In Nepali, demonstratives function as noun modifiers and appear directly before the noun. They specify the referent by marking distance (near vs. far) and number (singular vs. plural). The forms are: यो / यी (near: “this/these”) and त्यो / ती (far: “that/those”).
Chapter 3 – Identifying Objects
Unit 4 — Grammar Focus
Basic word order in Nepali
Nepali typically follows Subject–Object–Verb (S–O–V) word order. This means the verb appears at the end of the sentence. This pattern applies across different sentence types, including action verbs, identity (X = Y), and existence/location structures.
In this unit, you will work with three high-frequency verb patterns:
-
Action verbs (e.g., “read,” “eat,” “drink”)
-
Identity/classification with हो / हुन्
-
Existence/location/possession with छ / छन्
Table 3.4.1 – Word order with action verbs (S–O–V)
The table below illustrates basic S–O–V word order with common action verbs. Notice that the subject (who does the action) comes first, the object (what is acted on) comes next, and the verb (the action) comes last. The “Literal” column shows the Nepali order more directly so you can see how the verb stays at the end.
| Nepali | Transliteration | Literal (word-by-word) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| म किताब पढ्छु। | ma kitāb paḍhchu. | I book read | I read a book. |
| उहाँ चिया पिउनुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ciyā piunuhuncha. | he/she (hon.) tea drinks | He/She (hon.) drinks tea. |
| हामी खाना खान्छौँ। | hāmī khānā khānchaũ. | we food eat | We eat food. |
Table 3.4.2 – Word order in identity sentences (हो / हुन्)
The table below shows that the identity verb हो / हुन् comes at the end.
| Nepali | Transliteration | Literal (word-by-word) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| यो कलम हो। | yo kalam ho. | this pen is | This is a pen. |
| यी किताबहरू हुन्। | yī kitābharū hun. | these books are | These are books. |
| यो मेरो झोला हो। | yo mero jholā ho. | this my bag is | This is my bag. |
| ती चाबीहरू हुन्। | tī cābīharū hun. | those keys are | Those are keys. |
Table 3.4.2 – Word order with छ / छन्
The table below shows verb-final word order in each pattern.
| Nepali | Transliteration | Literal (word-by-word) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| कक्षामा किताब छ। | kakṣāmā kitāb cha. | class-in book exists | There is a book in the classroom. |
| टेबलमा दुईवटा कलम छन्। | ṭebalmā duīwaṭā kalam chan. | table-on two pen exist | There are two pens on the table. |
| मसँग कलम छ। | masãga kalam cha. | me-with pen exists | I have a pen. |
Demonstratives (This / That)
Demonstratives are “pointing words” used to indicate distance (near vs. far) and number (singular vs. plural). They function both as modifiers (before a noun) and as pronouns (standing alone).
1) Near vs. far (this/that)
Nepali distinguishes demonstratives by distance (near vs. far) and number (singular vs. plural). The near forms refer to items close to the speaker, while the far forms refer to items farther away. Each form must match both distance and number, so learners select the appropriate combination when identifying or referring to a noun.
Table 3.4.3 – Demonstratives: near vs. far (singular/plural)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो | yo | this (singular; near) |
| यी | yī | these (plural; near) |
| त्यो | tyo | that (singular; far) |
| ती | tī | those (plural; far) |
2) Demonstratives as noun modifiers (before a noun)
Table 3.4.4 – Demonstratives Before a Noun
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो किताब | yo kitāb | this book |
| त्यो घर | tyo ghar | that house |
| यी कुर्सीहरू | yī kursīharū | these chairs |
| ती विद्यार्थीहरू | tī widyārthīharū | those students |
3) Demonstratives as pronouns (standing alone)
Demonstratives in Nepali can also function as pronouns, meaning they stand alone without a noun when the referent is clear from context. The same forms—यो, यी, त्यो, ती—are used, and they retain their distinctions of distance and number.
Table 3.4.5 – Demonstratives as Pronouns
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो राम्रो छ। | yo rāmro cha. | This is good. |
| त्यो मेरो हो। | tyo mero ho. | That is mine. |
| यी सस्ता छन्। | yī sastā chan. | These are cheap. |
| ती नयाँ कुर्सीहरू हुन्। | tī nayā̃ kursīharū hun. | Those are new chairs. |
4) Singular vs. plural agreement
Demonstratives in Nepali must agree in number with the verb. Singular forms—यो and त्यो—take singular verbs such as छ and हो, while plural forms—यी and ती—take plural verbs such as छन् and हुन्.
