Learn to read Nepali
A short, active path into reading Nepali: learn how a Devanagari letter carries its own vowel, decode ten real words before the full alphabet, follow the verb to the end of the sentence, and read a small story before opening your first book.
Letter reference: look up, do not recite
- Open this when a letter you have not met blocks a word; the two stories at the end do not need any of it.
- The consonants are laid out by where in the mouth they are made — that is why the look-alike rows sit together.
- A vowel has two shapes: a full letter where no consonant carries it, and a mark everywhere else.
- Nepali has its own digits, and a book may print either these or the European ones.
- Four pairs of letters are genuinely easy to confuse by eye; they are listed at the end.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Open it when a letter the path never taught stops you, or when you want the whole set in one place. Both stories at the end are readable without it.
The consonants, in mouth order
- कka — k, no puff
- खkha — k with a puff
- गga — g as in go
- घgha — g with a puff
- ङṅa — ng as in sing; never starts a word
- चca — ch as in church, no puff
- छcha — the same with a puff
- जja — j as in jam
- झjha — j with a puff
- ञña — ny; only inside stacks
- टṭa — t, tongue curled back
- ठṭha — the same with a puff
- डḍa — d, tongue curled back
- ढḍha — the same with a puff
- णṇa — n, tongue curled back; Sanskrit words only
- तta — t on the teeth
- थtha — the same with a puff
- दda — d on the teeth
- धdha — the same with a puffThe one that catches everybody: ध dha and घ gha are near twins. ध has a small closed loop on the left; घ’s left piece stays open.
- नna — n as in no
- पpa — p, no puff
- फpha — p with a puff; in some words an f
- बba — b as in bed
- भbha — b with a puff
- मma — m as in me
- यya — y as in yes
- रra — a single tapped r
- लla — l as in let
- वva — usually said as b; sometimes w
- शśa — s, leaning towards sh in careful speech
- षṣa — s; a Sanskrit spelling
- सsa — s as in see
- हha — h as in hat
Read down: back of the mouth, then the hard palate, then the curled-back row, then the teeth, then the lips. Within each group the order is plain, puffed, voiced, voiced-and-puffed, nasal.
The vowels, in their full-letter shape
- अa — the small vowel in about
- आā — the a in father, held
- इi — the i in sit
- ईī — the ee in see
- उu — the u in put
- ऊū — the oo in moon
- एe — the e in bed, a little longer
- ऐai — near the ai in aisle
- ओo — the o in more
- औau — near the ow in now
These full letters appear where no consonant is carrying the vowel: at the start of a word, and after another vowel — which is why एउटाeuṭā“one, a” has two of them.
The vowel marks, shown on क
| Mark | On क | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| ा | काkā | an upright stroke on the right |
| ि | किki | a hook on the left, said after the letter |
| ी | कीkī | the same hook on the right |
| ु | कुku | a curl underneath |
| ू | कूkū | a longer curl underneath |
| े | केke | a stroke on the roof |
| ै | कैkai | two strokes on the roof |
| ो | कोko | roof stroke plus upright |
| ौ | कौkau | two roof strokes plus upright |
| ् | क् | a hook below: no vowel at all |
The digits
| Nepali | Ours | Nepali | Ours |
|---|---|---|---|
| ० | 0 | ५ | 5 |
| १ | 1 | ६ | 6 |
| २ | 2 | ७ | 7 |
| ३ | 3 | ८ | 8 |
| ४ | 4 | ९ | 9 |
Two mislead an English eye: १ looks like a 9, and ४ passes for an 8. ७ and ८ look like nothing you would guess, which at least stops you guessing. Modern Nepali books and newspapers print both sets.
Four pairs that trip the eye
| Pair | What tells them apart |
|---|---|
| बba / वva | ब has a small stroke inside the bowl |
| घgha / धdha | ध closes into a loop on the left, घ stays open |
| डḍa / ढḍha | ढ carries the extra stroke of the puff |
| भbha / मma | म has a closed loop where भ has an open one |