Dukkhas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Suffering or dissatisfaction inherent in existence, reflecting the impermanence of all things
2. A Buddhist term describing the fundamental nature of life as marked by pain and hardship
3. An acknowledgment of the inevitable struggles and discomforts encountered throughout life

Etymology: "Dukkhas" is the plural of "dukkha", a term borrowed into English from Pali, the language of the early Buddhist scriptures, where it is a transliteration of the Pali word "dukkha". Its core sense is roughly suffering, unsatisfactoriness, or the basic friction of existence, which is why English speakers have adopted it to name the everyday hardships that come with being alive. The plural form is a small oddity. Pali and Sanskrit "dukkha" is a noun that is normally uncountable, so English writers who pluralize it are treating it as a countable term, as in "the dukkhas of life." That usage shows the word has been absorbed into English as a label for distinct instances of suffering rather than as an abstract mass noun.