Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nirvana

/nɪəˈvɑː.nə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.37 in modern English

Syllables: nir-vana
IPA: /nɪəˈvɑː.nə/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

State of paradise; heightened or great pleasure or peace; a state of universal perfection and bliss.

Colloquial; Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Welcome to this celebration of legal abortion. I wish January 22 meant more than that. The truth is that we are not winging our way to a state of nirvana for reproductive rights."
"Though we don’t all reach nirvana when we swim, swimming may well be that last refuge from connectivity — and, for some, the only way to find the solitary self."
"No, Virginia, the combination of Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs don’t help and, yes, when the AI investment bubble pops GDP growth will drop making the deficit/GDP ratio worse, unless you believe the tech bros hype about AI suddenly delivering universal nirvana."

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”), from निस् (nis, “out”) + वा (vā, “to blow”), the second part cognate with Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), weather, vent and wind.

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₂weh₁-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /nɪəˈvɑː.nə/
British English: /nɪəˈvɑː.nə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

nirvanas (plural)

Derived Forms

Beervana goonvana nerdvana nirvanic nirvanol parinirvana

Phrases

nirvana fallacy

Synonyms

nibbana eden paradise heaven promised land shangri-la enlightenment

Rhymes With

gonna wanna marijuana ana donna madonna rihanna mana guyana botswana haryana tijuana

Questions

How do you pronounce nirvana?: The recorded pronunciation is /nɪəˈvɑː.nə/.
What does nirvana mean?: Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.
Where does nirvana come from?: Borrowed from Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”), from निस् (nis, “out”) + वा (vā, “to blow”), the second part cognate with Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), weather, vent and wind.

How to pronounce nirvana

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