Chapter 7 of 16 · Explore the Nepali path
How sentences work · Chapter 7 of 16
First sentences: greeting someone, and the two words for “is”
Say hello and thank you, then learn why Nepali has two words for “is”: one for what a thing is, one for where or how it is. Each has a one-word negative.
≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- नमस्ते
namaste “hello” works at any hour, to anyone, and doubles as goodbye. - Nepali has two words for “is”: हो
ho says what a thing is; छ cha says where or how it is. - Each has a one-word negative: होइन
hoina and छैन chaina. - Both change their ending for the person speaking or spoken about.
- Nepali has three levels of “you”; stories use the middle one, तिमी
timī.
Four things you can say straight away
These four cover greeting someone, thanking them, and saying yes. Use the guide underneath to try saying each one.
| English | Nepali | When |
|---|---|---|
| hello, goodbye | नमस्ते | any time, to anyone |
| thank you | धन्यवाद | said “dhan-ya-bād” |
| yes | हो | literally “it is” |
| all right, that works | हुन्छ | the everyday word for agreeing |
English uses one word for both jobs. Nepali splits them: what a thing is takes हो, where or how it is takes छ. Ask yourself which question the sentence answers and the choice makes itself.
This यो
यो एउटा घर हो।
yo euṭā ghar ho
एउटा
The mouse मुसा
मुसा घरमा छ।
musā gharmā cha
A place, so छ and not हो. Describing words take छ too: मुसा सानो छ
Match the is-word to the person
Both is-words change their ending for the person. The last row holds the third-person negatives, which is what narration uses, and each is a single word.
| Who | what it is | where or how it is |
|---|---|---|
| म | हुँ | छु |
| तिमी | हौ | छौ |
| ऊ | हो | छ |
| हामी | हौं | छौं |
| not | होइन | छैन |
Words for I, you and other people
These name a person once so a story can point back at them. Nepali leaves one out whenever the sentence before it made the person obvious.
| English | Nepali | Note |
|---|---|---|
| I | म | as the doer of a past action it becomes मैले |
| you | तिमी | the middle level: friends, children, animals in fables |
| he, she, it | ऊ | as the doer of a past action, उसले |
| he, she — with respect | उनी | used of an adult you are being polite about |
| my | मेरो | म wearing the “of” tag |
| this / that | यो | also do the job English does with “the” |
A sentence with no subject is not broken.
Which is-word, and is it a yes or a no?
- यो मेरो नाम हो।
It answers “what is it?”
Show answer +Hide answer −
yo mero nām ho — “This is my name.” - बाघ बनमा छ।
It answers “where is it?”
Show answer +Hide answer −
bāgh banmā cha — “The tiger is in the forest.” - त्यो मेरो घर होइन।
A single word does the denying.
Show answer +Hide answer −
tyo mero ghar hoina — “That is not my house.”