Practical Guide to Bilingual Nepali-English Conversations
Bilingual conversation means
naturally switching between Nepali and English within the same
conversation. In Nepal, this is especially common in informal conversations,
workplaces, shops, restaurants, education, technology, and professional
settings.
The key is not to translate every
sentence word-for-word. Instead, use Nepali for natural expression and
context and English for technical, professional, modern, or commonly
used terms.
1.
👨👩👧 Friend & Family — Informal/Casual
Typical pattern: Nepali sentence + English words.
Talking
about your day
- Aaja office ma ekdam stress thyo, yar. Break ni lina
paina.
→ Today was very stressful at the office, dude. I didn't even get a break. - Aaja ko workload ekdam high thyo.
→ Today's workload was very high. - Maile aaja dherai important kaam finish gare.
→ I finished a lot of important work today. - Aaja ali tired feel bhairacha.
→ I'm feeling a little tired today.
Talking
about plans
- Aaja evening ma k garne plan cha?
→ What's the plan for this evening? - Let's go somewhere. Ghar ma basera bore bhaye.
→ Let's go somewhere. I'm bored staying at home. - Momo khana jam?
→ Shall we go eat momo? - Movie herna jane ki coffee khana jane?
→ Shall we go watch a movie or have coffee?
Giving
opinions
- Malai tyo movie average lagyo.
→ I thought that movie was average. - Story chai ramro thiyo, tara ending ali weak lagyo.
→ The story was good, but the ending felt a little weak. - Honestly, malai chai tyo idea man parena.
→ Honestly, I didn't like that idea.
2. 🏢 Work & Office —
Professional/Flexible
In
many Nepali workplaces, English is naturally mixed with Nepali for meetings,
reports, deadlines, targets, clients, budgets, projects, and technical matters.
Starting
a meeting
- Good morning everyone.
- Aaja ko agenda chai sales
report ko barema ho. / Today's agenda is about the sales report.
- Let's start the meeting.
- Sabai jana ready hunuhuncha? /
Is everyone ready?
- First, previous meeting ko
action points review garam. / First, let's review the action points from
the previous meeting.
- Aaja hami main issues haru
discuss garne chhau. / Today we will discuss the main issues.
Explaining
a problem
- Sir, yo issue chai server side
bata bhako ho. / Sir, this issue is from the server side.
- Client lai temporary solution
provide garnu parcha. / We need to provide a temporary solution to the
client.
- Problem identify bhayeko cha,
aba solution ma kaam gardai chhau. / The problem has been identified, now
we are working on the solution.
- Yo issue immediately resolve
garnu parcha. / This issue must be resolved immediately.
Assigning
work
- Rita, can you draft the email?
/ Rita, can you draft the email?
- Ma chai budget herchu. / I will
look at the budget.
- You handle the client
communication. / You handle the client communication.
- Deadline chai Friday ho, hai? /
The deadline is Friday, right?
- Yo task today nai complete
garnu parcha. / This task must be completed today itself.
Giving
updates
- The project almost complete
bhayeko cha. / The project is almost complete.
- Report ready cha, ma email
gardinchu. / The report is ready, I will email it.
- Client le confirmation
pathaisaknu bhayo. / The client has already sent confirmation.
- We are still waiting for
approval. / We are still waiting for approval.
- Budget chai ajhai finalize
bhayeko chaina. / The budget hasn't been finalized yet.
3. 🛍️ Shopping & Bargaining
Asking
about products
- Yo shirt ko rate kati ho? /
What is the price of this shirt?
- Pure cotton ho ki mixed? / Is
it pure cotton or mixed?
- Yo ko different size available
cha? / Is a different size available for this?
- Large size cha? / Is a large
size available?
- Arko color available cha? / Is
another color available?
- Quality kasto cha? / How is the
quality?
Bargaining
- Customer: One thousand? Bhayena
sir. Budget chai ali tight cha. Seven hundred dinuhos na. / One thousand?
That won't work, sir. The budget is a bit tight. Please give it for seven
hundred.
