साधु

See also: साधू, सुधा, सुध, सीधा, संधि, and सीधे

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit साधु (sādhú).

Pronunciation

(Standard Hindi) IPA^(key): /sɑː.d̪ʱuː/, [säː.d̪ʱuː]

Noun

साधु • (sādhu) m

(Hinduism) a sadhu; monk

Declension

Declension of *साधु* (masc u-stem)
	singular	plural
direct	साधु sādhu	साधु sādhu
oblique	साधु sādhu	साधुओं sādhuõ
vocative	साधु sādhu	साधुओ sādhuo

References

McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “साधु”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

sādhu (Latin script)
𑀲𑀸𑀥𑀼 (Brahmi script)
সাধু (Bengali script)
සාධු (Sinhalese script)
သာဓု or သႃꩪု (Burmese script)
สาธุ (Thai script)
ᩈᩣᨵᩩ (Tai Tham script)
ສາຘຸ (Lao script)
សាធុ (Khmer script)
𑄥𑄂𑄙𑄪 (Chakma script)

Adjective

साधु

Devanagari script form of sādhu

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

সাধু (Assamese script)
ᬲᬵᬥᬸ (Balinese script)
সাধু (Bengali script)
𑰭𑰯𑰠𑰲 (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀲𑀸𑀥𑀼 (Brahmi script)
သာဓု (Burmese script)
સાધુ (Gujarati script)
ਸਾਧੁ (Gurmukhi script)
𑌸𑌾𑌧𑍁 (Grantha script)
ꦱꦴꦣꦸ (Javanese script)
𑂮𑂰𑂡𑂳 (Kaithi script)
ಸಾಧು (Kannada script)
សាធុ (Khmer script)
ສາຘຸ (Lao script)
സാധു (Malayalam script)
ᠰᠠ᠎᠊ᠠᢡᡠ (Manchu script)
𑘭𑘰𑘠𑘳 (Modi script)
ᠰᠠᢗᢑᠾᠤ (Mongolian script)
𑧍𑧑𑧀𑧔 (Nandinagari script)
𑐳𑐵𑐢𑐸 (Newa script)
ସାଧୁ (Odia script)
ꢱꢵꢤꢸ (Saurashtra script)
𑆱𑆳𑆣𑆶 (Sharada script)
𑖭𑖯𑖠𑖲 (Siddham script)
සාධු (Sinhalese script)
𑪁𑩛𑩮𑩒 (Soyombo script)
𑚨𑚭𑚜𑚰 (Takri script)
ஸாது⁴ (Tamil script)
సాధు (Telugu script)
สาธุ (Thai script)
སཱ་དྷུ (Tibetan script)
𑒮𑒰𑒡𑒳 (Tirhuta script)
𑨰𑨊𑨜𑨃 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *sáHdʰuš. The Sanskrit root is साध् (sādh).

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /sɑː.dʱú/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /s̪ɑː.d̪ʱu/

Adjective

सा॒धु • (sādhú) stem

straight, right
leading straight to a goal, hitting the mark, unerring (as an arrow or thunderbolt)
straightened, not entangled (as threads)
well-disposed, kind, willing, obedient
successful, effective, efficient (as a hymn or prayer)
ready, prepared (as soma)
peaceful, secure
powerful, excellent, good for (locative) or towards (locative, genitive, dative, accusative, with प्रति (prati), अनु (anu), अभि (abhi), परि (pari), or compound)
fit, proper, right
good, virtuous, honourable, righteous
well-born, noble, of honourable or respectable descent
correct, pure
classical (as language)

Declension

Masculine u-stem declension of सा॒धु
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	सा॒धुः (sādhúḥ)	सा॒धू (sādhū́)	सा॒धवः॑ (sādhávaḥ)
accusative	सा॒धुम् (sādhúm)	सा॒धू (sādhū́)	सा॒धून् (sādhū́n)
instrumental	सा॒धुना॑ (sādhúnā) सा॒ध्वा¹ (sādhvā́¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभिः॑ (sādhúbhiḥ)
dative	सा॒धवे॑ (sādháve) सा॒ध्वे¹ (sādhvé¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
ablative	सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
genitive	सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धू॒नाम् (sādhūnā́m)
locative	सा॒धौ (sādháu)	सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धुषु॑ (sādhúṣu)
vocative	साधो॑ (sā́dho)	साधू॑ (sā́dhū)	साध॑वः (sā́dhavaḥ)

