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Nepali Language Guide1 PDF
Nepali Language Guide1 PDF
This is a brief introduction to Nepali, the national language of Nepal. This introduction contains
basic instruction about pronunciation and important words and phrases. Anywhere you travel in
Nepal, the ability to communicate in Nepali will greatly enhance your experience. Even if you do
not plan on studying the language in-depth, we strongly suggest learning and using basic
greetings and phrases. The locals will greatly appreciate your efforts and will be all the more
welcoming to you during your stay. If you would like to complete a beginning course in Nepali,
there are a number of self-study books and tapes. Lonely Planet‟s Nepali Phrasebook (2002) is
one of the more helpful books.
Pronunciation
Nepali is written in the Devanagari script, which is also the script used for Sanskrit, Hindi, and
many other languages. There are 67 characters, each with only one pronunciation. The
Devanagari script is not used in this guide; however, a list of the Devanagari characters can be
found at the end of this document.
Nepali has six vowels and two diphthongs. Five of the vowels can also have nasal
pronunciations, which will be indicated by a karat (^) over the letter. The nasals are pronounced
with the airstream coming out of the nose, which can also be accomplished by putting a weak „n‟
at the end of the syllable in which the nasal vowel appears.
b as in bat ng as in finger
c as in chew ny as in canyon
d as in dog p as in pin
g as in get r as in rabbit, but slightly trilled
h as in how s as in sit
j as in jaw sh as in ship
k as in kennel t as in stop
l as in last w as in women
m as in mill y as in yolk
n as in neat
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There are two special types of consonants: aspirated consonants and retroflex consonants.
Aspirated consonants are pronounced much more forcefully and with a puff of air. Aspirated
consonants are indicated by an „h‟ following the consonant.
Retroflex consonants are pronounced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth while
pronouncing the consonants. Only four consonants can be pronounced this way (d, t, n, dh). In
this guide, retroflex consonants will be indicated by an underline (d, t, n, dh).
In Nepali, two syllable words are pronounced with a stress on the last syllable. For words with
three or more syllables, the stress is on the second to last syllable. In this guide, the stressed
syllable will be in italics.
Greetings
Welcome swah-ga-tam
Introd
Hello na-ma-ste uction
Goodbye na-ma-ste s
See you later. phe-ri bhe-taû-lah Etiquet
te
1 How are you? ke cha? Note: the
I‟m fine, and you? ma-lai san-cai cha ani ta-paî-lai? phrase “t
Okay thik cha; hun-cha; has hank you”
is rarely
Cool kha-ta-rah used in
Nepali. It is generally reserved as a response only to particular
favors.
2
The spoken form of “please,” which is added as a suffix to the infinitive form of the verb being used.
Relationships/Titles
I/me ma-lai
You (formal) ta-paî 3
Sign of
You (informal) ti-mi respect o
Friend sah-thi r affectio
Family pa-ri-bahr n added
Daughter cho-ri to the en
d of a n
Son cho-rah
ame.
Brother dai (older); bhai (younger)
Sister di-di (older); ba-hi-ni (younger) 06.577.0
Father bu-wah 515 • inf
o@villag
Mother ah-mah evolunte
Husband log-ne (own); sri-mahn (someone else‟s) ers.org •
Wife swahs-ni (own); sri-ma-ti (someone else‟s) www.vill
agevolun
Doctor dahk-tar teers.org
Teacher shi-chak
age 3 of
Man pu-rus 7
Old Man bu-dho
Young Man ke-tah
Woman ma-hi-lah
Old Woman bu-dhi
Young Woman ke-ti
3
Respectful Title -ji
Important Locations
Market ba-jahr
Temple (Buddhist) stu-pah
Cost
Temple (Hindu) man-dir Time o
Mosque mas-jid f Day
4
Church gir-jah-ghar
seful
Shop pa-sal Words
School bi-dyah-la-ya and Ph
Hospital as-pa-tahl rases
The suffix
Home ghar used de
Bathroom snahn kak-sha; bahth-rum pends on
Toilet (flushing) bahth-rum the subje
Toilet (pit) car-pi ct of the
sentence.
Toilet (public) shau-cah-la-ya “-Na” is
Shower snahn used with
Kitchen bhahn-chah I, he, sh
e or it. “-
Garden ba-gaî-cah Nau” is u
sed with you,
singular or plural. “-Naû” is used with we. And “-nan” is used with they. The suffix is added to the end of the verb in
the sentence.
206.577.0515 • info@villagevolunteers.org • www.villagevolunteers.org
Page 4 of 7
How much is this? yo ka-ti pai-sah ho?
How many? ka-ti?
Money pai-sah
Price mol
Expensive ma-hâ-go
Cheap sas-to
Morning bi-hah-na
Afternoon diû-so
Evening be-lu-kah
Night raht
Yes ha-jur
No hun-dai-na; or, add -na, -nau, -naû or -nan 4
Maybe shah-yad
Sure pak-kah
Now a-hi-le
Long Life dir-ghah-yu
No worries/problems bhai-hahl cha
What is this called? yas-lai ke bahn-cha?
What is this/that? yo/tyo ke ho?
Which way? kun bah-to?
I would like… ma-lai … cah-hi-yo
I want to go to… ma … -mah jahn-chu.
I would like to buy… … kin-na man lahg-yo.
I am tired. ma-lai tha-kai lahg-yo.
I am lost. ma-lai ha-rau-na lahg-yo.
I am ill. ma-lai bi-rah-mi lahg-yo.
I am happy. ma-lai khu-si lahg-yo.
I don‟t know. ma-lai thah-hah chai-na.
I don‟t understand. mai-le bu-jhi-na.
How do you say …? …-lai ke bhan-cha?
Please say it again. phe-ri bhan-nu-hos.
Please speak more slowly. bi-stah-rai bol-nu-hos.
Good night shu-bha-rah-tri
Help! gu-hahr!
Who? ko?
Where? ka-hâh?
Why? ki-na?
What? ke?
When? ka-hi-le?
How? ka-sa-ri?
Miscellaneous
206.577.0515 • info@villagevolunteers.org • www.villagevolunteers.org
Peace shahn-ti
Love mah-yah; prem
Work kahm
Enough pra-shas-ta
Beautiful sun-dar
Slowly bi-stah-rai
Strength bal
Bad kah-rahb
Good rahm-ro
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Numbers
The Nepali counting system has no discernable patterns. Below are a few helpful numbers. An
easy way of saying numbers not included on this list is to say a larger number, followed by a
smaller number – for example, “tis ra pâhc” (“thirty and five,” “ra” meaning “and”) for thirty-five.
k s d b kh v dh w
g u t ^ gh # th &
c r d * ch % dh (
j h n g jh Of n )f
p k ng *· ph km ny `
b a m d bh e l n
s if or ; y o sh z w j
t t r / th y h x
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