This flower is beautiful.
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यो फूल सुन्दर छ।
yo phūl sundar cha
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| यो | yo | this |
| फूल | phūl | flower |
| सुन्दर | sundar | beautiful |
| छ | cha | am; is; are |
GRAMMAR / 03
छ: is ~ (adjective / state)
यो फूल सुन्दर छ।
yo phūl sundar cha
This flower is beautiful.
Pattern and choice
Adjective + छ
पानी चिसो छ (the water is cold)
On this page
② Nepali grammar rules
1. Adjective + छ
In पानी चिसो छ (the water is cold), चिसो describes coldness.
A basic current description is subject + adjective + छ-family verb.
Inflecting adjectives such as राम्रो and ठूलो also follow the agreement patterns in topic 23.
2. With I, use छु
Compare म व्यस्त छु (I am busy) / हामी व्यस्त छौं (we are busy) / उहाँ व्यस्त हुनुहुन्छ (he/she is busy, respectful). व्यस्त stays unchanged; the ending marks person and respect.
An invariable adjective does not make the verb invariably छ.
3. म versus मलाई
म खुसी छु (I am happy) uses म as subject plus a condition. मलाई जाडो लाग्छ (I feel cold) uses an experiencer in मलाई and the sensation construction जाडो लाग्नु (to feel cold).
The translated subject I does not determine Nepali case or verb form.
4. राम्रो छ (is good, current description) versus राम्रो हुन्छ (is generally good/becomes good)
यहाँको मौसम राम्रो छ (the weather here is good) describes the weather in the present context. वसन्तमा यहाँको मौसम राम्रो हुन्छ (the weather here is generally good in spring) gives a regular springtime tendency.
An adjective does not force छ when a habitual/general perspective is intended.
5. Where negation goes
In पानी चिसो छैन (the water is not cold), retain the adjective and negate the copula.
Compare म व्यस्त छैनँ (I am not busy) / उहाँ व्यस्त हुनुहुन्न (he/she is not busy, respectful).
This is different from a prohibition using न before a request verb.
हुनु: three sets and matching forms
| Form and reading | Information supplied | Corresponding lesson |
|---|---|---|
| हो / ho | Identity/classification: name, occupation, category | Topic 1 |
| छ / cha | Existence/location or a quality/condition | Topic 2: existence/location; topic 3: qualities/conditions |
| हुन्छ / huncha | Regular/conditional states, occurrences and outcomes | Topic 4; also permission in 21 and prohibition in 19 |
| Compare with the same subject | Meaning | Why this set? |
|---|---|---|
| म विद्यार्थी हुँ। ma vidyārthī hũ | I am a student. | Identity, so the हो set: topic 1 |
| म घरमा छु। ma gharmā chu | I am at home. | Location, so the छ set: topic 2 |
| म बिहान घरमा हुन्छु। ma bihān gharmā hunchu | I am usually at home in the morning. | A regular time setting, so the हुन्छ set: topic 4 |
छ set: six basic person groups, positive and negative
| Person and reading | Positive and reading | Negative and reading |
|---|---|---|
| I म / ma | छु / chu | छैनँ / chainã |
| we हामी / hāmī | छौं / chaũ | छैनौं / chainaũ |
| you तपाईं / tapāĩ | हुनुहुन्छ / hunuhuncha | हुनुहुन्न / hunuhunna |
| you plural तपाईंहरू / tapāĩharū | हुनुहुन्छ / hunuhuncha | हुनुहुन्न / hunuhunna |
| he/she उहाँ / uhā̃ | हुनुहुन्छ / hunuhuncha | हुनुहुन्न / hunuhunna |
| they उहाँहरू / uhā̃harū | हुनुहुन्छ / hunuhuncha | हुनुहुन्न / hunuhunna |
With a person as subject, choose the appropriate form of छ.
MAKE IT YOURS
Try it yourself first
That book is old.
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त्यो किताब पुरानो छ।
tyo kitāb purāno cha
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| त्यो | tyo | that |
| किताब | kitāb | book |
| पुरानो | purāno | old |
| छ | cha | am; is; are |
This food is not spicy.
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यो खाना पिरो छैन।
yo khānā piro chaina
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| यो | yo | this |
| खाना | khānā | food; meal |
| पिरो | piro | spicy |
| छैन | chaina | am not; is not; are not |