- Shopkeeper: Haina sir, cost nai
high cha. Eight fifty dinus. / No, sir, the cost itself is high. Give
eight fifty.
- Customer: Eight hundred ma
final garam na. / Let's finalize at eight hundred.
- Shopkeeper: Okay, eight hundred
fifty final. / Okay, eight hundred fifty final.
Useful
phrases
- Last price kati ho? / What is
the last price?
- Ali discount garnus na. /
Please give a little discount.
- Cash payment garda discount
huncha? / Is there a discount if I pay cash?
- Yo price ma ali expensive
bhayo. / This is a bit expensive at this price.
- Arko shop ma sasto ma paunchu
hola. / I might get it cheaper at another shop.
- Final price bhandinus na. /
Please tell me the final price.
4. 🍽️ Restaurant & Food Ordering
Ordering
- Waiter, menu dinus na. /
Waiter, please give me the menu.
- Malai chicken sizzler chaiyo. /
I want a chicken sizzler.
- Spicy ali kam garnus. / Make it
a little less spicy.
- Extra cheese dinus na. / Please
give extra cheese.
- Water pani dinus. / Please give
water too.
- Can we get another plate? / Can
we get another plate?
- Yo dish ma k-k ingredients cha?
/ What are the ingredients in this dish?
Asking
for changes
- Onion ali kam rakhidinus. /
Please put a little less onion.
- Spicy nagarnus. / Don't make it
spicy.
- Extra sauce dinus na. / Please
give extra sauce.
- Cheese extra add garna milcha?
/ Can you add extra cheese?
- Yo takeaway garna milcha? / Can
this be takeaway?
When
the food arrives
- Wow, presentation ta dami cha!
/ Wow, the presentation is amazing!
- Smell pani ekdam ramro cha. /
The smell is also very nice.
- Let's take a photo first. /
Let's take a photo first.
- Photo khichera social media ma
halum? / Shall we take a photo and post it on social media?
- Food ekdam delicious cha. / The
food is very delicious.
Paying
- Bill dinus na. / Please give me
the bill.
- Can we pay by card? / Can we
pay by card?
- Cash payment garna milcha? /
Can we pay cash?
- Separate bill garna milcha? /
Can we get separate bills?
5. 🚕 Travel & Directions
Asking
for directions
- Excuse me, Thamel jane bato kun
ho? / Excuse me, which road goes to Thamel?
- Walking distance ma cha ki taxi
linu parcha? / Is it within walking distance or should we take a taxi?
- How far is it from here? / How
far is it from here?
- Yo bato airport tira jancha? /
Does this road go towards the airport?
- Right turn ho ki left turn? /
Is it a right turn or a left turn?
- Google Maps ma check gardinu
na. / Please check on Google Maps.
Taxi
conversation
- Bhai, airport jana parcha. /
Brother, we need to go to the airport.
- Shortcut cha bhane tyo bato
bata lagdinus. / If there's a shortcut, please take that route.
- Time ekdam kam cha. / There is
very little time.
- How much will it cost? / How
much will it cost?
- Ali fast jana milcha? / Can we
go a bit faster?
- Traffic dherai cha ki? / Is
there a lot of traffic?
Bus
conversation
- Yo bus Bharatpur jancha? / Does
this bus go to Bharatpur?
- Ticket kati ho? / How much is
the ticket?
- Ma kaha jharne? / Where do I
get off?
- Yo stop pachi mero destination
aaucha? / Does my destination come after this stop?
6. ❤️ Friendship, Feelings & Advice
Here
Nepali usually carries the emotional meaning, while English words such as
stress, pressure, space, overthink, support, confidence, relationship are
naturally inserted.
Giving
comfort
- Don't worry. / Don't worry.
- Yo pani samaya bitcha. / This
time will also pass.
- Dherai stress naliga. / Don't
take too much stress.
- Things will get better. /
Things will get better.
- Aafno mental peace lai priority
deu. / Prioritize your mental peace.
- Aru le k bhancha, ignore gara.
/ Ignore what others say.
- I'm always there for you. / I'm
always there for you.
