Nepali Language Classes
नमस्ते
नेपाल को नक्सा
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Learn Nepali at Santa Monica Language Academy. Speak Nepali the very first day!
Nepali (नेपाली) is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar (Burma). In India, it is one of the country's 23 official languages: Nepali has official language status in the formerly independent state of Sikkim and in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. Similarly, it is widely spoken in the state of Uttaranchal, as well as in the state of Assam. Historically, the language was first called Khaskura, then Gorkhali or Gurkhali (after the Gurkha ethnic group before the term Nepali became dominant. Other names include Parbatiya ("mountain language", identified with the Parbatiya people of Nepal) and Lhotshammikha (the "southern language" of the Lhotshampa people of Bhutan). Check our Weekly Schedule for times and days of our Nepali lessons. We currently offer online Nepali classes for groups and individuals. |
The Nepali weekly classes are structured into three levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Each level is divided into four sub-levels: A, B, C, and D.
For the Beginner and Intermediate levels we use Complete Nepali by Teach Yourself.
Beginner A (lessons 1-3)
Topics: the Nepali script and sound system, greetings and introductions, describing people and things, discussing distances and locations, counting and possession
Grammar: "is" and "are" in Nepali, personal pronouns, nouns, question words, adjectives, pronouns with cha, ali and dherai, the simple sentence, the Nepali numerals, numbers of people, numbers of things, possession of portable items, using numbers without classifiers, etc.
Beginner B (lessons 4-6)
Topics: talking about ownership, expressing and asking about knowledge, talking about usual and future actions, times, days and frequency, hiring a rickshaw
Grammar: -ko, -kī, -kā with nouns and names, words for "and", the verb "know", -ko, -kī, -kā with unchanged ("direct case") pronouns, emphasizing ownership using āphno, asking questions, the use of ki, -ko, -kī, -kā with changes ("oblique case") pronouns, interrogatives kasko, keko, habitual present tense, modes of transport, postpositions, imperatives, etc.
Beginner C (lessons 7-9)
Topics: likes and dislikes, paying a visit
Grammar: comparatives and superlatives, likes and dislikes using man parnu, kina why, kinabhane because, the simple past tense, the simple past forms of hunu to be: thiyo and bhayo, location and movement, someone and something the uses of kehī and kohī, transitive and intransitive verbs, transitive verbs and the suffix -le, parts of the body, two verbs with the same subject, the -era participle, the reported speech-marker re, the continous tenses in -dai cha, expressions of age, further relationship terms, etc.
Beginner D (lessons 10-12)
Topics: in the market, accomodations, telling time, countries
Grammar: needed and available: cāhinu and pāinu, food vocabulary, using -lāī instead of -ko lāgi, feelings: the use of nouns with lāgnu, using adjectives with lāgnu, passive verbs, making adjectives into adverbs, the completed present tense, stating the time of day using bajyo, the completed past tense, reporting speech using bhanera, ordinal numbers, etc.
Intermediate A (lessons 13-15)
Topics: writing a letter, weather, future plans
Grammar: using the -eko participle as a verb, seeing or hearing another person's actions, the -eko participle with ho or hoina, thoughts and intentions using bhanera and bhaneko, what does this word mean?, the Nepali year, real conditional sentences, using holā to mean perhaps, might be, the -ne participle as an adjective, using the -ne participle to talk about future actions, the verb pugnu to arrive, suffice, the probable future tense, the infinitive + lāgnu: what does it cost to..? how long does it take to...?, words for approximately, etc.
Intermediate B (lessons 16-18)
Topics: at the airport, religion in Nepal, languages
Grammar: must, should, don't have to, had to, the verbs milnu and milaunu, using the infinitive with huncha/hudaina, they don't allow you to..., bhaera being and bhaera pani despite being, to be able to.., to get to, to manage to, describing a verb, to learn to, teach to, to want to..., verbs meaning to believe, etc.
Intermediate C (lessons 19-21)
Topics: at the doctor's, the map of Nepal, bad habits
Grammar: expressing purpose, beginning to do something, after doing something, remembering and forgetting, before doing something: postpositions beginning with -bhandā, using parnu with locations, above, below, beyond: more postpositions beginning with -bhandā, the use of bhanne to mean named and that, the habitual past tense; finishing, stopping, quitting; wishing, hoping and deciding, etc.