¹Vedic

Feminine ī-stem declension of सा॒ध्वी
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	सा॒ध्वी (sādhvī́)	सा॒ध्व्यौ॑ (sādhvyàu) सा॒ध्वी¹ (sādhvī́¹)	सा॒ध्व्यः॑ (sādhvyàḥ) सा॒ध्वीः¹ (sādhvī́ḥ¹)
accusative	सा॒ध्वीम् (sādhvī́m)	सा॒ध्व्यौ॑ (sādhvyàu) सा॒ध्वी¹ (sādhvī́¹)	सा॒ध्वीः (sādhvī́ḥ)
instrumental	सा॒ध्व्या (sādhvyā́)	सा॒ध्वीभ्या॑म् (sādhvī́bhyām)	सा॒ध्वीभिः॑ (sādhvī́bhiḥ)
dative	सा॒ध्व्यै (sādhvyái)	सा॒ध्वीभ्या॑म् (sādhvī́bhyām)	सा॒ध्वीभ्यः॑ (sādhvī́bhyaḥ)
ablative	सा॒ध्व्याः (sādhvyā́ḥ) सा॒ध्व्यै² (sādhvyái²)	सा॒ध्वीभ्या॑म् (sādhvī́bhyām)	सा॒ध्वीभ्यः॑ (sādhvī́bhyaḥ)
genitive	सा॒ध्व्याः (sādhvyā́ḥ) सा॒ध्व्यै² (sādhvyái²)	सा॒ध्व्योः (sādhvyóḥ)	सा॒ध्वीना॑म् (sādhvī́nām)
locative	सा॒ध्व्याम् (sādhvyā́m)	सा॒ध्व्योः (sādhvyóḥ)	सा॒ध्वीषु॑ (sādhvī́ṣu)
vocative	साध्वि॑ (sā́dhvi)	साध्व्यौ॑ (sā́dhvyau) साध्वी॑¹ (sā́dhvī¹)	साध्व्यः॑ (sā́dhvyaḥ) साध्वीः॑¹ (sā́dhvīḥ¹)

¹Vedic
²Brāhmaṇas

Neuter u-stem declension of सा॒धु
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	सा॒धु (sādhú)	सा॒धुनी॑ (sādhúnī)	सा॒धूनि॑ (sādhū́ni) सा॒धु¹ (sādhú¹) सा॒धू¹ (sādhū́¹)
accusative	सा॒धु (sādhú)	सा॒धुनी॑ (sādhúnī)	सा॒धूनि॑ (sādhū́ni) सा॒धु¹ (sādhú¹) सा॒धू¹ (sādhū́¹)
instrumental	सा॒धुना॑ (sādhúnā) सा॒ध्वा¹ (sādhvā́¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभिः॑ (sādhúbhiḥ)
dative	सा॒धुने॑ (sādhúne) सा॒धवे॑ (sādháve) सा॒ध्वे¹ (sādhvé¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
ablative	सा॒धुनः॑ (sādhúnaḥ) सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
genitive	सा॒धुनः॑ (sādhúnaḥ) सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुनोः॑ (sādhúnoḥ) सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धू॒नाम् (sādhūnā́m)
locative	सा॒धुनि॑ (sādhúni) सा॒धौ (sādháu)	सा॒धुनोः॑ (sādhúnoḥ) सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धुषु॑ (sādhúṣu)
vocative	साधु॑ (sā́dhu) साधो॑ (sā́dho)	साधु॑नी (sā́dhunī)	साधू॑नि (sā́dhūni) साधु॑¹ (sā́dhu¹) साधू॑¹ (sā́dhū¹)

¹Vedic

Adverb

सा॒धु • (sādhú)

straight, aright, regularly
well, rightly, skilfully, properly, agreeably
sādhú √vṛt (+ locative) — to behave well towards

sādhú √kṛ — to set eight

sādhú √ās — to be well or at ease
well, greatly, in a high degree
assuredly, indeed

Interjection

साधु • (sādhú)

good! well done! bravo!
well, enough of, away with (+instrumental)!
well come on! (+imperative or 1. pr.)

Noun

सा॒धु • (sādhú) stem, m

a good or virtuous or honest man
a holy man, saint, sage, seer; a sadhu
(Jainism) a जिन (jina) or deified saint
a jeweller
a merchant, money-lender, usurer
(grammar) a derivative or inflected noun
a saintly woman
a kind of root (= मेदा (medā))

Declension

Masculine u-stem declension of सा॒धु
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	सा॒धुः (sādhúḥ)	सा॒धू (sādhū́)	सा॒धवः॑ (sādhávaḥ)
accusative	सा॒धुम् (sādhúm)	सा॒धू (sādhū́)	सा॒धून् (sādhū́n)
instrumental	सा॒धुना॑ (sādhúnā) सा॒ध्वा¹ (sādhvā́¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभिः॑ (sādhúbhiḥ)
dative	सा॒धवे॑ (sādháve) सा॒ध्वे¹ (sādhvé¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
ablative	सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
genitive	सा॒धोः (sādhóḥ) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धू॒नाम् (sādhūnā́m)
locative	सा॒धौ (sādháu)	सा॒ध्वोः (sādhvóḥ)	सा॒धुषु॑ (sādhúṣu)
vocative	साधो॑ (sā́dho)	साधू॑ (sā́dhū)	साध॑वः (sā́dhavaḥ)