Relationship
advice
- Uslai ali space dinu parcha. /
You should give him/her a little space.
- Dherai overthink nagara. /
Don't overthink too much.
- Communication clear hunu
important cha. / Clear communication is important.
- You deserve better. / You
deserve better.
- Aafno self-respect compromise
nagara. / Don't compromise your self-respect.
- Time deu, sabai kura gradually
clear huncha. / Give it time, everything will become clear gradually.
Expressing
feelings
- Honestly, malai yo situation le
hurt gareko cha. / Honestly, this situation has hurt me.
- I feel like nobody understands
me. / I feel like nobody understands me.
- Aaja mood ekdam off cha. /
Today my mood is very off.
- Malai ali alone time chaiyeko
cha. / I need a little alone time.
- I really appreciate your
support. / I really appreciate your support.
7. 🏥 Doctor & Pharmacy
⚠️
Medical decisions should follow a qualified clinician or pharmacist rather
than relying on mixed-language conversation alone.
At
the clinic
- Doctor, malai fever cha ra
headache pani cha. / Doctor, I have a fever and a headache too.
- Cough ni aaira cha. / I also
have a cough coming on.
- Since yesterday, I have been
feeling weak. / Since yesterday, I have been feeling weak.
- Malai body ache pani cha. / I
have body ache too.
- Yo symptoms kati din samma
normal huncha? / How many days are these symptoms normal for?
- Kehi test garnu parcha? / Do we
need to do some tests?
At
the pharmacy
- Yo prescription anusar medicine
dinus. / Please give the medicine according to this prescription.
- Yo medicine kasari khane ho? /
How do I take this medicine?
- Before food ki after food? /
Before food or after food?
- Din ma kati choti khane? / How
many times a day do I take it?
- Any side effects cha? / Are
there any side effects?
- Doctor le prescribe gareko
medicine nai dinus. / Please give the medicine prescribed by the doctor.
8. 📱 Technology & Social Media
This
is one of the most common areas for English-Nepali mixing.
- Mero phone ko battery ekdam low
cha. / My phone's battery is very low.
- Wi-Fi connect bhairako chaina.
/ The Wi-Fi isn't connecting.
- Password birsechu. / I forgot
the password.
- App update garnu parcha. / The
app needs to be updated.
- File download bhayena. / The
file didn't download.
- Photo upload gardai chu. / I am
uploading the photo.
- Malai yo link send gardinu. /
Please send me this link.
- Post lai like ra share gardinu
hai. / Please like and share the post, okay?
- Internet ekdam slow cha. / The
internet is very slow.
- Laptop hang bhayo. / The laptop
hung/froze.
Example
- Mero laptop suddenly hang
bhayo. Important file save pani gareko thiyena. Aba k garne? / My laptop
suddenly froze. I hadn't even saved the important file. What should I do
now?
9. 🎓 School, College & Classroom
Teacher
to students
- Okay everyone, class start
garam. / Okay everyone, let's start the class.
- Today we are going to discuss
reported speech. / Today we are going to discuss reported speech.
- Book ko page 25 open garnus. /
Open the book to page 25.
- Yo question carefully read
garnus. / Read this question carefully.
- Answer notebook ma lekhnus. /
Write the answer in your notebook.
- Homework complete garera
lyaunuhos. / Bring your completed homework.
- If you have any confusion, feel
free to ask. / If you have any confusion, feel free to ask.
Student
to teacher
- Sir, yo question ko answer
bujhina. / Sir, I didn't understand the answer to this question.
- Could you explain it again,
please? / Could you explain it again, please?
- Sir, homework submit garne
deadline kahile ho? / Sir, when is the deadline to submit the homework?
- Can I ask one question? / Can I
ask one question?
- Sir, yo sentence correct cha? /
Sir, is this sentence correct?
10. 📞 Telephone Conversations
Starting
a call
- Hello sir, good morning. /
Hello sir, good morning.
- Sir, are you available right
now? / Sir, are you available right now?
- Maile euta important kura
discuss garnu thiyo. / I needed to discuss something important.
- Do you have a minute? / Do you
have a minute?
