Coco's Nepal

In English, there are only a few names for family members. For example, our father's brother and our mother's brother are both called the same thing: "uncle." But in Nepali the words and titles used for family are much more specific, which can make it difficult for a beginner! In addition, strangers are also addressed by "family" names: the lady you buy your veggies from is your 'older sister,' the kid that lives on your block is your 'little brother,' and the older woman who asks you for directions is your 'auntie.' There are no words for "excuse me" as we would use it in English to address a stranger - it's literally almost required for you to call someone as though they are a family member! In regards to actual  relatives, there are so many different words for so many different members of the family that it's almost impossible to list them all in once place. Here is a partial list of words to get you started: ...

Click here for part one and here for part 2 of this article. Here are a couple more Nepali verb tenses for you: 1. गर्दै छ  gardai cha "am/are/is doing" This tense tends to be used for things that you are doing right at the moment (eating, walking, etc) as opposed to ongoing projects (like writing a novel, etc). For the latter, you can use the next verb form. For verbs with stems that end in consonants (i.e., garnu: stem = gar-) you can use the stem as-is and add -dai plus the correct conjugation of hunu  (cha, chan, etc.) For verbs with stems that end in vowels, keep that "n" from the -nu dictionary ending and then add the -dai suffix. For example, khaanu "to eat" becomes khaan-dai instead of khaa-dai.

Try out this delicious Nepali appetizer/snack which Sharad teaches us how to cook in our second recipe video! Like and subscribe for more like this! Our Patreon Our Threadless Shop!

Take a look at our "Coco's Nepal" shop on Threadless.com, where you can get all sorts of merchandise - from T-shirts to tote bags - featuring Coco and other Nepal-related illustrations created by...well...me. It's cool, I promise! Every purchase goes towards helping Coco's Nepal make more videos, articles and food for Coco the dachshund! She is always hungry. Always. https://coconepal.threadless.com/

There are SO many Nepali songs out there - for such a small country, there are many singers, songwriters, and "Kollywood" musicals putting out their music nearly every week, it seems. Fortunately for Nepali entertainment fans, pretty much 100% of movies and songs are released by their creators/companies on YouTube where they can be enjoyed for free. Here is a list of some of my favorite/most famous Nepali songs. (This is not an exhaustive list, there is plenty more great Nepali music to be found and I might have to make a Part 2, 3, 4....) Keep reading to find out (and listen to) my favorites.

Here's our first video featuring Coco, our mascot puppy. We took a weekend trip to Palung Bazaar and Daman, where we could play in the rivers (much cleaner than Kathmandu's), meet some doggos and see a beautiful view of the Himalayas. Coco drew a lot of attention since dachshunds are pretty rare in Nepal, especially in the country! She was ecstatic to make new friends, but she kept her cool in front of the camera. She's a natural star, what can I say.

In part 1, we covered three basic verb tenses: Simple present, past, and future. But there are plenty more verb conjugations in the Nepali language. Let's look at some more now. गर्ने थियो garne thiyo "would have done" The conjugation for this verb tense is fairly simple. You can take the simple form of the future tense (e.g. I will do "garnechu" - simplified = "garne") and add a form of the past tense of hunu , specifically the "thiyo" form.

Check out our new recipe for Sharad's way of cooking Nepali Chicken Curry. It's so delicious! Sharad is a really good cook and we'll be posting more how-to videos of Nepali cuisine, so be sure to subscribe to our channel ( Coco's Nepal ) to see more!

If you're in the process of learning a new language, you've probably already read a lot of motivating articles about how to learn quicker and more efficiently. I read a lot of these too. Many of them seemed to be written by polyglots who have somehow learned the mystical secret to learning a language in a couple of months or even a few weeks. I am not one of those people. It took me a long time to become fluent in Nepali, even though I studied every textbook I could find and practiced with Nepali speakers every day. But I learned to enjoy the learning process and finally finding out the meaning of a new grammar point or a word I couldn't find in the dictionary was like a lightbulb moment every time it happened. It was a really rewarding journey and it opened up a door to a new culture, a new way of thinking, even a new sense of humor! Most importantly, I think, it really helped to improve myself - I went from a shy girl who didn't really know how to express herself i...

