Nice to hear from you Rudite.
Yes, I am not sure if the usual translations of these three words are quite satisfactory. Much of the time translators try to stick to a policy of giving each Pali word a specific English equivalent. This can lead to some very strange renderings, such as translating abhijjhā-domanassa (as in the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta) as “covetousness and grief,” when it really means “desire and aversion” in the realm of sensual pleasures. In the present case, this policy leads to translating lobha, dosa, moha as “greed, hatred, and delusion,” because most of the more reasonable words are already taken up to translate other Pali terms.
An important point, it seems to me, is that although the Pali uses many different synonyms for a particular idea (desire: kāma, rāga, taṇhā, lobha, etc) this does not mean that we have to do the same in English. There are good reasons why the Pali is expressed in this way, such as stabilising an oral text. But this is not a problem we have to worry about now, and so there is really no need to replicate this feature in English. This means I think it is perfectly acceptable to translate different Pali words with the same English word or expression, just as it is acceptable to translate the same Pali word with different English renderings depending on the context. As Bhante Sujato has frequently pointed out, we should be careful with trying to over-determine the Pali text. When you translate each Pali word with a different English rendering, which implies that you understand subtle nuances of the original, you are giving the impression to the reader that you know more about the Pali than you actually do. And in the the process you are actually distorting the message of the original.
To get a feeling for what lobha, dosa, and moha mean, context, as always, is very helpful. The three words are commonly used to describe the three bad motivations in making kamma, and much of their meaning can be understood on this basis. Lobha is essentially a synonym for sensual desire, which means that the translation “greed” is too limited. If someone has an extramarital affair, we would not normally call that “greed,” but it is certainly included within lobha. So one could just translate lobha as “desire,” while keeping in mind that it refers to unwholesome desires.
There is a similar problem with translating dosa as “hatred.” Hatred is a very strong word, whereas any degree of ill-will can be a basis for bad kamma. So “anger” or “ill-will” would be much preferable in this case.
Translating moha as “delusion” is also fraught. Delusion is commonly used to describe the deep delusion of a sense of self, whereas moha often refers to a state of mind where one lacks clarity and on that basis makes bad kamma. Just to state the obvious, one may have a sense of self and still make good kamma. For this reason I would prefer “confusion” for moha, since confusion is normally used in a more relative sense, and it does not normally refer to a deep misapprehension of the nature of the mind.
Translation work is difficult. Having criticised some of the great translators of our time, I should straightaway say I have enormous respect for them. But by standing on the shoulders of giants, perhaps we can improve the translations a bit further. (While now doubt introducing many new mistakes!)