A simple rule: choose the demonstrative for distance and number, then match the verb accordingly.
Table 3.4.6 – Singular vs Plural With छ/छन् (Existence / location)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो यहाँ छ। | yo yahā̃ cha. | This is here. |
| यी यहाँ छन्। | yī yahā̃ chan. | These are here. |
| त्यो त्यहाँ छ। | tyo tyahā̃ cha. | That is there. |
| ती त्यहाँ छन्। | tī tyahā̃ chan. | Those are there. |
Table 3.4.7 – Singular vs Plural With हो / हुन् (Identity)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो मेरो किताब हो। | yo mero kitāb ho. | This is my book. |
| यी मेरा किताब हुन्। | yī merā kitāb hun. | These are my books. |
| त्यो घर हो। | tyo ghar ho. | That is a house. |
| ती कुर्सीहरू हुन्। | tī kursīharū hun. | Those are chairs. |
5) Demonstratives for people
Demonstratives can also refer to people. In basic usage, यो and त्यो may be used when pointing to a person, with meaning understood from context. In more explicit or careful speech, Nepali uses person-oriented forms: यिनी (near) and तिनी (far) for non-honorific reference.
For respectful reference, the honorific pronoun उहाँ is commonly used and serves as the default polite form for “he/she.”
Table 3.4.8 – Demonstratives for People
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यिनी | yinī | this person / these people (non-honorific, near) |
| तिनी | tinī | that person / those people (non-honorific, far) |
| उहाँ | uhā̃ | he/she (honorific) |
6) Useful question patterns with demonstratives
Demonstratives are frequently used in question patterns for identification, ownership, and choice. Common structures include:
-
Identification: यो के हो? “What is this?”
-
Ownership: यो कस्को … हो? “Whose … is this?”
-
Choice (कि “or”): यो … छ कि त्यो? “Is this … or that?”
These patterns are high-frequency and reusable across everyday contexts.
Table 3.4.9 – Object Identification Questions
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो के हो? | yo ke ho? | What is this? |
| त्यो के हो? | tyo ke ho? | What is that? |
Table 3.4.10 – Ownership Questions
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो कस्को किताब हो? | yo kasko kitāb ho? | Whose book is this? |
| त्यो कस्को झोला हो? | tyo kasko jholā ho? | Whose bag is that? |
Table 3.4.11 – Choosing / Comparing
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो राम्रो छ कि त्यो? | yo rāmro cha ki tyo? | Is this good, or that? |
| यो ठूलो छ कि त्यो? | yo ṭhūlo cha ki tyo? | Is this big, or that? |
| यो तपाईंको हो कि त्यो? | yo tapāī̃ko ho ki tyo? | Is this yours, or that? |
| यो मेरो हो कि त्यो? | yo mero ho ki tyo? | Is this mine, or that? |
| यो कफी हो कि त्यो? | yo kaphī ho ki tyo? | Is this coffee, or that? |
Check your understanding
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that replace a noun or noun phrase. In Nepali, pronouns mark person (first, second, third) and number (singular, plural), and they also encode social meaning, especially levels of politeness and respect.
Common examples include म (ma) “I,” तपाईं (tapāī̃) “you (polite),” उहाँ (uhā̃) “he/she (honorific),” and demonstratives such as यो (yo) “this” and त्यो (tyo) “that.” The choice of pronoun—and the verb form used with it—signals familiarity, politeness, and honorific level.
First person pronouns (I, we)
The first-person pronouns in Nepali are म (ma) “I” and हामी (hāmī) “we.” These forms mark person and number, but they do not typically encode politeness distinctions and remain stable across contexts.
Table 3.4.12 – First-person pronouns (I, we)
| Nepali | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| म | ma | I |
| हामी | hāmī | we |
Second person pronouns (you)
Second-person pronouns in Nepali indicate level of politeness and familiarity. There are three main forms:
-
तँ (tã): very informal or rude; not recommended for learners
-
तिमी (timī): familiar; used with friends, peers, or younger people
-
तपाईं (tapāī̃): polite/respectful; safest default in most situations
Choice of pronoun depends on relationship, social context, and level of respect. For beginners, तपाईं (tapāī̃) is the most appropriate general form in public, school, and workplace settings.