If
the connection is poor
- Sorry sir, voice clear aayena.
/ Sorry sir, your voice isn't coming through clearly.
- Could you please repeat that? /
Could you please repeat that?
- Your voice is breaking up. /
Your voice is breaking up.
- Network problem jasto cha. /
Looks like a network problem.
- Can I call you back? / Can I
call you back?
Ending
a call
- Okay sir, I got it. / Okay sir,
I got it.
- I'll take care of it. / I'll
take care of it.
- Ma aba kaam start garchu. / I
will start the work now.
- Thank you, sir. / Thank you,
sir.
- I'll update you later. / I'll
update you later.
- Okay, talk to you later. / Okay,
talk to you later.
11. 💰 Money & Finance
- Aaja payment receive bhayo? /
Has the payment been received today?
- Bank transfer gareko chu. / I
have done a bank transfer.
- Payment confirmation
pathaidinu. / Please send the payment confirmation.
- Budget ali tight cha. / The
budget is a bit tight.
- Yo month expenses dherai bhayo.
/ This month's expenses have been too much.
- Can you lend me some money? /
Can you lend me some money?
- Ma next week return garchu. / I
will return it next week.
- Invoice already send gareko
chu. / I have already sent the invoice.
- Payment pending cha. / The
payment is pending.
12. 🏠 Home & Daily Life
- Aaja ghar ma cleaning garnu
parcha. / The house needs cleaning today.
- Kitchen ma food ready cha. /
The food is ready in the kitchen.
- Light off gardinu na. / Please
turn off the light.
- Fan ko switch off garnu. / Turn
off the fan switch.
- Guest haru aaudai chan. /
Guests are coming.
- Aaja dinner bahira khane plan
cha. / The plan is to eat dinner out today.
- Ghar ko internet slow
bhairacha. / The home internet is being slow.
- Laundry garnu baki cha. / The
laundry is still pending.
13. 🤝 Meeting Someone New
Introduction
- Hi, I'm Sajan. Nice to meet
you. / Hi, I'm Sajan. Nice to meet you.
- Tapai kaha bata hunuhuncha? /
Where are you from?
- What do you do? / What do you
do?
- Ma marketing field ma kaam
garchu. / I work in the marketing field.
- How long have you been working
here? / How long have you been working here?
- Tapai lai yo city kasto lagcha?
/ How do you like this city?
Keeping
the conversation going
- Really? That's interesting. /
Really? That's interesting.
- Ani tapai ko experience kasto
rahyo? / And how has your experience been?
- What do you think about it? /
What do you think about it?
- That's a good point. / That's a
good point.
- Exactly, ma pani tyahi sochchu.
/ Exactly, I think the same.
14. 😡 Complaints & Difficult Situations
Polite
complaint
- Excuse me, yo service ma ali
problem bhayo. / Excuse me, there is a bit of a problem with this service.
- I ordered this, but something
else was delivered. / I ordered this, but something else was delivered.
- Yo product damaged jasto cha. /
This product seems damaged.
- Could you please check this? /
Could you please check this?
- Malai replacement chaiyo. / I
need a replacement.
- Refund possible cha? / Is a
refund possible?
Strong
but polite
- I understand the situation, but
this needs to be resolved today. / I understand the situation, but this
needs to be resolved today.
- Yo problem pahile pani bhayeko
thiyo. / This problem has also happened before.
- Please give me a proper
solution. / Please give me a proper solution.
- I would appreciate it if you
could handle this immediately. / I would appreciate it if you could handle
this immediately.
15. 🗣️ Common Fillers & Connectors
These
small words make bilingual conversation sound more natural.
|
Expression |
Meaning |
Example |
|
hai? |
right?/okay? |
Deadline Friday ho, hai?
(The deadline is Friday, right?) |
|
ni |
also/too |
Ma ni janchu. (I'm going too.) |
|
pani |
also/too |
Tea pani linchu. (I'll have
tea too.) |
|
chai |
as for/regarding |
Budget chai approve
bhayena. (As for the budget, it wasn't approved.) |
|
ta |
emphasis |
Yo ta ramro cha! (This
is good!) |
|
yar |
dude/friend |
Kasto expensive ho, yar!
