Prefix:
A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning. For example, the prefix “un-” in the word “unhappy” changes the definition to “not happy.” In Nepali, prefixes ((पूर्व-प्रत्यय)) are added at the beginning of a word to change its meeting or add emphasis. Here are some common prefixes in Nepali:
Common Prefixes in Nepali:
अ (a): Indicates negation or absence.
Example:
धर्म (dharma – religion) → अधर्म (adharma – irreligion, injustice)
विद्या (vidya – knowledge) → अविद्या (avidya – ignorance)
अनु (anu): Denotes following or coming after.
Example:
क्रम (kram – order) → अनुक्रम (anukram – sequence)
जीवन (jeevan – life) → अनुजीवन (anujeevan – continuation of life)
प्रति (prati): Refers to opposition or direction.
Example:
सम्मान (samman – respect) → प्रतिसम्मान (pratisamman – disrespect)
क्रिया (kriya – action) → प्रतिक्रिया (pratikriya – reaction)
सु (su): Denotes goodness, excellence, or well-being.
Example:
कर्म (karma – action) → सुकर्म (sukarma – good deed)
समाचार (samachar – news) → सुसमाचार (susamachar – good news)
वि (vi): Refers to distinction, separation, or intensity.
Example:
ज्ञ (gya – knowledge) → विज्ञ (vigya – expert)
शुद्ध (shuddha – pure) → विशुद्ध (vishuddha – very pure)
अप (apa): Signifies something negative, improper, or away.
Example:
मान (maan – honor) → अपमान (apamaan – dishonor)
शासन (shasan – rule) → अपशासन (apashasan – misrule)
अति (ati): Denotes excessiveness or intensity.
Example:
तृष्णा (trishna – thirst) → अतितृष्णा (atitṛṣṇā – extreme thirst)
महान (mahaan – great) → अतिमहान (atimahaan – very great)
अधि (adhi): Refers to something beyond or superior.
Example:
कर्म (karma – deed) → अधिकर्म (adhikarma – superior deed)
Usage of Prefixes:
Prefixes in Nepali are essential for altering the meaning of a word. They often convey negation, enhancement, or specific relationships between concepts. Understanding and recognizing these prefixes can help grasp complex Nepali vocabulary. Some extra sentences are given below:
- अधर्म
- Nepali: अधर्म गर्नाले जीवनमा दुःख पाइन्छ।
- English: By doing unrighteous acts, one suffers in life.
- Romanized: Adharma garnale jīvanmā duḥkha pāincha.
- अविद्या
- Nepali: अविद्या मानिसलाई अन्धकारतिर लैजान्छ।
- English: Ignorance leads a person towards darkness.
- Romanized: Avidyā mānishlāī andhakārtir laijāncha.
- अनुक्रम
- Nepali: यो काम अनुक्रममा गरिनुपर्छ।
- English: This work should be done in sequence.
- Romanized: Yo kām anukrammā garinuparcha.
- अनुजीवन
- Nepali: उनले नयाँ अनुजीवनको सुरुवात गरे।
- English: He started a new phase of life.
- Romanized: Unle nayā anujīvanko suruwāt gare.
- प्रतिसम्मान
- Nepali: उनलाई ठूलो प्रतिसम्मान प्राप्त भयो।
- English: He received great respect in return.
- Romanized: Unlāī ṭhūlo pratisammān prāpta bhayo.
- प्रतिक्रिया
- Nepali: म तपाईंको प्रतिक्रिया सुन्न चाहन्छु।
- English: I want to hear your feedback.
- Romanized: Ma tapāīṅko pratikriyā sunnā chāhanchu.
- सुसमाचार
- Nepali: उनले सुसमाचार सुनाएर सबैलाई खुशी बनाए।
- English: He spread the good news and made everyone happy.
- Romanized: Unle susamāchār sunāera sabailāī khushi banāe.
- विज्ञ
- Nepali: उनी यस क्षेत्रमा विज्ञ छन्।
- English: He is an expert in this field.
- Romanized: Uni yas kshetramā vigya chan.
- विशुद्ध
- Nepali: यो पानी विशुद्ध छ।
- English: This water is pure.
- Romanized: Yo pānī vishuddha cha.
