Tanha

(Pāli: तण्हा) or (Sanskrit: तृष्णा) means "thirst, desire, craving, wanting, longing, yearning". Synonyms:愛 Cn: ài; Jp: ai; Vi: áiTibetan: sred.paThe most basic of these meanings (the literal meaning) is "thirst"; however, in Buddhism it has a technical meaning that is much broader. In part due to the variety of possible translations, is sometimes used as an untranslated technical term by authors writing about Buddhism.
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Tanha (Pali) Thirst; in Buddhism the thirst or longing for material existence, the desire to return to the familiar scenes of earth-life. It is "the lower Ego, or personal Self . . . with its fierce Selfishness and animal desire to live a Senseless life (Tanha), which is 'the maker of the tabernacle,' as Buddha calls it in Dhammapada" (SD 2:110). This desire to live and the clinging to life on earth is the effectual cause producing rebirth. Equivalent to the Sanskrit trishna.