(How expensive, dude!) |
|
la |
okay/alright |
La, aba jam. (Okay, let's go now.) |
|
haina
ra? |
isn't it? |
Ramro cha, haina ra? (It's
nice, isn't it?) |
|
matrai |
only/just |
Yo matrai chaiyo. (I need only
this.) |
|
ali |
a little |
Ali wait garnus. (Please wait a little.) |
|
ekdam |
very/extremely |
Ekdam busy chu. (I'm very busy.) |
16. 🔄 Useful Bilingual Sentence Patterns
Pattern
1: Nepali + English adjective
Ma aaja ekdam busy chu.
→ I'm very busy today.
Yo kaam ali difficult cha.
→ This work is a little difficult.
Situation ekdam complicated cha.
→ The situation is very complicated.
Pattern
2: Nepali + English verb
Maile email send gare.
→ I sent the email.
File download gara.
→ Download the file.
Report prepare garnu parcha.
→ We have to prepare the report.
Meeting schedule gara.
→ Schedule the meeting.
Pattern
3: English opening + Nepali ending
Let's go bazar tira.
→ Let's go toward the market.
Can you malai help garna?
→ Can you help me?
I'll call you pachi.
→ I'll call you later.
Please malai update garnu.
→ Please update me.
Pattern
4: Nepali opening + English ending
Malai lagcha this is a good idea.
→ I think this is a good idea.
Timi le don't worry about it.
→ You shouldn't worry about it.
Yo situation handle garna ali
difficult cha.
→ This situation is a little difficult to handle.
17. ⭐ The Most Useful 30 Ready-to-Use
Phrases
1.
Aaja kasto busy bhayeu? / How busy
are you today?
2.
What's the plan for today?
3.
Ma ali busy chu aile. / I'm a little
busy right now.
4.
I'll call you later.
5.
Malai update gardinu hai. / Please
give me an update, okay?
6.
Yo kura malai clear bhayena. / This
matter wasn't clear to me.
7.
Could you explain it again?
8.
Ekchin wait garnus na. / Please wait
a moment.
9.
I'll check and let you know.
10.
Problem ke bhayo? / What is the
problem?
11.
Don't worry, I'll handle it.
12.
Malai pani tyahi lagcha. / I think
the same too.
13.
Exactly, you're right.
14.
Honestly, malai man parena. /
Honestly, I didn't like it.
15.
Let's discuss this later.
16.
Budget chai ali tight cha. / The
budget is a bit tight.
17.
Deadline kahile ho? / When is the
deadline?
18.
Yo today nai complete garnu parcha.
/ This must be completed today itself.
19.
Can you send me the file?
20.
Maile email already send gareko chu.
/ I have already sent the email.
21.
Network problem bhairacha. / There's
a network problem happening.
22.
Could you please repeat that?
23.
What do you suggest?
24.
Maile bujhe. / I understood.
25.
That makes sense.
26.
Let's see what happens.
27.
Aba k garne? / What to do now?
28.
It's okay, no worries.
29.
I'll get back to you.
30.
Okay, let's do it.
🎯 Pro-Tip for Learning Bilingual Conversation
Don't
try to memorize hundreds of complete sentences. Learn sentence frames.
Frame
1
- Malai ___ lagcha. / I feel ___.
- Malai ramro lagcha. / I feel
good.
- Malai interesting lagcha. / I
find it interesting.
- Malai ali difficult lagcha. / I
find it a bit difficult.
- Malai this is a good idea
lagcha. / I think this is a good idea.
Frame
2
- ___ garnu parcha. / ___ needs
to be done.
- Email send garnu parcha. / The
email needs to be sent.
- Report prepare garnu parcha. /
The report needs to be prepared.
- Meeting schedule garnu parcha.
/ The meeting needs to be scheduled.
- Client lai inform garnu parcha.
/ The client needs to be informed.
Frame
3
- ___ bhayeko cha. / ___ has
happened/is done.
