Etymology

From Sanskrit पण्डित ‎(paṇḍita, “scholar”) + ཆེན་པོ ‎(chen po, “big”) + བླ་མ ‎(bla ma, “lama”).

Pronunciation

• Old Tibetan:
  • IPA^(key): /*pan.t͡ɕʰen.bla.ma/ (reconstructed)
• Ü-Tsang
  • Tibetan Pinyin: baen^f-qen^f la^f-ma^f
  • (Lhasa) IPA^(key): /pɛ̃˥˥.t͡ɕʰẽ˥˥ la˥˥.ma˥˥/