There are a couple of pronouns I've left out of this list, but only because they are either not commonly used or are too rude/low respect. These are pronouns in their normal form. For certain purposes these may have to be modified slightly, which we will get into later. First Person singular (I, me) - म ma First Person plural   (we, us) - हामी haami

We're back for lesson 2 with some phrases you can use to ask "How are you?" in Nepali! Please check it out and like and subscribe if you want to see more lessons like this! Also don't forget to watch  Lesson 1 !

Nepali humor is usually quite goofy in nature. Although I have noticed some instances of sarcasm and dry humor, this is definitely the exception, not the rule. When I was first learning Nepali I talked with a nice lady who enthusiastically told me a Nepali joke. Although I didn't understand everything at that time, I got the gist of it. It basically went like this:

Hunu is a very interesting Nepali verb. It means "to be" - simple enough. But it changes form depending on what you are talking about, so you have to get multiple conjugations of this verb straight. Much like Spanish, there are two different forms to use when saying "to be" in Nepali. In Spanish, you have ser and estar . In Nepali, though, it's really just one verb (हुनु hunu) which is changed depending on the way you are using it - to define or to describe.

For the sake of simplicity, in the examples of verb conjugation, we will mostly use the verb गर्नु garnu, "to do" There are a couple of irregular verbs in Nepali to keep in mind as well. However, most of the verbs will follow these rules. Nepali has different levels of politeness/respect, and with each level there is a corresponding verb conjugation. It's difficult to keep track of them all at first, so if you like you can just focus on the most polite forms to make it easier on yourself! To begin with... All Nepali verbs end with -नु  -nu. To conjugate the verb into a different tense, you have to remove the -nu ending to leave the "stem" of the verb. In the case of गर्नु garnu, the stem would be गर् "gar." Then you can change the ending depending on the conjugation needed.

Have a look at our latest video on our YouTube channel! This time Sharad is here to teach you a few basic phrases to introduce yourself in Nepali. Please like and subscribe on our channel to see more like this in the future!

I've searched for/used nearly every medium available for learning the Nepali language. Now that I'm fluent, I can share my tips about which resources helped the most! Here are some of them... Hamro Dictionary This offline dictionary is available for free on the Google Play store. It's a pretty comprehensive dictionary considering it is a mobile app and is helpful for when you're out and about - you don't have to lug a huge dictionary around with you like I used to when I first started learning Nepali! There are some typos and words that I've searched for that aren't in the dictionary. But overall this is a great resource. Be sure to check out the developer's other apps as well. Their app Hamro Patro has a lot of tools to use on your trip to Nepal, from currency conversion rates to Nepali festival dates and everything in between. * NEPALI IN CONTEXT: A Topical Approach to Learning Nepali This is rare (and expensive) to find...

Check out our new video about Boudhanath, an enormous Buddhist stupa on the east side of Kathmandu. Boudhanath stupa has been around for centuries and is a hub for Tibetan culture in Nepal. You can find souvenirs, traditional clothing, and food from multiple Nepali cultural groups. Many tourist attractions in Kathmandu are tied to Hinduism and shopping around these areas is more akin to south Asian clothing and souvenirs. But Boudhanath has more central Asian vibes and is an interesting change of pace. Not mentioned in the video, but there is very good food to be found around Boudhanath as well - from traditional Chinese food to enormous momo (steamed dumplings) to Himalayan Java (Nepal's equivalent to Starbucks). It's an extremely popular tourist destination as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Definitely worth checking out during a visit to Nepal.

Here are a few things that you might be surprised by on your first visit to Nepal: 1. Dogs Dogs are EVERYWHERE in Nepal. In Kathmandu especially, you will find dogs on basically every street. Some are dogs with a home who are allowed to roam where they please, others (most of them) are street dogs. If you are afraid of dogs, this might be a challenge for you, but for the most part dogs are happy to leave you alone. I am a dog lover so I approach most dogs that seem friendly and 90% of them are just happy-go-lucky, friendly individuals. But you do have to be careful! Some dogs can be vicious, especially near butcher shops where they are intent on getting scraps of meat (and competing with other dogs for it). At night some friendly dogs turn into guard dogs as they try to keep strangers away from their territory, so be careful if you are walking late at night. Also the adage that dogs can smell fear is really true as far as I'm concerned - a friend of mine who is afraid of ...

