Coco's Nepal

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 ...