Intermediate D (lessons 22-24)
Topics: daily chores, a death in the neighbourhood, two porters and a folksong
Grammar: may I? verbs in the subjunctive, doing something for another person, compound verbs with dinu, trying and seeking, already done; compound verbs with saknu, unreal conditional sentences, the short completed present tense, realization; using rahecha at the end of sentences, the verb cinnu to know, to recognize, compound verbs with hālnu, continuous tenses using rahanu, short real conditional sentences, etc.
For the Beginner and Intermediate levels we use Complete Nepali by Teach Yourself.
Beginner A (lessons 1-3)
Topics: the Nepali script and sound system, greetings and introductions, describing people and things, discussing distances and locations, counting and possession
Grammar: "is" and "are" in Nepali, personal pronouns, nouns, question words, adjectives, pronouns with cha, ali and dherai, the simple sentence, the Nepali numerals, numbers of people, numbers of things, possession of portable items, using numbers without classifiers, etc.
Beginner B (lessons 4-6)
Topics: talking about ownership, expressing and asking about knowledge, talking about usual and future actions, times, days and frequency, hiring a rickshaw
Grammar: -ko, -kī, -kā with nouns and names, words for "and", the verb "know", -ko, -kī, -kā with unchanged ("direct case") pronouns, emphasizing ownership using āphno, asking questions, the use of ki, -ko, -kī, -kā with changes ("oblique case") pronouns, interrogatives kasko, keko, habitual present tense, modes of transport, postpositions, imperatives, etc.
Beginner C (lessons 7-9)
Topics: likes and dislikes, paying a visit
Grammar: comparatives and superlatives, likes and dislikes using man parnu, kina why, kinabhane because, the simple past tense, the simple past forms of hunu to be: thiyo and bhayo, location and movement, someone and something the uses of kehī and kohī, transitive and intransitive verbs, transitive verbs and the suffix -le, parts of the body, two verbs with the same subject, the -era participle, the reported speech-marker re, the continous tenses in -dai cha, expressions of age, further relationship terms, etc.
Beginner D (lessons 10-12)
Topics: in the market, accomodations, telling time, countries
Grammar: needed and available: cāhinu and pāinu, food vocabulary, using -lāī instead of -ko lāgi, feelings: the use of nouns with lāgnu, using adjectives with lāgnu, passive verbs, making adjectives into adverbs, the completed present tense, stating the time of day using bajyo, the completed past tense, reporting speech using bhanera, ordinal numbers, etc.
Intermediate A (lessons 13-15)
Topics: writing a letter, weather, future plans
Grammar: using the -eko participle as a verb, seeing or hearing another person's actions, the -eko participle with ho or hoina, thoughts and intentions using bhanera and bhaneko, what does this word mean?, the Nepali year, real conditional sentences, using holā to mean perhaps, might be, the -ne participle as an adjective, using the -ne participle to talk about future actions, the verb pugnu to arrive, suffice, the probable future tense, the infinitive + lāgnu: what does it cost to..? how long does it take to...?, words for approximately, etc.
Intermediate B (lessons 16-18)
Topics: at the airport, religion in Nepal, languages
Grammar: must, should, don't have to, had to, the verbs milnu and milaunu, using the infinitive with huncha/hudaina, they don't allow you to..., bhaera being and bhaera pani despite being, to be able to.., to get to, to manage to, describing a verb, to learn to, teach to, to want to..., verbs meaning to believe, etc.
Intermediate C (lessons 19-21)
Topics: at the doctor's, the map of Nepal, bad habits
Grammar: expressing purpose, beginning to do something, after doing something, remembering and forgetting, before doing something: postpositions beginning with -bhandā, using parnu with locations, above, below, beyond: more postpositions beginning with -bhandā, the use of bhanne to mean named and that, the habitual past tense; finishing, stopping, quitting; wishing, hoping and deciding, etc.
Intermediate D (lessons 22-24)
Topics: daily chores, a death in the neighbourhood, two porters and a folksong
Grammar: may I? verbs in the subjunctive, doing something for another person, compound verbs with dinu, trying and seeking, already done; compound verbs with saknu, unreal conditional sentences, the short completed present tense, realization; using rahecha at the end of sentences, the verb cinnu to know, to recognize, compound verbs with hālnu, continuous tenses using rahanu, short real conditional sentences, etc.