हुनु Hunu - "To Be" in Nepali
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.
The first way to use hunu is to define something. This means you're talking about something that's relatively permanent or unchangeable.
Another way to use this second form is to explain that something or someone exists - "There is a house." For both of these cases, we would use the second form of hunu.
For the first example, to define, we would use this form of hunu:
FIRST PERSON:
हुँ hu~
negative: होइनँ hoina~
FIRST PERSON PLURAL:
हौँ hau~
neg: होइनौं hoinau~
SECOND PERSON INFORMAL:
हौ hau
neg: होइनौ hoinau
SECOND PERSON FORMAL:
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
THIRD PERSON:
LOW RESPECT (thing, animal, person)
हो ho
neg: होइन hoina
MEDIUM RESPECT (people, multiple things)
हुन् hun
neg: होइनन् hoinan
HIGH RESPECT (person, people)
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
Examples:
त्यो घर हो.
Tyo ghar ho.
That house is.* = That is a house.
*remember, the verb comes last in a phrase.
तपाईं केटी हुनुहुन्छ.
Tapai keti hunuhuncha.
You girl are. = You are a girl.
उनीहरु केटाकेटी हुन्.
Uniharu ketaketi hun.
They kids are. = They are kids.
यो के हो?
Yo ke ho?
This what is? = What is this?
FIRST PERSON:
When talking about people...
म नेपाली हुँ
Ma Nepali hun.
I am Nepali. (Defining)
म बिरामी छु
Ma birami chu.
I am sick. (Describing)
मेरो कपाल खैरो छ
Mero kapal khairo cha.
My hair is brown. (Describing)
त्यो के हो?
"Tyo ke ho?"
What is that?
खैरो कपाल हो.
"Khairo kapal ho."
That is brown hair. (Defining)
In that last example, even though we are using an adjective (khairo = brown) to describe the hair (kapal), the defining form of hunu is used because we are defining what that thing is - it's hair. We could have just left the adjective out and it still would have made sense.
As with the present tense, there are two different forms of hunu for past tense. But these do act a little differently than the present tense. Let's see what the differences are:
THIYO and BHAYO
1ST PERSON
थिएँ thiye~ (tee-yay)/ भएँ bhae~ (bye-yay)
neg: थिएनँ thiena~ / भएनँ bhaena~
1ST PERSON PLURAL
थियौं thiyau~ / भयौं bhayau~
neg: थिएनौं thienau~ / भएनौं bhaenau~
2ND PERSON INFORMAL
थियौ thiyau / भयौ bhayau
neg: थिएनौ thienau / भएनौ bhaenau
2ND PERSON FORMAL
हुनुभयो hunubhayo
neg: हुनुभएन hunubhaena
3RD PERSON LOW
थियो thiyo / भयो bhayo
neg: थिएन thiena / भएन bhaena
3RD PERSON MEDIUM
थिए thie / भए bhae
neg: थिएनन् thienan / भएनन् bhaenan
3RD PERSON HIGH
हुनुभयो hunubhayo
neg: हुनुभएन hunubhaena
*Note that when you see an 'h' following another consonant (th, bh) that is signifying an extra 'exhalation' when pronouncing the first syllable. We wouldn't say "th" the way it sounds in English; instead try exhaling an extra puff of air while pronouncing the T sound.
Well, to put it simply, the 2nd form (bhayo) means 'became' while the first (thiyo) means 'was.'
So if you got sick with the flu a couple of days ago and are still feeling sick, you would say म बिरामी भएँ "Ma biraami bhae~" = "I became sick."
But if you are talking about the flu you had while on vacation last year and it's not affecting you at all right now, you would say म बिरामी थिएँ "Ma biraami thie~" = "I was sick."
You can talk about the location/existence of people or things with "thiyo" as well.
One note - when speaking in the 3rd person high form or 2nd person formal, you wouldn't say "hunubhayo" for something that that used to happen. Instead you would say हुनुहुन्थ्यो "hunuhunthyo" - "used to be." You could say त्यति खेर बिरामी हुनुभयो "Tyati khera biraami hunubhayo" - "at that time you became sick", but if you said त्यतिखेर बिरामी हुनुहुन्थ्यो "Tyati khera biraami hunuhunthyo," it would imply that the person was sick for a long time/it was an ongoing condition.
To ask "what happened?" you would use "bhayo:"
You could say को थियो? "ko thiyo?" (ko = who) to mean: "Who was it?" (I.e., someone came to the door)
को भयो? "Ko bhayo?" doesn't really make any sense. "Who became?" But you could say को बिरामी भयो? "Ko biraami bhayo?" = "Who became sick?"
When someone knocks at your door, you can just call out को हो? "Ko ho?" which means "Who is it?"