For plural “you,” Nepali adds –हरू (–harū): तपाईंहरू (tapāī̃harū).
Table 3.4.13 – Second person pronouns (you)
| Level | Nepali (sg.) | Nepali (pl.) |
|---|---|---|
| low | तँ (tã) | - |
| mid | तिमी (timī) | तिमीहरू (timīharū) |
| high | तपाईं (tapāī̃) | तपाईंहरू (tapāī̃harū) |
Third person pronouns (he, she, they)
Third-person reference in Nepali reflects both honorific level and discourse style. The basic non-honorific form is ऊ (ū), used for “he/she” in neutral or informal contexts.
In more careful or written-style Nepali, additional forms such as उनी (unī), यिनी (yinī), and तिनी (tinī) are used. These behave like demonstrative-style pronouns and help distinguish discourse perspective. यिनी (yinī) typically refers to someone near in context, while उनी (unī) and तिनी (tinī) are more commonly used for neutral or distant reference, especially in narratives or formal descriptions.
For respectful reference, Nepali primarily uses उहाँ (uhā̃) for “he/she (honorific),” with उहाँहरू (uhā̃harū) as the plural form. A simple learner guideline is: use ऊ (ū) for neutral reference and उहाँ (uhā̃) for respectful reference.
Forms such as यहाँ (yahā̃) and वहाँ (vahā̃) may appear in more formal or literary styles, but in everyday spoken Nepali, उहाँ (uhā̃) remains the standard honorific pronoun.
Table 3.4.14 – Third person pronouns (he, she, they)
| Level | Nepali (sg.) | Nepali (pl.) |
|---|---|---|
| low | ऊ (ū) | उनीहरू (unīharū) |
| mid | उनी / यिनी / तिनी (unī / yinī / tinī) | उनीहरू / यिनीहरू / तिनीहरू (unīharū / yinīharū / tinīharū) |
| high | उहाँ (uhā̃) | उहाँहरू (uhā̃harū) |
Check your understanding
Identify Nepali Honorific Levels
Two “To Be” Patterns in Nepali Grammar
English uses a single verb “to be” (am/is/are) for identity, description, condition, and location. Nepali divides these functions into two distinct grammatical systems, and the choice depends on meaning rather than translation.
Identity / Classification (X = Y)
When a sentence identifies or classifies a person or thing (X = Y), Nepali uses forms of हुनु (hunu), including हुँ (hũ), हो (ho), हुन् (hun), and हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha).
This pattern is used to express identity or classification, for example:
“This is a book.”
“He is a teacher.”
Location, Condition, and Existence
When expressing location, physical state, feelings, or existence, Nepali uses छ (cha) for singular or uncountable nouns and छन् (chan) for plural nouns.
This pattern is used in sentences such as:
“He is in Kathmandu.”
“I am fine.”
“There is a book.”
Key distinction
These two systems are not interchangeable. Using हो (ho) for location or temporary condition is not grammatical in standard Nepali. Identity is expressed with हुनु (hunu) forms, while location, condition, and existence are expressed with छ / छन् (cha / chan).
Using हो for Identifying Objects
In this unit, you learn the identity (X = Y) pattern used to identify or classify objects in Nepali. In identity sentences, the verb appears at the end of the sentence.
For singular objects, Nepali uses हो (ho). This form is used when defining what something is:
यो किताब हो। (yo kitāb ho.) — This is a book.
यो कलम हो। (yo kalam ho.) — This is a pen.
त्यो झोला हो। (tyo jholā ho.) — That is a bag.
In these sentences, the second noun (किताब, कलम, झोला) functions as the category or label, and हो links the object to that category.
For plural objects, Nepali uses हुन् (hun). This is common with plural demonstratives such as यी (yī) and ती (tī):
यी किताब हुन्। (yī kitāb hun.) — These are books.
ती कुर्सीहरू हुन्। (tī kursīharū hun.) — Those are chairs.
