Unit 4 — Grammar Focus

Likes, Dislikes, Need, Availability, Yes/No Questions, and “Because”

In this section, you will learn how to express likes, dislikes, needs, availability, yes/no questions, and reasons in Nepali.

These patterns are useful in everyday conversations, especially when talking about food, drinks, shopping, restaurants, personal preferences, and explanations.

Likes and Dislikes

In Nepali, likes and dislikes are most commonly expressed with:

मन पर्छ
man parcha
like / likes

मन पर्दैन
man pardaina
do not like / does not like

Literally, मन पर्नु (man parnu) means “to be pleasing to the mind/heart.” This means Nepali expresses liking as an experience, not as a direct action.

Because of this structure, the person who experiences the feeling is marked with –लाई (–lāī).

For example:

मलाई चिया मन पर्छ।
malāī ciyā man parcha.
I like tea.

मलाई कफी मन पर्दैन।
malāī kaphī man pardaina.
I do not like coffee.

In these sentences:

• मलाई (malāī) marks the person who feels the preference
• चिया (ciyā) or कफी (kaphī) is the thing liked or disliked
• मन पर्छ / मन पर्दैन (man parcha / man pardaina) expresses the preference

Table 15.4.1 – Likes/dislikes in the present: मन पर्छ / मन पर्दैन (man parcha / man pardaina)

Simple Rule

Use –लाई (–lāī) with the person who likes or dislikes something.

Use मन पर्छ (man parcha) for “like.”

Use मन पर्दैन (man pardaina) for “do not like.”

Try It Now

Read the sentences aloud.

मलाई चिया मन पर्छ।
malāī ciyā man parcha.
I like tea.

मलाई कफी मन पर्दैन।
malāī kaphī man pardaina.
I do not like coffee.

उहाँलाई नेपाली खाना मन पर्छ।
uhā̃lāī nepālī khānā man parcha.
He/She likes Nepali food.

तपाईंलाई के मन पर्छ?
tapāī̃lāī ke man parcha?
What do you like?

Past Preference: मन पर्‍यो / मन परेन

When talking about something you liked or did not like after experiencing it, use the past forms:

मन पर्‍यो
man paryo
liked / was pleasing

मन परेन
man parena
did not like / was not pleasing

These are useful after tasting food, watching a movie, visiting a place, reading a book, or attending an event.

For example:

मलाई खाना मन पर्‍यो।
malāī khānā man paryo.
I liked the food.

मलाई फिल्म मन परेन।
malāī philm man parena.
I did not like the movie.

The structure stays the same: the experiencer is marked with –लाई (–lāī), and the thing liked or disliked remains the main item in the sentence.

Table 15.4.2 – Past preference: मन पर्‍यो / मन परेन (man paryo / man parena)

Table 15.4.3 – Common questions for preferences (present and past)

Table 15.4.4 – Short answers for preferences

Try It Now

Read the sentences aloud.

मलाई मोमो मन पर्‍यो।
malāī momo man paryo.
I liked the momo.

मलाई चिया मन परेन।
malāī ciyā man parena.
I did not like the tea.

उहाँलाई ठाउँ मन पर्‍यो।
uhā̃lāī ṭhāũ man paryo.
He/She liked the place.

Alternative Expression: मन पराउनु

Everyday Nepali most commonly uses the pattern:

मलाई … मन पर्छ
malāī … man parcha

However, you may also see or hear the verb मन पराउनु (man parāunu), meaning “to like.”

This form is more like English because the person who likes something appears as the grammatical subject.

For example:

म चिया मन पराउँछु।
ma ciyā man parāũchu.
I like tea.

उहाँ नेपाली खाना मन पराउनुहुन्छ।
uhā̃ nepālī khānā man parāunuhuncha.
He/She likes Nepali food.

This pattern is common in written Nepali or more careful/formal speech. For everyday beginner conversation, the मलाई … मन पर्छ (malāī … man parcha) pattern is usually more useful.

Table 15.4.5 – Alternative “like” verb (more subject-style): present

Table 15.4.6 – मन पराउनु (man parāunu) in the past: parāẽ / parāunubhayo

Learner Tip

For everyday conversation, use:

मलाई चिया मन पर्छ।
malāī ciyā man parcha.
I like tea.

Recognize मन पराउनु (man parāunu) when you see it, but you do not need to use it first.

Need, Want, and Availability

Nepali often expresses “need,” “want right now,” and “availability” with impersonal patterns.

Instead of saying “I need X” as a direct subject-based action, Nepali often frames the meaning as:

X is needed for me.

X is available or obtainable here.

Because of this, the thing needed or available behaves like the main item in the sentence, while the person who needs or receives it is marked with –लाई (–lāī).

Two important verbs are:

चाहिनु
cāhinu
to be needed / wanted

पाइनु
pāinu
to be available / obtainable / to be found

Common forms include:

चाहिन्छ
cāhincha
is needed / is wanted

चाहिँदैन
cāhĩdaina
is not needed / is not wanted

पाइन्छ
pāincha
is available / can be obtained

पाइँदैन
pāĩdaina
is not available / cannot be obtained

चाहिन्छ / चाहिँदैन

Use चाहिन्छ (cāhincha) when you need or want something in the immediate situation.

This is very common in cafés, restaurants, shops, and everyday requests.

For example:

मलाई पानी चाहिन्छ।
malāī pānī cāhincha.
I need water. / I want water.

मलाई चिया चाहिँदैन।
malāī ciyā cāhĩdaina.
I do not need tea. / I do not want tea.