If you wanted to be polite you might be tempted to use "hunuhuncha" instead of "ho," but that gives a completely different meaning:
Cha form = existence, describing (There is a house = घर छ ghar cha)
Ho form = defining (She is a girl = ऊ केटी हो u keti ho)
Bhayo form = became (He became sick = ऊ बिरामी भयो u biraami bhayo)
Thiyo form = was, existed, used to exist (There was a house = घर थियो Ghar thiyo) (Was sick = बिरामी थियो biraami thiyo)
As with any language, it's a lot to take in, but if you get in a lot of listening practice it will definitely help with getting used to the differences!
I hope that this helps you at least a little in your journey to learn the Nepali language 😊
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.
The first way to use hunu is to define something. This means you're talking about something that's relatively permanent or unchangeable.
That is a house.
In this case, the word "is" is being used to define the house.
That house is green.In this case, the house is being described - it's green. But tomorrow it might be painted another color. So this condition isn't permanent.
Another way to use this second form is to explain that something or someone exists - "There is a house." For both of these cases, we would use the second form of hunu.
For the first example, to define, we would use this form of hunu:
FIRST PERSON:
हुँ hu~
negative: होइनँ hoina~
FIRST PERSON PLURAL:
हौँ hau~
neg: होइनौं hoinau~
SECOND PERSON INFORMAL:
हौ hau
neg: होइनौ hoinau
SECOND PERSON FORMAL:
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
THIRD PERSON:
LOW RESPECT (thing, animal, person)
हो ho
neg: होइन hoina
MEDIUM RESPECT (people, multiple things)
हुन् hun
neg: होइनन् hoinan
HIGH RESPECT (person, people)
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
Examples:
त्यो घर हो.
Tyo ghar ho.
That house is.* = That is a house.
*remember, the verb comes last in a phrase.
तपाईं केटी हुनुहुन्छ.
Tapai keti hunuhuncha.
You girl are. = You are a girl.
उनीहरु केटाकेटी हुन्.
Uniharu ketaketi hun.
They kids are. = They are kids.
यो के हो?
Yo ke ho?
This what is? = What is this?
The other form of hunu - used to describe conditions or to say that something exists:
FIRST PERSON:
छु chu
neg: छैनँ chaina~
FIRST PERSON PLURAL:
छौं chau~
neg: छैनौं chainau~
SECOND PERSON INFORMAL:
छौ chau
neg: छैनौ chainau
SECOND PERSON FORMAL:
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
THIRD PERSON:
LOW RESPECT (thing, animal, person)
छ cha
neg: छैन chaina
MEDIUM RESPECT (people, multiple things)
छन् chan
neg: छैनन् chainan
HIGH RESPECT (person, people)
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
Examples:
Tyo ghar hariyo cha.
That house is green.
Tyaha~ ghar cha.
There is a house there (in that place).
neg: छैनँ chaina~
FIRST PERSON PLURAL:
छौं chau~
neg: छैनौं chainau~
SECOND PERSON INFORMAL:
छौ chau
neg: छैनौ chainau
SECOND PERSON FORMAL:
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
THIRD PERSON:
LOW RESPECT (thing, animal, person)
छ cha
neg: छैन chaina
MEDIUM RESPECT (people, multiple things)
छन् chan
neg: छैनन् chainan
HIGH RESPECT (person, people)
हुनुहुन्छ hunuhuncha
neg: हुनुहुन्न hunuhunna
Examples:
Tyo ghar hariyo cha.
That house is green.
Tyaha~ ghar cha.
There is a house there (in that place).
When talking about people...
म नेपाली हुँ
Ma Nepali hun.
I am Nepali. (Defining)
म बिरामी छु
Ma birami chu.
I am sick. (Describing)
मेरो कपाल खैरो छ
Mero kapal khairo cha.
My hair is brown. (Describing)
त्यो के हो?
"Tyo ke ho?"
What is that?
खैरो कपाल हो.
"Khairo kapal ho."
That is brown hair. (Defining)
In that last example, even though we are using an adjective (khairo = brown) to describe the hair (kapal), the defining form of hunu is used because we are defining what that thing is - it's hair. We could have just left the adjective out and it still would have made sense.
PAST TENSE
As with the present tense, there are two different forms of hunu for past tense. But these do act a little differently than the present tense. Let's see what the differences are:
THIYO and BHAYO
1ST PERSON
थिएँ thiye~ (tee-yay)/ भएँ bhae~ (bye-yay)
neg: थिएनँ thiena~ / भएनँ bhaena~
1ST PERSON PLURAL
थियौं thiyau~ / भयौं bhayau~
neg: थिएनौं thienau~ / भएनौं bhaenau~
2ND PERSON INFORMAL
थियौ thiyau / भयौ bhayau
neg: थिएनौ thienau / भएनौ bhaenau
2ND PERSON FORMAL
हुनुभयो hunubhayo
neg: हुनुभएन hunubhaena
3RD PERSON LOW
थियो thiyo / भयो bhayo
neg: थिएन thiena / भएन bhaena
3RD PERSON MEDIUM
थिए thie / भए bhae
neg: थिएनन् thienan / भएनन् bhaenan
3RD PERSON HIGH
हुनुभयो hunubhayo
neg: हुनुभएन hunubhaena
*Note that when you see an 'h' following another consonant (th, bh) that is signifying an extra 'exhalation' when pronouncing the first syllable. We wouldn't say "th" the way it sounds in English; instead try exhaling an extra puff of air while pronouncing the T sound.
