Words from Nepal
Nepali dish names are built like sentences: ingredient, linking word, method. Knowing three or four of these building blocks lets you read most names without translating them.
How to read it
- th, kh, ph, chh
- Single aspirated sounds, not f or sh: „thukpa“ is a t with breath behind it, „phaksha“ a p with breath.
- ch
- Like ch in „church“: „achar“ is „a-char“.
- aa
- A long a: „saag“ sounds like „sahg“.
- ko, ki
- The linking word „of“ in the middle of a name – it tells you what the dish is made from.
At the restaurant
| Nepali | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| namaste | na-ma-steh | The greeting on arriving and on leaving, palms together at the chest. |
| piro chha? | pee-ro chha | Is it hot? A question nearly always worth asking in the hills. |
| kati bhayo? | ka-tee bha-yo | How much is it? This is how you ask for the bill. |
| pugyo | poo-gyo | That's enough, I'm full. Necessary, because more arrives unasked – often repeatedly. |
| dhanyabad | dhan-ya-bahd | Thank you. Used sparingly: among friends it sounds formal. |
At the table
| Nepali | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dal bhat | dahl bhaht | Lentils and rice, twice a day. Not a dish but a frame: everything else on the plate is an accompaniment to it. |
| ko | koh | „Of“ or „from“. It sits in the middle of a name: Fapar Ko Dhido is „porridge of buckwheat“, Sisnu Ko Saag „greens of nettle“. |
| mitho chha | mee-toh chha | „It is good.“ The compliment at the table – literally „it is sweet“, said about anything, including the hottest dish. |
Ingredients
| Nepali | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aloo | ah-loo | Potato. Aloo Tama is potatoes with fermented bamboo shoots, Aloo Tareko the fried ones. |
| tama | tah-ma | Fermented bamboo shoots, sour and sharp. They supply an acidity no vinegar can replace. |
| gundruk | goon-drook | Dried fermented leafy greens. The mountain winter store, turned into soup and side dish. |
| sisnu | sis-noo | Nettle. In Nepal it is cooked and eaten, not avoided – as a soup it is both a remedy and a dish. |
| timur | tee-moor | Himalayan mountain pepper that makes the tongue tingle. A relative of Sichuan pepper, not of black pepper. |
| jimbu | jim-boo | Dried Himalayan chive that blooms in hot fat. A few flakes are enough for a whole pot. |
In the kitchen
| Nepali | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| achar | a-char | A pickle or a freshly pounded sauce – from tomato (Golbheda) to dried radish (Mula). It belongs on every plate. |
| dhido | dhee-doh | A thick porridge of millet or buckwheat flour, shaped into bites by hand. The rice substitute of the altitudes where rice will not grow. |
| saag | sahg | Cooked leafy greens. Sisnu Ko Saag is the nettle one; the word says nothing about the plant, only about the method. |
| sekuwa | seh-koo-wa | Marinated meat over an open fire, turned above the embers. Street food and feast food at once. |
| sukuti | soo-koo-tee | Dried, smoked meat. It lasts the winter and then goes into soup, sauce or achar. |
| tareko | ta-reh-koh | Fried, in fat. Aloo Tareko are the potatoes fried in mustard oil. |