Śrāvaka (Sanskrit) or Sāvaka (Pāli) or Shravaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".

This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain. Thus the term shravaka has been used for the Jain community itself (for example see Sarak and Saraogi).

In Buddhism, the term is sometimes reserved for distinguished disciples of the Buddha.

In Nikaya Buddhism, sāvaka (m.) or sāvikā (f.) is a disciple who accepts:

In Mahayana texts, śrāvakas (or arhats) are sometimes contrasted with bodhisattvas (Sanskrit; Pāli: bodhisatta).

In the Pali canon, the term "disciple" transcends monastic-lay divisions and can refer to anyone from the following "four assemblies":

Buddhist texts further mention three types of disciples based on spiritual accomplishment:

In the traditional Pali commentaries, the Pali term ariya-sāvaka is explained as "the disciple of the Noble One (i.e. Buddha)". Accordingly Soma Thera and Thanissaro Bhikkhu translate this term as "The disciple of the Noble Ones"