Standard Lemma guide

samsara

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /sʌmˈsɑɹə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH0 M S AA1 R AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

In Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some other eastern religions, the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth endured by human beings and all other mortal beings, and from which release is obtained by achieving the highest enlightenment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, lifestyle, philosophy, religion, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cycle

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit संसार (saṃsāra).

Across languages

Translations

43 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bengali: সংসার (śoṅśar) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Bhojpuri: संसार (sansār) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Burmese: သံသရာ (samsa.ra) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Chinese Cantonese: 輪迴 /轮回 (leon4 wui4) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輪迴 /轮回 (lúnhuí) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Esperanto: sansaro — cycle of reincarnation
  • Finnish: samsara — cycle of reincarnation
  • French: samsara — cycle of reincarnation
  • French: samsâra — cycle of reincarnation
  • Georgian: სამსარა (samsara) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Georgian: სანსარა (sansara) — cycle of reincarnation
  • German: Samsara — cycle of reincarnation
  • Greek: σαμσάρα (samsára) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Hindi: संसार (sansār) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Hungarian: szamszára — cycle of reincarnation
  • Hungarian: szanszára — cycle of reincarnation
  • Irish: samsara — cycle of reincarnation
  • Japanese: 輪廻 (rinne) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Khmer: សង្សារ (sɑɑsɑngsaa) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Korean: 윤회 (yunhoe) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Korean: 생사유전 (saengsayujeon) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Lao: ສັງສາລະວັດ (sang sā la wat) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Marathi: संसार (sausār) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Mongolian: сансар (sansar) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Mongolian: орчлон (orčlon) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Nepali: संसार (sansār) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Pali: saṃsāra — cycle of reincarnation
  • Polish: samsara — cycle of reincarnation
  • Russian: санса́ра (sansára) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Russian: самса́ра (samsára) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Sanskrit: संसार (saṃsāra) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Serbo-Croatian: самса̀ра — cycle of reincarnation
  • Serbo-Croatian: samsàra — cycle of reincarnation
  • Sinhalese: සංසාරය (saṁsāraya) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Tamil: சம்சாரம் (camcāram) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Tamil: பிறவிச்சுழற்சி (piṟaviccuḻaṟci) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Thai: สงสาร (sǒng-sǎan) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Tibetan: འཁོར་བ། ('khor ba) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Tocharian B: saṃsār — cycle of reincarnation
  • Ukrainian: санса́ра (sansára) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Ukrainian: самса́ра (samsára) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Urdu: سنسار (sansār) — cycle of reincarnation
  • Vietnamese: luân hồi — cycle of reincarnation