रहेछ Rahecha .... Ugh, one of those words/grammar points that drove me crazy trying to figure out. I almost never saw it in writing or in my Nepali textbooks, but I heard it all the time. When I finally found a textbook that gave its definition, I still had no idea how to use it myself in regular speech. Well, I am writing this blog post (to a demographic of, I'm assuming, 1-2 other people on earth) so that no one else has to go through the torture of learning this grammar point the [very] hard way. First, the simple definition: Rahanu is a verb which really means "to remain." But when you convert it to "rahecha," it suddenly takes on a different meaning. The general idea is that of surprise, or acknowledging that you just found out something you didn't know before. E.g., "Oh, no, I left the lights on all day" + "rahecha" = I didn't realize until just now, I left the lights on! "You've eaten dinner...

Here is a sampling of common phrases that you can use in almost every situation in Nepal. Huss/Huncha हवस्/हुन्छ Okay, all right. NOTE: "Huss" is viewed as more polite while "huncha" is more informal. You can use "huss" in the following situations.... politely excusing yourself ("Huss, janchu hey" = "Ok, I'm going now, all right?") agreeing to something ("Huss" = "Ok, I will do that for you") Accepting someone something has said (i.e., someone just gave you directions - "huss, dhanyavad" = "ok, thank you" at the end of a phone conversation ("huss, huss" = "ok, I'm hanging up now") basically anytime you would use the phrase "OK" or "all right" "Huncha" (" hoon -cha") is more of a way of saying, "Yes, let's do that" or "ok, I'm in." You can use it to agree to plans or say you will do s...

Check out our first video in our series about Nepal's food, culture and language! Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more like this coming in the near future. 💗

KURTA SURUWAL From simple, super comfortable everyday-wear to glamorous, Bollywood-style outfits worthy of a wedding or a dance party, you can find incredible range in kurtas. In India they are often called salwar kameez, and if you're shopping online, that's what you'll find them as. But in Nepal, this outfit is referred to as Kurta Suruwal. Kurta is the tunic/dress top and suruwal refers to the trousers. The outfit is usually completed with a matching scarf, called a "saal." You can find ready-made saree and kurtas, which is a great option if you don't have a lot of time in Nepal. But I highly recommend getting one tailor-made. It's simple, cheap, and you'll have an outfit custom-made for you. A great perk of having your outfit tailor-made is that you have control over the style. You can choose the common Punjabi-style suruwal, which in layman's terms is the Poofy Pants look, which is super comfortable and sort of breezy which is nice...

Here are some phrases you can use while shopping and bargaining in Nepal: Phrases अलिकति मिलाउनुस न! Alikati milaunus na! (Ah-lee-kah-tee mih- lau -noos nah!) - Please cut the price a little! After a vendor has stated his/her price for the item you want to buy, you can try this out to start the bargaining process.

Shopping in Nepal is a fun but also challenging activity... From buying souvenirs to clothes to kitchen utensils, you may have to be prepared to bargain hard to get a good deal! Depending on where you stay in Nepal, there may be a few supermarkets that have fixed prices and accept credit cards (think Wal-Mart, Nepali style). Bhat Bhateni and Salesberry are a couple popular options. But these places, while convenient, are often more expensive and certainly less exciting than the family-owned businesses that you will find on pretty much any street. Some tips: Ask a Nepali friend what the item you're searching for normally costs. It's much easier to bargain if you know the price range before hand. Often a shopkeeper will tell you, "Name your price!" and if you have no idea what a fair price is, it can get difficult! Don't feel like you have to buy what you're looking for at the first shop you find it (unless you've been informed that this is the b...

As with every language, there are many ways to say hello in Nepali. नमस्ते "Namaste" ( nah-ma-stay ) is the go-to phrase for greeting just about anyone. You can't go wrong here; it's polite and friendly! Remember - Instead of waving hello, hold your hands together like this: