previous letter ‘i’ (or ‘ī’) occasionally becomes ‘y’.
Examples: “Paṭisanthāravuty assa”, “sabbā vity ānubhūyate”.
Examples [with formation sequence]
Paṭisanthāravuty assa
Sequence
  1. paṭisanthāravutti assa
  2. paṭisanthāravutt i assa (§10)
  3. paṭisanthāravutt y assa (§21)
  4. paṭisanthāravut y assa (by “ca” in §41)
  5. paṭisanthāravutyassa (§11)
  6. paṭisanthāravuty assa (ME)
Vity ānubhūyate
Sequence
  1. vitti anubhūyate
  2. vitt i anubhūyate (§10)
  3. vitt y anubhūyate (§21)
  4. vit y anubhūyate (by “ca” in §41)
  5. vit y ānubhūyate (§25)
  6. vityānubhūyate (§11)
  7. vity ānubhūyate (ME)

Why say “occasionally”? [To prevent the operation of this rule in the following examples] “Pañcah’ aṅgehi samannāgato”, “muttacāgī anuddhato”.

Counter-example
Pañcah’ aṅgehi
Sequence
  1. pañcahi aṅgehi
  2. pañcah i aṅgehi (§10)
  3. pañcah aṅgehi (§12)
  4. pañcahaṅgehi (§11)
  5. pañcah’ aṅgehi (ME)

In the example “muttacāgī anuddhato”, there is the possibility of ‘ī’ becoming ‘y’ but the word “navā” (“occasionally”) in this sutta prevents the operation of this rule.

Without the footnotes: they are on the chapter card.

Where it is cited

Drafts

Ask about §21

Questions are asked from the analysis following Visuddhāyuṃ (draft): the answer uses this sutta's row and the project's sources. It is for enrolled students and requires signing in.

Ask about §21 →

Pāḷi text and English translation by Bhikkhu Nandisena; edition, apparatus and glossary by the Instituto de Estudios Buddhistas Hispano (IEBH). This material may be reproduced for personal use and distributed free of charge. Copyright © 2026 IEBH. Published under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21948010.