‹ Back to the text
dukkhehi
dukkha
masc instr pl of dukkha (adj); nt instr pl of dukkha (adj); masc abl pl of dukkha (adj); nt abl pl of dukkha (adj); …
- uncomfortable; unpleasant
- painful
- discomfort; suffering; unease; unpleasantness; something unsatisfactory; trouble; a bummer; stress
- pain; physical discomfort
Built from
- du(r) — prefix · bad, hard
Intensifying prefix meaning 'gone wrong' or 'difficult'. Cognate with Greek dys-.
- kha — root · space, cavity
From √khan 'dig, hollow out'. The literal sense 'cramped space' underlies the meaning 'suffering' as a state of confinement or dis-ease.
- -ehi — ending · instrumental/ablative plural
Instrumental and ablative case endings in plural; these forms answer 'by/through what suffering?' or 'from what suffering?' in the context of dependent origination and the Four Noble Truths.
Etymology. du(r)- 'bad, hard, gone wrong' (cognate with Greek dys- in dysfunction, dystopia) + kha 'space, cavity, opening' (from √khan 'dig'). The root image is a cavity or space that is cramped, narrow, hard to move in—suffering as confinement or unease in the body and mind. Sanskrit duḥkha.