Twenty words of Nepali worth learning before your trek
You don't need the language. You need about twenty words, and two of them matter more than the other eighteen.
By the Lakeshore team · 5 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
Everyone on the main trekking routes speaks enough English to sell you a room and a plate of dal bhat. So no, you don't need Nepali.
You should still learn twenty words, because the way people warm to a visitor who has bothered is out of all proportion to the effort. Two of them matter more than the rest, and almost no guidebook puts them first.
Dai and didi, the two that matter most
Nepali speakers address people by relationship, not by name. Dai means elder brother and didi elder sister, and bhai and bahini are the younger versions. You use them all the time, for shopkeepers, lodge owners, porters and strangers.
Calling the woman who cooked your dinner didi, instead of nothing at all, does more for you than anything else on this page. It's warm, it's correct, and it costs you one word. As a rough guide, anyone visibly older than you is dai or didi, and anyone clearly younger is bhai or bahini. If you get it wrong nobody minds, and if you use them at all people notice straight away.
The everyday twenty
Namaste is hello and goodbye. Namaskar is the more respectful version, for elders.
Dhanyabad means thank you, though Nepalis say it less often than English speakers do. A smile and a namaste often does the same job.
Hunchha means okay, fine or yes. Thik cha means it's fine, that works.
Kati ho? means how much is it. Mahango means expensive, said with a smile while bargaining.
Pani is water, chiya is tea and khana is food. Mitho cha means it's tasty, and it's worth saying to whoever cooked.
Pugyo means enough. This is the one you need at dinner, because dal bhat comes with refills and the server keeps ladling until you say it.
Bistarai means slowly. Your guide will say it on the first climb, and it's the right answer to almost everything at altitude.
Jam means let's go. Kun bato? asks which way, and kati tadha? asks how far.
Ramro means good or beautiful, and Kasto ramro! means how beautiful. Use it on a view and watch people light up.
Malai bujhina means I don't understand. Bistarai bhannus means please say it slowly.
Pronunciation, briefly
Nepali is written in Devanagari and the spellings in English letters vary, which is why you'll see chiya, chia and chiyaa for the same word. Don't worry about it.
The one thing worth knowing is aspirated consonants. A puff of air is all that separates k from kh, t from th and p from ph, and it changes the meaning. If a word isn't landing, try adding the breath.
Nobody expects accuracy. Trying is what counts, and mistakes are met with delight, not correction.
What not to say
Don't ask people their caste, however curious you are about the surnames. Names carry it, and it isn't small talk.
Don't use namaste as a joke or with a bow. Hands together at the chest and a nod is all it takes.
And remember that yes in Nepal is often politeness more than agreement. If a lodge owner says the room has hot water, ask when it was last working. That isn't dishonesty. A flat no to a guest is simply impolite here.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Do I really need any Nepali?
No. Everyone on the main routes speaks enough English. Learn twenty words anyway, because nothing else you do to prepare gives so much back for so little effort.
Which word is the most useful?
Didi or dai, depending on who you're talking to. Addressing someone properly changes the whole conversation.
Will people speak English in the villages?
On the trekking routes, generally yes. Off them, much less, which is where the twenty words start earning their keep and your guide does the rest.
Is there a word I will use every single day?
Pugyo, which means enough. The dal bhat refills keep coming until you say it, and your first night without it is a memorable amount of rice.
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