Words your family actually uses
One word on screen at a time. Devanagari first, romanised hint second, meaning third, with a picture and a gentle matching exercise. आमा, पानी, धन्यवाद, not vocabulary lists.
For Nepali families abroad
Little steps into Nepali.
A calm, playful iPhone & iPad app for children growing up outside Nepal. First words, then the Devanagari letters, then writing them by hand. One small win at a time.
- No ads, ever
- Nothing tracked
- Your child never signs in
Most Nepali parents abroad know the moment. You ask something in Nepali, and your child answers in English.
They understand you. They just don't have the words back yet.
What's inside
A small illustrated world, not a test
Everything here was built around one idea: a child who feels graded stops volunteering. So nothing is timed, nothing is lost, and every session ends somewhere good.
The whole Devanagari alphabet
Vowels, consonants and barakhari, with letter recognition and vowel-building. Children can explore every letter freely, or follow guided activities in order.
Writing, stroke by stroke
Guided tracing shows how each letter is actually formed, in the right order. Handwriting is one of the strongest cues for recognising a letter later.
Hear it said properly
Lessons carry recordings of real people, added as our reviewers approve them, so your child learns the sounds English does not mark, like the difference between क and ख.
Nothing to lose, ever
No timer, no lives, no streak to break. A wrong answer is an invitation to try again. Three stars per finished lesson, awarded once. Replaying never inflates progress.
Made for small hands
Big targets, a calm layout and a mascot who is a companion rather than a marker. Works on a phone, and iPad is a first-class screen, not a stretched phone view.
Real Nepali, from day one
Words worth knowing first
The starter vocabulary is chosen for how often a child will really hear it: family, home and everyday needs, before anything abstract.
- नमस्तेnamastehello
- आमाaamaamother
- हजुरआमाhajuraamaagrandmother
- धन्यवादdhanyabaadthank you
- पानीpaaniwater
- घरgharhome
- खानाkhaanaafood
- मेरो परिवारmero pariwaarmy family
How it works
Ten minutes a day, together
Nepali Buddy is built to sit beside a parent or grandparent, not to replace one. It handles the daily repetition so your family time can be the real thing.
- 1
You sign in once
With Apple or Google, so your child's progress is tied to something sturdier than one device. That is the only setup step, and it is yours, not your child's.
- 2
Hand it over, ten minutes at a time
Your child opens the app and starts. No login, no password, nothing to type. Short sessions of a few words, or a letter and its sound, each short enough to finish on a win.
- 3
Take it to the family
The words are chosen so they work on a real video call. The goal was never the app. It is your child saying नमस्ते to someone who has waited to hear it.
iPhone & iPad
The app is the real thing
Nepali Buddy is built as an app first. Everything is bundled into it: lessons, audio, artwork. It opens straight onto a lesson, with nothing to download and nothing to wait for.
- Lessons live on the device. Every word, recording and illustration is bundled into the app, so nothing streams, nothing buffers and a slow connection never stops a lesson.
- iPad is a first-class screen. Not a stretched phone layout. The tablet gets its own, with room for the illustration beside the question.
- Your child never signs in. You do that once, with Apple or Google. After that you hand over the device and they are straight into a lesson. No login, no password, nothing to type.
- Requires iOS 15 or later. Free, with no in-app purchases and no subscription.
Not on the App Store just yet. The browser version has the same lessons in the meantime, and we'll email you the moment the app is live.
Quietly different
What we will never do
This is a children's app. That should come with conditions, so here are ours in plain language.
No advertising
Not a banner, not a video, not a cross-promotion. There is no ad code in the app.
Never an account for your child
Signing in is a parent's job, done once. Your child never signs up, never logs in and never types their name into anything.
No tracking or analytics
We do not measure your child. Nothing about how they learn is sold, shared or used to advertise anything.
No paywall mid-lesson
Nothing is locked, and there is no payment screen. Free while Nepali Buddy is in early access.
Guides
For the parent doing the teaching
Practical writing on raising a Nepali-speaking child far from Nepal: what works, what backfires, and where to start.
Words & phrases
30 first Nepali words to teach your child
A starter Nepali vocabulary chosen for how often a child will really hear it: family, home and everyday needs, with Devanagari, romanisation and meaning.
Reading & writing
The Nepali alphabet for children: where to start
Devanagari has 12 vowels and 36 consonants, which sounds overwhelming. Here is the order to teach them in, and why barakhari makes reading finally click.
For parents
How to teach Nepali to kids growing up abroad
A guide for Nepali parents abroad: why children stop speaking the language, what actually reverses it, and a weekly routine that needs no classroom.
One email, once
Want the iPhone & iPad app?
The iPhone and iPad app is built and being tested on real devices. Leave your email and we'll write to you exactly once, on the day it lands on the App Store. No newsletter, no drip campaign, no sharing your address.
Parents and guardians only. We never ask children for an email address See our Privacy Policy.
Questions
Before you start
What age is Nepali Buddy for?
It is designed for roughly ages 6 to 10, learning alongside a parent, grandparent or older sibling. Younger children enjoy the sounds and pictures with an adult reading along; older beginners can work through it on their own.
Does my child need to already speak some Nepali?
No. It starts from zero: single words with pictures and sound, then the Devanagari letters. Romanized hints (like writing namaste for नमस्ते) are shown by default and can be switched off once your child is reading the script.
Is it free?
Yes. Nepali Buddy is free while it is in early access, both the browser version and the iPhone and iPad app when it arrives. There is no subscription, no payment screen and no locked lessons. Signing in is free too; it is not a trial.
Are there ads?
None, and there never will be. No banners, no videos, no cross-promotion. There is no advertising code in the app at all, and no analytics or tracking of your child.
Why do I have to sign in?
So your child's progress is tied to something more durable than one device. The account is yours, not your child's. You sign in once with Apple or Google, and your child simply opens the app and learns. They never see a login, never enter an email, and never type their name into anything.
What does signing in share with you?
Whatever Apple or Google hands over: an account identifier, an email address and, if the provider offers it, your name. If you use Sign in with Apple you can choose Hide My Email and we only ever see a private relay address. We do not ask for anything else, and your child's lesson activity is not attached to it.
When is the iPhone and iPad app out?
The iOS version is built and being tested on real devices, and it is not on the App Store yet. Leave your email on this page and we will write to you exactly once, on the day it is available. In the meantime the browser version has the same lessons.
Will the app work without internet?
Yes. The iPhone and iPad app bundles its lessons, audio and artwork, so it works on a plane, in a car or anywhere with no signal. The browser version needs a connection.
Does it teach the Nepali alphabet and writing?
Yes. There is a Reading and writing section covering vowels, consonants and barakhari, with letter recognition, sound playback, guided stroke-by-stroke tracing and free exploration of every letter.
Is the Nepali content reviewed by real people?
Lessons are drafted and then reviewed by named human editors before they are published to the app. This is an early-access prototype, so the library is still growing and we welcome corrections from Nepali-speaking families.