Nepali phrasebook
Photo: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Nepali (नेपाली) is the sole official language of Nepal, and one of the official languages of India. It's related to Hindi, Punjabi, and other Indo-Aryan languages, and is normally written with the Devanagari script (as is Hindi). While most Nepalese people speak at least some Nepali, there are more than 100 different languages and dialects spoken in Nepal. Other languages spoken in Nepal include Tharu around Chitwan, Newari in the Kathmandu Valley, and Sharwa (Sherpa) in the Everest area. Nepali is also the lingua franca of the Indian state of Sikkim.
Most educated Indians and Nepalis are able to communicate in English. Learning even a few words of Nepali can be fun and very useful, especially outside of the tourist district and while trekking.
There are lots words of borrowed from other languages like English, Hindi, French etc. These loan words are slightly modified or are kept unaltered. Therefore, most Nepalese will understand English nouns like television and computer, rather than their Nepali counterparts.
VowelsThere are total 12 vowels in the Nepali language.
ConsonantsThere are 33 consonants with an extra 3 minor variants. Please not that these are consonants with an attached vowel like क्+अ= क. This is how alphabets appear.
Phrase list, is a lunar calendar based on ancient Hindu tradition. It is roughly 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (the year 2000 AD was equivalent to the years 2056-2057 BS).
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Nepali phrasebook" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons