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Chapter 5 – Identifying People

Unit 3 — Conversations

Model Dialogues

In this section, learners practise three connected classroom conversation skills: asking “who?” (ko?), giving simple introductions (ma ___ hũ), and using respectful forms when speaking politely (tapāī̃, uhā̃). The dialogues reinforce pronoun choice (tapāī̃ vs. uhā̃), basic copula patterns (ho/hũ/hunuhuncha), and common classroom greetings and meeting language. These exchanges reflect natural first-day talk between classmates and support confident, respectful interaction.

Self-Introduction

Maya and John meet politely, confirm a role, and say “nice to meet you.

Speaker Nepali Transliteration
Maya नमस्कार। तपाईं को हुनुहुन्छ? namaskār. tapāī̃ ko hunuhuncha?
John नमस्कार। म जोन हुँ। namaskār. ma jon hũ.
Maya तपाईं शिक्षक हुनुहुन्छ? tapāī̃ śikṣak hunuhuncha?
John हो, म शिक्षक हुँ। ho, ma śikṣak hũ.
Maya तपाईंलाई भेटेर खुशी लाग्यो। tapāī̃lāī bheṭera khuśī lāgyo.
John मलाई पनि। malāī pani.


Origin and Nationality

Students greet and talk about nationality and origin using polite forms.

Speaker Nepali Transliteration
Anil नमस्ते। तपाईंलाई कस्तो छ? namaste. tapāī̃lāī kasto cha?
Sita नमस्ते। मलाई ठीक छ। तपाईंलाई नि? namaste. malāī ṭhīk cha. tapāī̃lāī ni?
Anil मलाई पनि ठीक छ। तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? malāī pani ṭhīk cha. tapāī̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha?
Sita म नेपालबाट हुँ। ma nepālbāṭa hũ.
Anil तपाईं नेपाली हुनुहुन्छ? tapāī̃ nepālī hunuhuncha?
Sita हो, म नेपाली हुँ। ho, ma nepālī hũ.
Anil केनजी, उहाँ कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? kenjī, uhā̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha?
Ken उहाँ नेपालबाट हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ nepālbāṭa hunuhuncha.
Anil केनजी, तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? kenjī, tapāī̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha?
Ken म जापानबाट हुँ। ma jāpānbāṭa hũ.
Anil तपाईं जापानी हुनुहुन्छ? tapāī̃ jāpānī hunuhuncha?
Ken होइन, म जापानी होइन। म कोरियाली हुँ। hoina, ma jāpānī hoina. ma koriyālī hũ.
Anil सीताजी, उहाँ कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? sītājī, uhā̃ kahā̃bāṭa hunuhuncha?
Sita उहाँ जापानबाट हुनुहुन्छ। uhā̃ jāpānbāṭa hunuhuncha.
Anil केनजी कोरियाली हुनुहुन्छ? kenjī koriyālī hunuhuncha?
Sita हो, उहाँ कोरियाली हुनुहुन्छ। ho, uhā̃ koriyālī hunuhuncha.

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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.