This pattern is especially useful when making practical requests.

Table 15.4.7 – Want/need now: चाहिन्छ / चाहिँदैन (cāhincha / cāhĩdaina)

Table 15.4.8 – Polite want/need questions

Simple Rule

Use चाहिन्छ (cāhincha) for “need/want now.”

Use चाहिँदैन (cāhĩdaina) for “do not need / do not want now.”

Use मन पर्छ (man parcha) for general likes.

Compare:

मलाई चिया मन पर्छ।
malāī ciyā man parcha.
I like tea.

मलाई चिया चाहिन्छ।
malāī ciyā cāhincha.
I need/want tea now.

मलाई चिया चाहिँदैन।
malāī ciyā cāhĩdaina.
I do not need/want tea now.

पाइन्छ / पाइँदैन

पाइन्छ (pāincha) means “is available,” “can be obtained,” or “you can get.”

पाइँदैन (pāĩdaina) means “is not available,” “cannot be obtained,” or “you cannot get.”

These forms are very common in shops, cafés, restaurants, offices, and service settings.

Instead of directly asking “Do you have X?”, Nepali often asks whether X is available.

For example:

यहाँ चिया पाइन्छ?
yahā̃ ciyā pāincha?
Is tea available here? / Can I get tea here?

यहाँ मोमो पाइन्छ?
yahā̃ momo pāincha?
Is momo available here? / Can I get momo here?

यहाँ कफी पाइँदैन।
yahā̃ kaphī pāĩdaina.
Coffee is not available here. / You cannot get coffee here.

Table 15.4.9 – Availability: पाइन्छ / पाइँदैन (pāincha / pāĩdaina)

Try It Now

Read the questions aloud.

यहाँ पानी पाइन्छ?
yahā̃ pānī pāincha?
Can I get water here?

यहाँ चिया पाइन्छ?
yahā̃ ciyā pāincha?
Can I get tea here?

यहाँ खाना पाइन्छ?
yahā̃ khānā pāincha?
Can I get food here?

“Available” vs. “Can You Get…?”

Literally, पाइन्छ (pāincha) means “is found,” “is available,” or “can be obtained.”

In natural English, it is often translated as “you can get …” because English usually expresses the idea from the customer’s point of view.

Nepali does not need to mention the person getting the item. The meaning is understood from context.

For example:

यहाँ पानी पाइन्छ।
yahā̃ pānī pāincha.
Water is available here. / You can get water here.

यहाँ पानी पाइँदैन।
yahā̃ pānī pāĩdaina.
Water is not available here. / You cannot get water here.

Table 15.4.10 – Availability questions: kahā̃ pāincha? / … pāincha?

Asking Yes/No Questions with कि

In Nepali, yes/no questions often keep the same word order as statements.

In speech, rising intonation can turn a statement into a question. In writing, the question mark shows that it is a question.

Nepali also commonly uses कि (ki) in yes/no questions.

कि (ki) literally means “or.” In questions, it can give a meaning like “or not?” and makes the question sound natural and conversational.

For example:

यहाँ पानी छ कि?
yahā̃ pānī cha ki?
Is there water here?

यो ठीक छ कि?
yo ṭhīk cha ki?
Is this okay?

तपाईंलाई चिया चाहिन्छ कि?
tapāī̃lāī ciyā cāhincha ki?
Do you want tea?

Table 15.4.11 – Yes/no questions with कि (ki)

Explicit Alternative Forms

You can also state both options directly:

हो कि होइन?
ho ki hoina?
Is it or is it not?

छ कि छैन?
cha ki chaina?
Is there or is there not?

चाहिन्छ कि चाहिँदैन?
cāhincha ki cāhĩdaina?
Do you need/want it or not?

Learner Tip

A question like यहाँ पानी छ कि? (yahā̃ pānī cha ki?) may sound like a polite way of checking availability, especially if the speaker wants water.

Saying “Because” with किनभने

In everyday Nepali, the most common way to say “because” is किनभने (kinabhane).

It is used to give a reason or explanation, especially in response to किन? (kina?), meaning “why?”

For example:

किन आउनुभएन?
kina āunubhaena?
Why didn’t you come?

किनभने म बिरामी थिएँ।
kinabhane ma birāmī thiẽ.
Because I was sick.

किन चिया चाहिँदैन?
kina ciyā cāhĩdaina?
Why don’t you want tea?

किनभने मलाई कफी मन पर्छ।
kinabhane malāī kaphī man parcha.
Because I like coffee.

Table 15.4.12 – Giving reasons with किनभने (kinabhane)

Simple Pattern

किन?
kina?
Why?

किनभने + reason
kinabhane + reason
Because + reason

Formal Alternative

A more formal or written form is:

किनकि
kinaki
because

For beginner conversation, किनभने (kinabhane) is the more useful everyday form.

Can You Do This Now?

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

• express likes with मन पर्छ (man parcha)
• express dislikes with मन पर्दैन (man pardaina)
• talk about past preferences with मन पर्‍यो (man paryo) and मन परेन (man parena)
• recognize the alternative verb मन पराउनु (man parāunu)
• use चाहिन्छ (cāhincha) for “need/want now”
• use चाहिँदैन (cāhĩdaina) for “do not need/want now”
• use पाइन्छ (pāincha) to ask what is available
• use पाइँदैन (pāĩdaina) to say something is not available
• ask yes/no questions with कि (ki)
• give reasons with किनभने (kinabhane)