¹Vedic

Noun

सा॒धु • (sādhú) stem, n

the good or right or honest, a good etc. thing or act
साध्व् अस्ति (sādhv asti) (+dative) — it is well with

sādhu-√man (+ accusative) — to consider a thing good, approve
gentleness, kindness, benevolence

Declension

Neuter u-stem declension of सा॒धु
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	सा॒धु (sādhú)	सा॒धुनी॑ (sādhúnī)	सा॒धूनि॑ (sādhū́ni) सा॒धु¹ (sādhú¹) सा॒धू¹ (sādhū́¹)
accusative	सा॒धु (sādhú)	सा॒धुनी॑ (sādhúnī)	सा॒धूनि॑ (sādhū́ni) सा॒धु¹ (sādhú¹) सा॒धू¹ (sādhū́¹)
instrumental	सा॒धुना॑ (sādhúnā) सा॒ध्वा¹ (sādhvā́¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभिः॑ (sādhúbhiḥ)
dative	सा॒धुने॑ (sādhúne) सा॒धवे॑¹ (sādháve¹) सा॒ध्वे¹ (sādhvé¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
ablative	सा॒धुनः॑ (sādhúnaḥ) सा॒धोः¹ (sādhóḥ¹) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुभ्या॑म् (sādhúbhyām)	सा॒धुभ्यः॑ (sādhúbhyaḥ)
genitive	सा॒धुनः॑ (sādhúnaḥ) सा॒धोः¹ (sādhóḥ¹) सा॒ध्वः¹ (sādhváḥ¹)	सा॒धुनोः॑ (sādhúnoḥ) सा॒ध्वोः¹ (sādhvóḥ¹)	सा॒धू॒नाम् (sādhūnā́m)
locative	सा॒धुनि॑ (sādhúni) सा॒धौ¹ (sādháu¹)	सा॒धुनोः॑ (sādhúnoḥ) सा॒ध्वोः¹ (sādhvóḥ¹)	सा॒धुषु॑ (sādhúṣu)
vocative	साधु॑ (sā́dhu) साधो॑ (sā́dho)	साधु॑नी (sā́dhunī)	साधू॑नि (sā́dhūni) साधु॑¹ (sā́dhu¹) साधू॑¹ (sā́dhū¹)

¹Vedic

Descendants

Ashokan Prakrit: 𑀲𑀸𑀥𑀼 (sādhu)
- Ardhamagadhi Prakrit: 𑀲𑀸𑀳𑀼 (sāhu)
- Magadhi Prakrit: 𑀰𑀸𑀳𑀼 (śāhu)
  - Assamese: সাউ (xau)
  - Bengali: সাউ (śau), সাহা (śaha)
- Maharastri Prakrit: 𑀲𑀸𑀳𑀼 (sāhu)
  - Hindustani: sāh, sāhū
    Hindi: साह, साहू
    Urdu: صاح (sāh), ساہُو (sāhū)
  - Marathi: साव (sāv)
  - Nepali: साहू (sāhū)
  - Punjabi:
    Gurmukhi script: ਸਾਊ (sāū)
    Shahmukhi script: ساؤُ (sāū)
  - Sindhi:
    Arabic script: سَائُو (sāū)
    Devanagari script: साऊ
- Sauraseni Prakrit: 𑀲𑀸𑀳𑀼 (sāhu)
  - Hindustani: sāh, sāhū
    Hindi: साह, साहू
    Urdu: صاح (sāh), ساہُو (sāhū)
  - Marathi: साव (sāv)
  - Nepali: साहू (sāhū)
  - Punjabi:
    Gurmukhi script: ਸਾਊ (sāū)
    Shahmukhi script: ساؤُ (sāū)
  - Sindhi:
    Arabic script: سَائُو (sāū)
    Devanagari script: साऊ
Pali: sādhu
- → Burmese: သာဓု (sadhu.)
- → Shan: သႃႇထူႉ (sàa thṵ̂u)
- → Thai: สาธุ (sǎa-tú)
- → Chinese: 善哉 (shànzāi) (calque)
→ English: sadhu
→ Gujarati: સાધુ (sādhu)
→ Hindi: साधु (sādhu)
→ Kannada: ಸಾಧು (sādhu)
→ Marathi: साधू (sādhū)
→ Malay: sadu
- Indonesian: sadu (“best”)
→ Old Javanese: sādhu (“good, virtuous; sadhu”)
- Javanese: ꦱꦢꦸ (sadu)
- → Balinese: ᬲᬵᬥᬸ (sadu)
- → Indonesian: sadu (“sadhu”) (semantic loan)
→ Tamil: சாது (cātu)

References

“साधु॑” in Carl Cappeller, A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Based upon the St. Petersburg Lexicons, Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, 1891, →OCLC, page 612, column 2.
Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893), “साधु”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press, page 346
Monier Williams (1899), “Sādhú”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1201, column 2.