A simple rule for object identity is:
-
singular → हो (ho)
-
plural → हुन् (hun)
Negative identity sentences use होइन (hoina) for singular and होइनन् (hoinan) for plural:
यो किताब होइन। (yo kitāb hoina.) — This is not a book.
यी किताब होइनन्। (yī kitāb hoinan.) — These are not books.
In practice, honorific forms are mainly used for people, but learners should recognize:
-
हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) — respectful “is/are”
-
हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna) — respectful negative
In this unit, हो / हुन् (and होइन / होइनन्) are used specifically for object identification (X = Y). For location, existence, or temporary states, Nepali uses छ / छन् (cha / chan), which are covered in other sections.
Table 3.4.15 – Identity sentences: affirmative (हो/हुन्/हुनुहुन्छ)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो किताब हो। | yo kitāb ho. | This is a book. |
| यी विद्यार्थी हुन्। | yī widyārthī hun. | These are students. |
| म विद्यार्थी हुँ। | ma widyārthī hũ. | I am a student. |
| जोन शिक्षक हो। | jon śikṣak ho. | John is a teacher. |
| उहाँ डाक्टर हुनुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ḍākṭar hunuhuncha. | He/she (hon.) is a doctor. |
Table 3.4.16 – Identity sentences: negative (होइन/होइनन्/हुनुहुन्न)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| त्यो किताब होइन। | tyo kitāb hoina. | That is not a book. |
| उनीहरू विद्यार्थी होइनन्। | unīharū widyārthī hoinan. | They are not students. |
| उहाँ प्राध्यापक हुनुहुन्न। | uhā̃ prādhyāpak hunuhunna. | He/She (hon.) is not a professor. |
Table 3.4.17 – WH-questions (के हो? / के हुन्?)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो के हो? | yo ke ho? | What is this? |
| त्यो के हो? | tyo ke ho? | What is that? |
| यी के हुन्? | yī ke hun? | What are these? |
| ती के हुन्? | tī ke hun? | What are those? |
Asking and Answering Yes/No Questions
In Nepali, yes/no questions are usually formed without auxiliary verbs such as “do,” “is,” or “are.” In most cases, a question is marked only by rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
An optional strategy is to use the question particle के (ke) at the beginning of the sentence to explicitly mark it as a question.
Since this chapter focuses on identity (equative) sentences, the main copula forms used in questions and answers are:
-
हो (ho) / होइन (hoina) for non-honorific identity
-
हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) / हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna) for honorific identity
These forms are used both in questions and in short answers.
Intonation: Statement vs. Question
In Nepali, yes/no questions are often formed without changing word order. The written form may look identical to a statement. The difference is marked through intonation, especially pitch movement at the end of the sentence.
With falling intonation, the sentence is interpreted as a statement. With rising intonation, the same sentence is interpreted as a question. This means meaning is carried primarily by prosody rather than grammatical change.
Table 3.4.18 – Intonation: statement vs. yes/no question
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यो नेपाल हो। | yo nepāl ho. | This is Nepal. |
| यो नेपाल हो? | yo nepāl ho? | Is this Nepal? |
Practice tip: say यो नेपाल हो (yo nepāl ho) twice—first with falling intonation (statement), then with rising intonation (question).
Optional question particle के (ke)
In addition to intonation, Nepali can mark a yes/no question using the optional particle के (ke). It is placed at the beginning of the sentence and functions as an explicit question marker, especially in careful speech or instructional contexts.
Importantly, adding के (ke) does not change word order; the rest of the sentence remains unchanged.
Table 3.4.19 – Yes/no questions with के (optional question particle)
| Form | Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| with intonation only | यो क्यानाडा हो? | yo kyāṇāḍā ho? | Is this Canada? |
| with के | के यो क्यानाडा हो? | ke yo kyāṇāḍā ho? | Is this Canada? |
Saying “Yes” and “No”
In Nepali, “yes” and “no” can be expressed in multiple ways depending on tone, familiarity, and social context.
For “yes,” the informal form is अँ (ã), commonly used in casual conversation with friends or family. The neutral and polite form is हो (ho), which is appropriate in most public, classroom, and workplace contexts.
For “no,” the informal form is अहँ (ahã), while the neutral and polite form is होइन (hoina), which also functions as the negative form in identity sentences (“is not”).
