Look up a word that blocks you in a book

Open this when a noun in a book stops you. Animals, family words, sky and land, parts of the body and one to ten, each with its pronunciation and meaning.

≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

Open this when a noun in a book blocks you; the two readings at the end need nothing from here.
Nepali counts with its own words, and one of them is spelled exactly like the word for “is”.
Family words are more specific than English ones: an older and a younger sibling are different words.
A long Nepali word is very often two short ones stuck together.

You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Open it when a noun in a book stops you, or when you want a theme in one place. Every word the two stories use is taught in the sections along the path instead.

Animals that turn up in fables

Fables are full of animals. Find the one that is blocking you and take its sound and meaning.

English	Nepali	English	Nepali
dog	कुकुरkukur	tiger	बाघbāgh
cat	बिरालोbirālo	jackal	स्यालsyāl
mouse	मुसाmusā	monkey	बाँदरbā̃dar
bird	चराcarā	crow	कागkāg
fish	माछाmāchā	goat	बाख्राbākhrā
cow	गाईgāī	elephant	हात्तीhāttī

People and family words

Nepali family words say whether someone is older or younger than you, so one English word can have two Nepali ones.

English	Nepali	English	Nepali
person	मान्छेmānche	child	बच्चाbaccā
mother	आमाāmā	older brother	दाइdāi
father	बुबाbubā	older sister	दिदीdidī
boy	केटाkeṭā	younger brother	भाइbhāi
girl	केटीkeṭī	younger sister	बहिनीbahinī

केटा and केटी differ by one vowel mark, and the four sibling words are used for anyone older or younger than you, strangers included — do not assume a family tree.

Sky, land and house

Words for the world a story is set in. A fable often uses several of them in its opening lines.

English	Nepali	English	Nepali
sun	घामghām	tree	रूखrūkh
moon	जूनjūn	flower	फूलphūl
sky	आकाशākāś	field	खेतkhet
rain	पानीpānī	village	गाउँgāũ
wind	हावाhāvā	door	ढोकाḍhokā
mountain	हिमालhimāl	food	खानाkhānā

पानीpānī is water and also rain: पानी पर्‍योpānī paryo“it rained” is literally “water fell”.

Parts of the body

Read across each row: two body words, each with its English.

English	Nepali	English	Nepali
head	टाउकोṭāuko	mouth	मुखmukh
eye	आँखाā̃khā	hand	हातhāt
nose	नाकnāk	foot, leg	खुट्टाkhuṭṭā

One to ten

The word for each number, beside the digit it belongs to. A book uses either one.

Digit	Word	Digit	Word
१	एकek	६	छcha
२	दुईduī	७	सातsāt
३	तीनtīn	८	आठāṭh
४	चारcār	९	नौnau
५	पाँचpā̃c	१०	दशdaś

Six is छcha — spelled and said exactly like the is-word. The sentence sorts it out, and Nepali finds this no funnier than English finds “a bat”. To count things, वटाvaṭā is added: दुईवटाduīvaṭā“two of them”, often shortened to दुइटाduiṭā. एउटाeuṭā“one, a” is the same ending on एक.

Come back to these chapters whenever you need them.All Nepali chapters ↗