Bhante

Bhante (Pali; Nepali; Burmese:ဘန္တေ, pronounced: [bàɴtè], Sanskrit: vande and vandanā) is the polite particle used to refer to Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition. Bhante literally means "Venerable Sir."

The Pali word "bhante" is a gender neutral term, unlike "bhikkhu" or "bhikkhuni". It is equivalent to Sanskrit verb 'Vande' or 'Bande' as in the song Vande Mataram. Vande means a reverential action of 'bowing' to someone or something. The Nepali terms for the Buddhist priestly caste, bare and bande, have the same derivation.