A practical learner guideline is to use हो (ho) and होइन (hoina) as default responses, while recognizing अँ (ã) and अहँ (ahã) as informal alternatives.
Table 3.4.20 – Saying “yes” and “no” (common responses)
| Response type | Nepali | Transliteration | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | अँ | ã | yes | friendly/informal |
| Yes | हो | ho | yes | neutral/polite |
| No | अहँ | ahã | no | friendly/informal |
| No | होइन | hoina | no / is not | neutral/polite |
Answer strategy
In natural Nepali conversation, short answers often sound more complete when they repeat the main copula (the “to be” verb) from the question. This is especially common with identity questions using हो (ho) / होइन (hoina) and with honorific identity forms like हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) / हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna).
Instead of replying with only “yes” or “no,” speakers often echo the verb to clearly confirm or correct the information. This makes the response more natural and unambiguous.
For example, if someone asks यो क्यानाडा हो? (yo kyāṇāḍā ho?), a natural affirmative answer is हो, यो क्यानाडा हो। (ho, yo kyāṇāḍā ho.) If the answer is negative, speakers typically use होइन and then provide the correct information: होइन, यो अमेरिका हो। (hoina, yo amerikā ho.)
Table 3.4.21 – Answer strategy: repeating the copula
| Question (English) | Question (Nepali) | Affirmative Answer | Negative Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is this Canada? | यो क्यानाडा हो? (yo kyāṇāḍā ho?) |
हो, यो क्यानाडा हो। (ho, yo kyāṇāḍā ho.) |
होइन, यो अमेरिका हो। (hoina, yo amerikā ho.) |
| Are you a teacher? | तपाईं शिक्षक हुनुहुन्छ? (tapāī̃ śikṣak hunuhuncha?) |
हो, म शिक्षक हुँ। (ho, ma śikṣak hũ.) |
होइन, म शिक्षक होइन। (hoina, ma śikṣak hoina.) |
Check your understanding
Nouns in Nepali
Nouns are words that name people, places, objects, and ideas. In Nepali, many common nouns refer to everyday roles such as विद्यार्थी (widyārthī) “student” and शिक्षक (śikṣak) “teacher,” as well as familiar objects such as किताब (kitāb) “book” and कुर्सी (kursī) “chair.”
Nouns frequently combine with demonstratives such as यो (yo) “this” and त्यो (tyo) “that” to make meaning more specific. They also appear with possessive forms such as मेरो (mero) “my,” तिम्रो (timro) “your,” and तपाईंको (tapāī̃ko) “your (polite).”
In basic identity sentences, nouns are commonly used with the copula हो (ho), and with the honorific form हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) when referring respectfully to people.
Table 3.4.22 – Common nouns (people, places, objects)
| Nepali | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| विद्यार्थी | widyārthī | student |
| शिक्षक | śikṣak | teacher |
| कक्षा | kakṣā | classroom / class |
| झोला | jholā | bag |
| किताब | kitāb | book |
Gender
In Nepali, most nouns do not have grammatical gender marking, so nouns typically do not change form to show “masculine” or “feminine.” As a result, many common human-role nouns are gender-neutral, such as विद्यार्थी (widyārthī) “student” and डाक्टर (ḍākṭar) “doctor.” In most cases, the gender of the person is understood from context, such as names, social situation, or prior information in the conversation.
However, Nepali does include nouns whose meanings are inherently gendered, particularly kinship terms and some social-role vocabulary. For example, आमा (āmā) “mother,” दिदी (didī) “elder sister,” and छोरी (chorī) “daughter” are naturally feminine, while बाबु (bābu) “father,” दाइ (dāi) “elder brother,” and छोरा (chorā) “son” are naturally masculine.
For beginners, the key idea is that Nepali does not usually require grammatical “gender agreement” on nouns. Instead, learners should focus on learning a set of vocabulary items where gender is built into the meaning itself.
Feminine Nouns
Many Nepali feminine nouns are feminine by meaning, especially kinship terms and everyday roles. A useful pattern for learners is that many feminine nouns end in –ी (–ī), such as केटी (keṭī), दिदी (didī), छोरी (chorī), and बहिनी (bahinī). This ending often signals feminine reference in people-related vocabulary.