- अपमान
- Nepali: कसैको अपमान गर्नु राम्रो होइन।
- English: It is not good to insult anyone.
- Romanized: Kasāīko apamān garnu rāmrō hoina.
- अपशासन
- Nepali: अपशासनले समाजमा अराजकता ल्याउँछ।
- English: Mismanagement brings chaos to society.
- Romanized: Apashāsanle samājmā arājakatā lyāunchha.
- अतितृष्णा
- Nepali: अतितृष्णा मानिसलाई सधैं असन्तुष्ट बनाउँछ।
- English: Excessive desire always leaves a person dissatisfied.
- Romanized: Atitrishnā mānishlāī sadhaiṅ asantushta banāunchha.
- अतिमहान
- Nepali: उनका काम अतिमहान थिए।
- English: His deeds were extremely great.
- Romanized: Unkā kām atimahān thie.
- अधिकर्म
- Nepali: अधिकर्मले मानिसलाई थकित बनाउँछ।
- English: Overwork tires a person.
- Romanized: Adhikarmle mānishlāī thakit banāunchha.
Suffixes
A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or grammatical function. For example, the suffix “-ness” in “happiness” changes the adjective “happy” into a noun, meaning the state of being happy. In Nepali, suffixes (प्रत्यय) are added to the end of words to modify their meaning or indicate grammatical changes, such ad tenes, gender, case, or number. Here’s a look at some common suffixes in Nepali:
Common Suffixes in Nepali:
-ता (-ta): Converts an adjective into a noun, indicating a state, quality, or condition.
Example:
स्वच्छ (swachha – clean) → स्वच्छता (swachhata – cleanliness)
सरल (saral – simple) → सरलता (saralata – simplicity)
-पन (-pan): Forms nouns that refer to a characteristic or quality.
Example:
मिठो (mitho – sweet) → मिठासपन (mithopan – sweetness)
राम्रो (ramro – good) → राम्रोपन (ramropan – goodness)
-वाद (-waad): Refers to a doctrine, belief, or ideology.
Example:
लोकतन्त्र (loktantra – democracy) → लोकतन्त्रवाद (loktantrawaad – democratic ideology)
समाज (samaj – society) → समाजवाद (samajwaad – socialism)
-इ (-i): Used to indicate feminine gender or to form nouns of professions or roles.
Example:
कवि (kavi – poet) → कविइ (kavi-i – poetess)
लेखक (lekhak – writer) → लेखिका (lekhika – female writer)
-मा (-ma): Indicates location or inclusion.
Example:
घर (ghar – house) → घरमा (gharma – in the house)
स्कूल (school – school) → स्कूलमा (schoolma – in the school)
-इय (-iya): Forms adjectives or nouns referring to people or qualities related to something.
Example:
नेपाल (Nepal) → नेपाली (Nepali – Nepali person or thing)
समाज (samaj – society) → सामाजिक (samajik – social)
-कार (-kar): Refers to a doer or one associated with a particular activity.
Example:
संगीत (sangeet – music) → संगीतकार (sangeetkar – musician)
निर्माण (nirman – construction) → निर्माता (nirmanak – constructor/producer)
-ला (-la): Denotes futurity or intention, used in verb forms.
Example:
जान (jan – go) → जाल (jala – will go)
बोल (bol – speak) → बोल्ला (bolla – will speak)
-व (-wa): Forms abstract nouns indicating state or condition.
Example:
सहन (sahan – tolerance) → सहनशीलता (sahanshilata – tolerance)
धैर्य (dhairya – patience) → धैर्यशीलता (dhairyashilata – patience)
-नी (-ni): Indicates feminine gender in certain cases.
Example:
विद्यार्थी (vidyarthi – student) → विद्यार्थिनी (vidyarthini – female student)
सेवक (sevak – servant) → सेविका (sevika – female servant)
Usage of Suffixes:
Suffixes in Nepali serve important grammatical and syntactical roles. They help indicate tense, gender, and number, and can also form new nouns and adjectives from root words. Understanding suffixes is essential for proper word formation and conveying specific meanings in Nepali. Some extra sentences are given below:
- स्वच्छता
- Nepali: स्वच्छता जीवनको एक महत्त्वपूर्ण हिस्सा हो।
- English: Cleanliness is an important part of life.
