I am at home.
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म घरमा छु।
ma gharmā chu
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| म | ma | I |
| घरमा | gharmā | at home |
| छु | chu | is; are (existence) |
GRAMMAR / 02
छ: existence and location
म घरमा छु।
ma gharmā chu
I am at home.
Pattern and choice
Location + छ
म घरमा छु (I am at home) / किताब घरमा छ (the book is at home)
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② Nepali grammar rules
1. Location + छ
Compare म घरमा छु (I am at home) / किताब घरमा छ (the book is at home). मा marks the location; the final verb matches the entity located.
Choose among छु, छौं, छ, छन् and respectful हुनुहुन्छ.
2. Locating and introducing
किताब टेबलमा छ (the book is on the table) locates the book; टेबलमा किताब छ (there is a book on the table) introduces a book on the table.
Word order varies with information structure.
The location marked by मा does not control the verb agreement.
3. Here, there and over there: यहाँ・त्यहाँ・उहाँ
यहाँ (yahā̃) means here, त्यहाँ (tyahā̃) there, and उहाँ (uhā̃) can mean over there.
Learn these three together, but they are not rigid distance categories: त्यहाँ also covers over there. उ त्यहाँ (over there, pointing to a distant place) explicitly points to a distant place. यहाँ किताब छ (there is a book here) places a book here; त्यहाँ किताब छ (there is a book there/over there) places it there or over there.
In उहाँ किताब छ (there is a book over there), उहाँ refers to a place, over there.
In उहाँ शिक्षक हुनुहुन्छ (he/she is a teacher (respectful)), it refers respectfully to a person, he or she; see topic 7. कहाँ asks where.
Do not routinely add मा to these location words; place nouns instead combine with मा, as in घरमा, नेपालमा.
4. Agreement in possession
In मसँग कलम छ (I have a pen), मसँग marks the possessor and कलम is what exists, so use छ rather than छु.
This differs from the subject म in म घरमा छु (I am at home).
See topic 5 for possessive सँग.
5. छैन versus होइन
घरमा छैन (is not at home) denies presence at home; घर होइन (it is not a house) denies that something is a house.
Location/existence uses the छैन family; identity uses होइन.
In उहाँ घरमा हुनुहुन्न (he/she is not at home, respectful), घरमा identifies the location construction despite the shared honorific ending.
Compare here, there and over there
| Location word and reading | Meaning and context |
|---|---|
| यहाँ yahā̃ | Here: near the speaker. |
| त्यहाँ tyahā̃ | There: for example near the listener, or at an identified place. |
| उहाँ uhā̃ | Over there: a distant place. Context distinguishes it from respectful he/she. |
| कहाँ kahā̃ | Where: ask for the location. |
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 |
Use उहाँ for he/she and उहाँहरू for they as the basic forms.
Note the nasal first-person negatives होइनँ/छैनँ.
MAKE IT YOURS
Try it yourself first
Are you at home?
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तपाईं घरमा हुनुहुन्छ?
tapāĩ gharmā hunuhuncha?
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईं | tapāĩ | you (respectful) |
| घरमा | gharmā | at home |
| हुनुहुन्छ | hunuhuncha | is; are (existence) |
She is at home.
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उहाँ घरमा हुनुहुन्छ।
uhā̃ gharmā hunuhuncha
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| उहाँ | uhā̃ | he/she (respectful) |
| घरमा | gharmā | at home |
| हुनुहुन्छ | hunuhuncha | is/are present (respectful) |