Language/Nepali-individual-language/Grammar/Nouns

Nepali (individual language) Grammar - Nouns

Hi Nepali (individual language) learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about Nepali (individual language) nouns, which are essential for constructing any sentence. Nouns in Nepali (individual language) can be people, places, things, or ideas. They can be singular or plural, and they generally follow the subject-object-verb word order.

Basic Concepts

In Nepali (individual language), every noun has gender assigned to it, either masculine or feminine. This designation often corresponds to the biological gender of the object being named, however, there are many exceptions. Therefore, it is essential to learn the grammatical gender of a noun along with its spelling. This way, you will know what ending to use when modifying the noun in a sentence.

For example, the word "guru" ( गुरु ) is masculine, and the word "saayani" ( सायणी ) is feminine. We use the suffixes "ko" and "sanga" for masculine and feminine, respectively, while denoting possession. For example, "Guru ko ghar" means the house of the teacher, and "saayani sanga gharma" means at home with the housewife.

Another essential part of Nepali (individual language) nouns is that they frequently function as the subject of a sentence while still allowing other parts of speech to attach to them. This quality makes sentence construction more flexible and syllable-efficient, allowing more information to be communicated per breath.

For example, in the sentence "Mero gandi bhayo" ("My elbow hurts"), "gandi" is the noun, meaning "elbow." We can modify the noun's meaning by adding adjectives or verbs to it, as in the case of "mero bhari dui gandi haru" ("my two heavy elbows"). In Nepali (individual language), adjectives come after the noun they modify.

Nepali (individual language) also has many borrowings from other languages, especially from Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, and English. Some of these words have acquired Nepali grammar, while others have retained their original grammar. Notably, the loan words retain their original gender, and this property frequently does not match the gender of native Nepali (individual language) nouns.

For example, the Nepali (individual language) word for computer is "yantra," which is masculine. However, the English word "computer" ends in "er," which is often a female suffix in Nepali (individual language). This discrepancy can result in confusion and frustration for non-Nepali (individual language) speakers, so one must learn the appropriate grammatical gender of each new noun.

Types of Nouns

In Nepali (individual language), there are five types of nouns.

1. Simple Nouns

Simple nouns are a combination of a root and a suffix, sometimes without a suffix.

Nepali (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
सिंह	singha	lion
घर	ghar	house
शिक्षक	sikshak	teacher

2. Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more simple nouns. Compound nouns can be joint or hyphenated.

Nepali (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
चलचित्र	chalachitra	movie
टेलिफोन कक्ष	telefon kaksha	telephone booth
गुरुकुल	gurukula	school for spiritual study

3. Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words used to describe groups of people, animals, or things.

Nepali (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
समूह	samuha	group
चलचित्र-दल	chalachitra-dala	film crew
सृष्टिकर्ता	srshtikarta	Creator

4. Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns refer to ideas, concepts, or emotions that cannot be physically perceived.

Nepali (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
स्वास्थ्य	swasthya	health
समाज	samaj	society
आत्मनिर्भरता	atmanirbharta	self-reliance

5. Nouns derived from Verbs

Nouns derived from verbs are formed with the help of suffixes or modification of the root word.

Nepali (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
लेखन	lekhan	writing
भोजन	bojhan	food
फोहरमाछा	phoharamacha	hunter

Dialogue

Person 1: तपाईंको नाम के हो? (Tapaiṅko naam ke ho?) (What is your name?) Person 2: मेरो नाम घीष्मा हो। (Mero naam ghishma ho.) (My name is Ghishma.)

Person 1: तपाईं स्कुलमा कहाँ पढ्दै हुनुहुन्छ? (Tapaiṅ skulama kahāṅ paḍhda'i hunu hunchha?) (Where do you go to school?) Person 2: बरौँ देशको शहरमा। (Barauṁ deśako śaharama.) (In the city of Bara.)

Person 1: तपाईंको समुदाय के हो? (Tapaiṅko samudaaya ke ho?) (What is your community?) Person 2: मैती ठाकुरी हो। (Maiti Thakuri ho.) (I'm a Thakuri from the Maiti community.)

Sources

• Grammatical Gender
• Nepali (individual language)
• Grammar of Nepali (individual language)

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