- Romanized: Swachchhatā jīvan ko ek mahatwapūrṇa hissā ho.
- सरलता
- Nepali: उसको सरलता सबैलाई मन पर्छ।
- English: Everyone likes his simplicity.
- Romanized: Usko saraltā sabailāī man parcha.
- मिठासपन
- Nepali: उसको बोलीमा मिठासपन छ।
- English: There is sweetness in her speech.
- Romanized: Usko bolīmā miṭhāspan cha.
- राम्रोपन
- Nepali: उसको राम्रोपनले सबैलाई प्रभावित बनायो।
- English: His kindness impressed everyone.
- Romanized: Usko rāmrōpanle sabailāī prabhāvit banāyo.
- लोकतन्त्रवाद
- Nepali: लोकतन्त्रवादले नागरिकलाई समान अधिकार दिन्छ।
- English: Democracy provides equal rights to citizens.
- Romanized: Loktantrawādle nāgariklai samān adhikār dincha.
- समाजवाद
- Nepali: समाजवादले सबैलाई समान अवसर दिन खोज्छ।
- English: Socialism seeks to provide equal opportunities for all.
- Romanized: Samājwādle sabailāī samān awasar din khojcha.
- कवि
- Nepali: त्यो कविले धेरै उत्कृष्ट कविता लेखेका छन्।
- English: That poet has written many excellent poems.
- Romanized: Tyo kawile dherei utkriṣṭa kavitā lekheka chan.
- लेखिका
- Nepali: उनी प्रसिद्ध लेखिका हुन्।
- English: She is a famous writer.
- Romanized: Uni prasiddha lekhikā hun.
- घरमा
- Nepali: म अहिले घरमा छु।
- English: I am at home right now.
- Romanized: Ma ahile gharma chu.
- स्कूलमा
- Nepali: बच्चाहरू स्कूलमा अध्ययन गर्दैछन्।
- English: The children are studying in school.
- Romanized: Bacchāharū skoolmā adhyayan gardai chan.
- नेपाली
- Nepali: म नेपाली भाषा सिक्दैछु।
- English: I am learning the Nepali language.
- Romanized: Ma nepālī bhāṣā sikdaichu.
- सामाजिक
- Nepali: सामाजिक कार्यमा सहभागी हुनु राम्रो हुन्छ।
- English: Participating in social work is good.
- Romanized: Sāmājik kāryamā sahabhāgī hunu rāmrō huncha.
- संगीतकार
- Nepali: उनी प्रसिद्ध संगीतकार हुन्।
- English: He is a famous musician.
- Romanized: Uni prasiddha sangītkār hun.
- निर्माता
- Nepali: यो चलचित्रका निर्माता निकै चर्चित छन्।
- English: The producer of this movie is quite well-known.
- Romanized: Yo chalachitrakā nirmātā nikai charcita chan.
- जाल
- Nepali: माछा समाउन जाल प्रयोग गरिन्छ।
- English: A net is used to catch fish.
- Romanized: Mächhä samāuna jāl prayog garincha.
- बोल्ला
- Nepali: उसले अब के बोल्ला?
- English: What will he say now?
- Romanized: Usle ab ke bollā?
- सहनशीलता
- Nepali: सहनशीलता जीवनको महत्त्वपूर्ण गुण हो।
- English: Patience is an important quality in life.
- Romanized: Sahanśīlatā jīwan ko mahatwapūrṇa guṇ ho.
- धैर्यशीलता
- Nepali: धैर्यशीलता कठिन परिस्थितिमा मद्दत गर्छ।
- English: Patience helps in difficult situations.
- Romanized: Dhairyaśīlatā kathin paristhitimā maddat garcha.
- विद्यार्थिनी
- Nepali: ती विद्यार्थिनी कक्षामा उत्कृष्ट प्रदर्शन गर्छिन्।
- English: That female student performs excellently in class.
- Romanized: Ti vidyārthinī kakṣāmā utkriṣṭa pradarśan garchin.
- सेविका
- Nepali: अस्पतालमा धेरै सेविकाहरू काम गर्छन्।
- English: Many nurses work in the hospital.
- Romanized: Aspatālma dherei sewikāharū kām garchan