- Problem solve bhayeko cha. /
The problem has been solved.
- Payment receive bhayeko cha. /
The payment has been received.
- Report complete bhayeko cha. /
The report has been completed.
- Meeting cancel bhayeko cha. /
The meeting has been canceled.
Frame
4
- ___ ali ___ cha. / ___ is a bit
___.
- Budget ali tight cha. / The
budget is a bit tight.
- Situation ali complicated cha.
/ The situation is a bit complicated.
- Workload ali high cha. / The
workload is a bit high.
- Room ali small cha. / The room is a bit small.
Frame
5
Let's ___, ___?
- Let's go, jam?
- Let's eat, khana jam?
- Let's discuss, pachi kura garam?
- Let's wait, ali ber basam?
The goal is natural communication,
not perfect language separation.
Start with familiar Nepali sentence structures, insert useful English words,
and gradually increase the amount of English you use.
20 Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
Based
on Bilingual Conversation Situations
Answers are NOT included.
1.
The team discussed the quarterly report during today's __________.
(meeting / lunch / break)
2.
She found the movie to be quite __________, though the action scenes were good.
(average / excellent / hilarious)
3.
The __________ for submitting the project is next Friday.
(deadline / start / review)
4.
He asked the shopkeeper about the __________ of the cotton shirt.
(price / design / brand)
5.
The main __________ was traced back to a server error.
(issue / solution / update)
6.
She decided to __________ the extra cheese on her sizzler.
(order / refuse / return)
7.
The traveler asked if the destination was within __________ distance.
(walking / driving / flying)
8.
The taxi driver was asked if he knew a faster __________ to the airport.
(shortcut / route / bridge)
9.
The doctor recommended taking a __________ to reduce the pain.
(painkiller / vitamin / antibiotic)
10. The pharmacist checked the __________ before handing over
the medicine.
(prescription / bill / label)
11. He advised his friend to __________ negative comments from
others.
(ignore / repeat / share)
12. The manager said she would look into the __________ for the
next quarter.
(budget / design / menu)
13. The customer bargained hard because his __________ was
limited.
(budget / time / energy)
14. She took a photo of the food to post on __________ media.
(social / print / local)
15. The waiter was asked to make the dish less __________.
(spicy / salty / sweet)
16. The friend suggested giving the partner some __________ to
think clearly.
(space / advice / money)
17. The traveler needed to know whether to take a taxi or walk
to the __________.
(market / airport / temple)
18. The employee was asked to __________ the email for the
client.
(draft / delete / forward)
19. The doctor questioned whether an __________ was necessary
or just a painkiller.
(antibiotic / injection / x-ray)
20. The local vendor claimed the __________ price was already
very low.
(cost / selling / market)
✅
Answers with Short Reasons
1.
meeting — A quarterly report is normally discussed in a meeting.
2.
average — “Average” means neither very good nor very bad.
3.
deadline — A deadline is the final date for submitting something.
4.
price — A customer asks about the price to know how much the
shirt costs.
5.
issue — An issue is a problem that needs to be solved.
6.
order — A customer can order extra cheese with a meal.
7.
walking — “Walking distance” means a place can be reached by
walking.
8.
route — A route is a way or path to a destination.
9.
painkiller — A painkiller is used to reduce or relieve pain.
10. prescription
— A pharmacist checks a prescription before dispensing prescribed medicine.
11. ignore — To
ignore negative comments means not to pay attention to them.
12. budget — A
budget is a plan for how money will be spent.
13. budget — If the
budget is limited, the customer has less money to spend.
14. social — The
standard expression is “social media.”
15. spicy — “Less
spicy” means reducing the amount of hot seasoning in food.
16. space — Giving
someone space means allowing them time and freedom to think.
17. airport —
Travelers commonly need to decide whether to walk or take a taxi to an airport.
18. draft — To
draft an email means to prepare or write it.
19. antibiotic
— An antibiotic is a type of medicine that may be considered for certain
bacterial infections.
20. selling —
“Selling price” refers to the price at which a product is offered for sale.
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