However, this is not a grammatical rule that always applies. Some common feminine nouns do not end in –ी, for example आमा (āmā). For this reason, learners should treat word endings as helpful patterns rather than fixed rules, and learn feminine nouns as part of vocabulary rather than through strict formation rules.
Table 3.4.23 – Feminine Nouns
| Nepali | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| केटी | keṭī | girl |
| आमा | āmā | mother |
| दिदी | didī | elder sister |
| बहिनी | bahinī | younger sister |
| छोरी | chorī | daughter |
| रानी | rānī | queen |
| देवी | devī | goddess |
Masculine Nouns
Some Nepali nouns are inherently masculine by meaning, just like feminine nouns are. These words typically refer to male family relations and roles, especially kinship terms and certain social or cultural titles. Their masculinity is not shown by a special grammatical marker on the noun itself; instead, it comes from what the word means. For example, बाबु (bābu) “father,” दाइ (dāi) “elder brother,” and छोरा (chorā) “son” are understood as masculine because they refer to male persons. For beginners, treat these as core vocabulary items and use them when the relationship or role is specifically male.
Table 3.4.24 – Masculine nouns
| Nepali | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| केटा | keṭā | boy |
| बाबु | bābu | father |
| दाइ | dāi | elder brother |
| भाइ | bhāi | younger brother |
| छोरा | chorā | son |
| राजा | rājā | king |
| देव | dewa | god |
Plural nouns
In Nepali, the most common way to form a plural noun is by adding the suffix –हरू (–harū) to the singular form. This is especially frequent with people words and other countable nouns. For example, विद्यार्थी (widyārthī) “student” becomes विद्यार्थीहरू (widyārthīharū) “students,” and किताब (kitāb) “book” becomes किताबहरू (kitābharū) “books.”
In many cases, however, Nepali can also express plurality without –हरू (–harū) when other grammatical markers already make the meaning clear. These include plural demonstratives (यी yī, ती tī), numbers, or plural verb forms such as छन् (chan) and हुन् (hun).
Singular and Plural Forms
Table 3.4.25 – Singular and plural nouns
| Singular | Transliteration | Meaning | Plural | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| केटी | keṭī | girl | केटीहरू | keṭīharū | girls |
| शिक्षक | śikṣak | teacher | शिक्षकहरू | śikṣakharū | teachers |
| विद्यार्थी | widyārthī | student | विद्यार्थीहरू | widyārthīharū | students |
| किताब | kitāb | book | किताबहरू | kitābharū | books |
| मान्छे | mānche | person | मान्छेहरू | māncheharū | people |
Omission of –हरू (–harū)
In contexts where plurality is already clear from demonstratives or verbs, Nepali may drop the plural suffix. This is common in both spoken and written language, especially with frequently used nouns.
Table 3.4.26 – Plural nouns without –हरू when plurality is clear
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| यी विद्यार्थी हुन्। | yī widyārthī hun. | These are students. |
| ती शिक्षक हुन्। | tī śikṣak hun. | Those are teachers. |
| यी किताब हुन्। | yī kitāb hun. | These are books. |
Note: The key idea is that –हरू (–harū) marks plurality explicitly, but Nepali also relies heavily on context and agreement within the sentence to signal plural meaning.
Articles in Nepali
Nepali does not use articles like English a/an/the, so nouns typically appear without an additional word to mark definiteness. Instead, whether something is interpreted as “a” (general) or “the” (specific) is understood from context—shared knowledge between speakers, prior mention in conversation, or what is physically visible in the situation.
When speakers want to make a noun clearly specific, they often use demonstratives such as यो (yo) “this” or त्यो (tyo) “that.” In many contexts, these demonstratives function similarly to English “the.” For example, यो किताब (yo kitāb) can mean “this book” and may also refer to “the book (we are talking about).”
Without a demonstrative, a noun such as किताब (kitāb) is generally interpreted as indefinite or general (“a book” or “books”), depending on context. The key point for learners is that Nepali does not encode articles grammatically; specificity is expressed through context and demonstratives when needed.
Table 3.4.27 – No articles in Nepali
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| ऊ विद्यार्थी हो। | ū widyārthī ho. | He/She is a student. / He/She is the student. |
| यो कक्षा हो। | yo kakṣā ho. | This is a classroom. / This is the classroom. |
