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.
The first words matter more than the next hundred, because they decide whether your child experiences Nepali as useful or as homework.
The list below is chosen for frequency in a child’s real day, not for what a textbook opens with. Every word here is one a child can use with a grandparent on a video call this week.
Family
The highest-value words in any heritage language. These are the ones attached to people your child loves.
| Nepali | Romanised | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आमा | aamaa | mother |
| बुबा | buwaa | father |
| हजुरआमा | hajuraamaa | grandmother |
| हजुरबुबा | hajurbuwaa | grandfather |
| दाइ | daai | older brother |
| दिदी | didi | older sister |
| भाइ | bhaai | younger brother |
| बहिनी | bahini | younger sister |
| परिवार | pariwaar | family |
Start here. A child who can name everyone on the call has a reason to be on it.
Greetings and courtesy
| Nepali | Romanised | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| नमस्ते | namaste | hello / goodbye |
| धन्यवाद | dhanyabaad | thank you |
| हुन्छ | hunchha | okay / yes |
| हुँदैन | hundaina | no / not okay |
| फेरि भेटौँ | pheri bhetaun | see you again |
नमस्ते works for both arriving and leaving, which makes it unusually easy to practise.
Home and everyday things
| Nepali | Romanised | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| घर | ghar | home |
| पानी | paani | water |
| खाना | khaanaa | food |
| दूध | doodh | milk |
| भात | bhaat | rice / cooked meal |
| किताब | kitaab | book |
| ढोका | dhokaa | door |
| बत्ती | batti | light |
भात is worth a note. It means cooked rice, but in practice it often means the meal itself. खाना खानुभयो? is closer to “have you eaten?” than any literal translation.
Feelings and needs
These turn vocabulary into communication.
| Nepali | Romanised | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| भोक लाग्यो | bhok laagyo | I’m hungry |
| तिर्खा लाग्यो | tirkhaa laagyo | I’m thirsty |
| निद्रा लाग्यो | nidraa laagyo | I’m sleepy |
| रमाइलो | ramaailo | fun / enjoyable |
| मिठो | mitho | tasty |
| ठूलो | thulo | big |
| सानो | saano | small |
| राम्रो | raamro | good / nice |
How to actually teach them
Five at a time, not thirty. Take one group, use it for a week, then add the next. A child who knows nine family words solidly is further along than one who has seen all thirty once.
Attach every word to a moment, not a screen. पानी is best learned while handing over a glass of water. The word and the object arriving together is what makes it stick.
Let them hear it from more than one voice. A word your child has only ever heard from one person is fragile. Grandparents, aunts, recordings, songs: variety is what turns recognition into understanding.
Do not correct pronunciation early. Aspirated consonants and retroflex sounds take time for a child raised on English. Accuracy follows confidence, never the other way round.
Practising these in Nepali Buddy
Every word above belongs to the kind of set Nepali Buddy teaches: one word on screen at a time, Devanagari first, romanisation second, meaning third, with picture, sound and a gentle meaning-matching exercise, and no penalty for guessing wrong.
Romanised hints can be turned off globally in Settings once your child starts reading the script, so the same words keep working as their reading grows.