Chapter 5 of 16 · Explore the Nepali path
The script · Chapter 5 of 16
Letters that stack on top of each other
When a consonant has no vowel of its own it leans on the next letter or slides underneath it. Learn to find the leaning piece, and learn three stacks worth knowing on sight.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- When a consonant has no vowel of its own it loses its upright stroke and leans on the next letter, or slides underneath it.
- Two stacks are not said the way their parts look; learn those two whole.
- य and र are the two letters you will meet stacked most often.
- A र that comes first climbs onto the roof of the word as a small hook.
A stack looks alarming and is mechanical. Find the piece that lost its upright stroke and say it first, then say the letter it is leaning on. You never have to build one yourself.
How two letters become one stack
Find each pair of letters inside the stacked word beside it.
Three stacks worth knowing on sight
These three turn up often enough to learn whole, and two are nothing like their spelling.
| Stack | Built from | Said as | In a word |
|---|---|---|---|
| क्ष | क + ष | chya | क्षमा |
| त्र | त + र | tra | मित्र |
| ज्ञ | ज + ञ | gya | ज्ञान |
The guide spells the first and third as they are written — kṣ, jñ. The “said as” column is what a Nepali mouth does with them. The middle one is here for its shape: it really is t then r.
Take the stack apart
Find the leaning piece, then say the whole word.
- त्यो
A stroke-less त leaning on a whole य, then the o mark.
Show answer +Hide answer −
त्योtyo “that” - भन्यो
Three letters written, two syllables said: bha, n, yo.
Show answer +Hide answer −
भन्योbhanyo “he said” - स्याल
The leaning piece lost its stroke; the letter it leans on is a whole य.
Show answer +Hide answer −
स्यालsyāl “jackal” - छन्
The cutting hook is on the last letter, so nothing follows it.
Show answer +Hide answer −
छन्chan “they are”