nepali

IPA/nɪˈpɔː.li/
KK[nəpˈɔli]IPA/nɪˈpɔː.li/

nepali — noun

  • nepalisingular
  • nepalisplural

1. someone who comes from Nepal, the country between India and China in the Himalay

1.nounB1
Definition

someone who comes from Nepal, the country between India and China in the Himalayas.

Example

Joon shared a table with two Nepalis on the train from Delhi to Kathmandu.

countable singular: a/two Nepali(s)

Many Nepalis travel abroad to work and send money home to their families.

plural subject: 'Nepalis' as a group

Common collocations
  • a Nepali from Kathmandu
  • many Nepalis
  • young Nepalis

Grammar Patterns

a Nepali

the Nepalis

Usage Note

Capitalised in writing even when used as a common noun, like other words for people from a country (a Japanese, a Brazilian).

Common Mistakes

He is a nepali.
He is a Nepali.
names of nationalities are always capitalised in English.

2. the main official language of Nepal, also spoken by communities in parts of nort

2.nounB1
Definition

the main official language of Nepal, also spoken by communities in parts of northern India and Bhutan.

Example

Lucía started learning Nepali before her volunteer trip to a school in Kathmandu.

object of 'learn / study'

The street signs in Pokhara are printed in both Nepali and English.

with prep 'in': 'in Nepali'

Common collocations
  • speak Nepali
  • fluent Nepali
  • written in Nepali

Grammar Patterns

speak Nepali

in Nepali

Usage Note

Uncountable as a language name: 'speak Nepali', not 'speak a Nepali'. Distinguish from sense 1 (a person), which is countable.

Common Mistakes

She can speak the Nepali.
She can speak Nepali.
language names take no article when used as the object of 'speak'.

nepali — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Nepali and Nepalese both mean 'of Nepal' and can describe either people or things from the country; Nepali has become the more common modern form, while Nepalese has an older, slightly more formal feel and still appears in academic and historical writing. Himalayan describes the wider mountain region across Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet, and Pakistan, so a 'Himalayan trek' may cross several countries, but a 'Nepali trek' stays inside Nepal. Sherpa refers specifically to one ethnic group from the high mountain valleys of eastern Nepal who often work as mountain guides; every Sherpa is Nepali, but most Nepalis are not Sherpa. Compare: 'a Nepali farmer in the south' versus 'a Sherpa guide on Everest'.

Nepali ↗Nepalese ↗HimalayanSherpa ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Nepali people
  • Nepali culture
  • Nepali language
  • Nepali food

Phrases

  • speak fluent Nepali
  • a young Nepali

Prepositions

  • from Nepal
  • in Nepali

Etymology

SanskritHindiEnglish

From the country name Nepal plus the suffix -i, a pattern borrowed from Hindi and other South Asian languages for forming words meaning 'of or from a place' (compare Bengali from Bengal, Punjabi from Punjab). English first picked it up in the 19th century alongside the older form Nepalese, and over the past few decades Nepali has overtaken Nepalese in everyday use.