Word.ws English Dictionary

Hinayana

Hinayana proper noun: theravada Buddhism.

Proper noun

Hinayana

  1. Theravada Buddhism.
    • It was known as the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, in distinction to the other and earlier form of Buddhism contemptuously styled the Hinayana or Little Vehicle, which held its own in the South.1913, Buddhism, article in Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson–Clairvaux
    • The obscurest period in the history of Buddhism is that which follows the reign of Asoka, but the enquirer cannot grope for long in these dark ages without stumbling upon the word Mahayana. […] The word_([1]) signifies Great Vehicle or Carriage, that is a means of conveyance to salvation, and is...1921, Charles Eliot, Hinduism And Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Volume II, Book IV: The Mahayana, 2005 Gutenberg Ebook edition

Hinayana meaning in Marathi, Malay, Indonesian and Myanmar

Hinayana in Marathi

school of Buddhism
हीनयान hīnayāna

Hinayana in Malay

school of Buddhism
Hinayana

Hinayana in Indonesian

school of Buddhism
Hinayana

Hinayana in Myanmar

school of Buddhism
ဟီနယာန hina.yana.

Origin of Hinayana

Transliteration of Sanskrit हीनयान (hīnayāna, “lesser vehicle”).

Questions about Hinayana

What does Hinayana mean?
Hinayana means theravada Buddhism.
What is Hinayana in Marathi?
Hinayana in Marathi is हीनयान (hīnayāna). See Hinayana meaning in Marathi.
What part of speech is Hinayana?
Hinayana is a proper noun.

Words near Hinayana in the dictionary

  1. Hinatad
  2. Hinatsu
  3. Hinatuan
  4. hinau
  5. Hinaur
  6. Hinayana
  7. Hincapie
  8. Hincapies
  9. Hincaster
  10. Hince
  11. Hinch

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Hinayana (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “Hinayana.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hinayana. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.