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Chapter 5 – Identifying People

Unit 1 — Key Vocabulary

In this unit, you will learn common Nepali words for identifying people. You will practise using को (ko) “who,” कहाँबाट (kahā̃bāṭa) “from where,” and words for people, roles, countries, languages, and nationalities.

Study the words below first. Read each Nepali word, look at the transliteration, and practise saying it aloud. Use the English meaning to check your understanding.

People and Roles

Nepali Transliteration English
विद्यार्थी widyārthī student
शिक्षक śikṣak teacher
शिक्षिका śikṣikā teacher (female)
प्राध्यापक prādhyāpak professor / instructor
प्रोफेसर prophesar professor

Countries, Nationalities, and Languages

Nepali Transliteration English
क्यानाडा kyānāḍā Canada
क्यानेडियन kyāneḍiyan Canadian
जापान jāpān Japan
जापानी jāpānī Japanese
कोरियाली koriyālī Korean
नेपाली nepālī Nepali
अङ्ग्रेजी aṅgrejī English language

Useful Sentence Patterns

Nepali Transliteration English
उहाँ को हुनुहुन्छ? uhā̃ ko hunuhuncha? Who is he/she?
उहाँ विद्यार्थी हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ widyārthī hunuhuncha. He/She is a student.
उहाँ शिक्षक हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ śikṣak hunuhuncha. He is a teacher.
उहाँ शिक्षिका हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ śikṣikā hunuhuncha. She is a teacher.
तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? tapāī̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha? Where are you from?
म क्यानाडाबाट हुँ। ma kyānāḍābāṭa hũ. I am from Canada.
उहाँ जापानी हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ jāpānī hunuhuncha. He/She is Japanese.
म पनि विद्यार्थी हुँ। ma pani widyārthī hũ. I am also a student.
तपाईंलाई भेटेर खुशी लाग्यो। tapāī̃lāī bheṭera khuśī lāgyo. Nice to meet you.

Practice

Look at the people around you, in your class, or in a picture. Practise asking who they are and where they are from.

Example:

उहाँ को हुनुहुन्छ?
uhā̃ ko hunuhuncha?
Who is he/she?

उहाँ विद्यार्थी हुनुहुन्छ।
uhā̃ widyārthī hunuhuncha.
He/She is a student.

तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ?
tapāī̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha?
Where are you from?

म क्यानाडाबाट हुँ।
ma kyānāḍābāṭa hũ.
I am from Canada.

तपाईंलाई भेटेर खुशी लाग्यो।
tapāī̃lāī bheṭera khuśī lāgyo.
Nice to meet you.

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Introduction to the Nepali Language Copyright © 2026 by Binod Shrestha; Salina Dolmo Lama; Mark Turin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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