In Practice...
So what is the difference between these two forms?Well, to put it simply, the 2nd form (bhayo) means 'became' while the first (thiyo) means 'was.'
So if you got sick with the flu a couple of days ago and are still feeling sick, you would say म बिरामी भएँ "Ma biraami bhae~" = "I became sick."
But if you are talking about the flu you had while on vacation last year and it's not affecting you at all right now, you would say म बिरामी थिएँ "Ma biraami thie~" = "I was sick."
You can talk about the location/existence of people or things with "thiyo" as well.
त्यहाँ घर थियो. Tyaha~ ghar thiyo. = There was a house there. (There used to be a house there, but not anymore)You couldn't use this with "bhayo" = "ghar bhayo" means "became a house" which (except under very particular circumstances) I don't think you would have any reason to use...
One note - when speaking in the 3rd person high form or 2nd person formal, you wouldn't say "hunubhayo" for something that that used to happen. Instead you would say हुनुहुन्थ्यो "hunuhunthyo" - "used to be." You could say त्यति खेर बिरामी हुनुभयो "Tyati khera biraami hunubhayo" - "at that time you became sick", but if you said त्यतिखेर बिरामी हुनुहुन्थ्यो "Tyati khera biraami hunuhunthyo," it would imply that the person was sick for a long time/it was an ongoing condition.
To ask "what happened?" you would use "bhayo:"
के भयो? "Ke bhayo?" = "What happened?"Saying के थियो? "Ke thiyo?" means more like "what was it?" as though you were discussing an object.
You could say को थियो? "ko thiyo?" (ko = who) to mean: "Who was it?" (I.e., someone came to the door)
को भयो? "Ko bhayo?" doesn't really make any sense. "Who became?" But you could say को बिरामी भयो? "Ko biraami bhayo?" = "Who became sick?"
When someone knocks at your door, you can just call out को हो? "Ko ho?" which means "Who is it?"
If you wanted to be polite you might be tempted to use "hunuhuncha" instead of "ho," but that gives a completely different meaning:
को हो? "Ko ho?" = "Who is it?"
को हुनुहुन्छ? "Ko hunuhuncha?" = "Who are you?"So to recap:
Cha form = existence, describing (There is a house = घर छ ghar cha)
Ho form = defining (She is a girl = ऊ केटी हो u keti ho)
Bhayo form = became (He became sick = ऊ बिरामी भयो u biraami bhayo)
Thiyo form = was, existed, used to exist (There was a house = घर थियो Ghar thiyo) (Was sick = बिरामी थियो biraami thiyo)
As with any language, it's a lot to take in, but if you get in a lot of listening practice it will definitely help with getting used to the differences!
I hope that this helps you at least a little in your journey to learn the Nepali language 😊
Hello my dear, I would like you to explain to me why in your example 'I am Nepali' you write Ma Nepali hun instead of hu? I don't understand, I thought the end for the first person singular and present tense was hu...
ReplyDeleteHello! The conjugation for "hunu" in first person is actually हुँ . The thing on top there is the chandrabindu which signifies that there is a nasal sound added to the "hu". Some textbooks use this symbol ~ to show that there is a nasal sound added so they will write "hu~". But it sounds a little like "hun." If you say "hu" without the nasal inflection, it sounds wrong! So, to make it easier to understand for non-native speakers I added the N at the end of the word. Hope this helps!
DeleteHello, I just found your explanation and it makes sense. Thank you so much, I just thought I didn't understand Nepali at all and I have volunteer for a few months to go and teach English in a villa near Pokhara. So I am trying to learn as much as I can before leaving...so if this time I understood it right, the 'n' is just to show that you have to pronounce 'hu' like there is an actual n' or as close as you can get the nasal sound, but it's the symbol chadrabindu and not actually an n'...?
DeleteYes, you got it right! Don't fret too much about being perfect; I'm sure people will be impressed even if you only speak a little Nepali! I hope you have a great time in Nepal!
DeleteThanks a lot, I don't want to impress people or anyone, I just love to do the things right. That's my character. But it so nice from you. And you are right, I can't wait to go to Nepal and to meet the Nepali....and to stay as long as possible...
Delete