INTRODUCTION
When you compare two similar (or dissimilar objects) in English, we use words like ’Like’ or ’as’. For example, we maysay ’She has a pen like yours’ or ‘John eats like a glutton’ (sorry John). When we do so, we are comparing two objects using the connector ’like’.
Hence, you are finding similarity between two subjects, things etc. This entire thing is called ‘Comparing’ and the act of comparing is called Comparison.
JASTO
The word which we will use to compare two things in Nepali is ‘जस्तो’ (jasto). जस्तो (jasto) corresponds to as ’Like’. The emphatic form of जस्तो (jasto) is जस्तै (jastai). Usually, the emphatic form is used more, because it sort of gives an extra oomph to the statement.
When you compare two things in English, you follow this typical pattern:
A is like B
A (first object) + is (copula) + like + B (second object)
.
In Nepali, we attach the ’like’ part after the second object. The verb also shifts to the end because Nepali, being a Verb Final Language, requires the verb to be in the end. So:
A + B + like + is
As you can see above, the format of comparing two things is presented in that way. Also remember that the verb will be ’cha’ or its various form when we compare things (not ’ho’).
Now, let’s make sentences!
COMPARING SIMILARITY
Take the sentence:
यो घर दरवार जस्तो छ (yo ghar darwar jasto cha)
= This house is like a palace.
[This + House + Palace + Like + Is]
.
As you can see, the format is followed in the Nepali Sentence. You are comparing ‘House’ as to being like a ‘Palace’.
Let’s make more sentences:
तिमी तिम्रो भाई जस्तो छौ (timi timro bhai jasto chau)
= You are like your younger brother.
[You + Your + Younger Brother + Like + Is]
.
यो रुख हात्ती जस्तो छ (yo rukh hatti jasto cha)
= This tree is like an elephant.
[This + Tree + Elephant + Like + is]
.
Applying the particle ‘ko’ after the second object will result in an’s(apostrophe s) in the object in English. This is to omit a repetition of the complement (notcompliment! There is a difference).
For example:
उसको नेतृत्व राजाको जस्तो छ (usko netritwa raja ko jasto cha)
= His leadership is like a king’s.
[His + Leadership + King’s + Like + is]
Instead of saying ‘उसको नेतृत्व राजाको नेतृत्व जस्तो छ’ and repeating the netritwa all over again, it is just easier to omit it. However, don’t forgot to place an ’s in the English translation!
CASE TWO
Suppose you wanted to say ’Silk-like fabric’ as in ‘This silk-like fabric is very slippery’. We are comparing, but we cannot use the sentence structure like above…which should be obvious. So, what do we do?
Like in English, we use the ’A + like + B’ format to solve the problem (like the sentence above). So, ‘Silk-like fabric’ would be ‘रेशम जस्तो कपडा’ (resham jasto kapada), where resham means Silk and kapada means Fabric. We can use that in sentences, like the following a translation of the above sentence: ‘यो रेशम जस्तो कपडा एकदम चिप्लो छ’ (yo resham ko kapada ekdam chiplo cha).
Verbs and adjectives can also replace the first or the second object when you use the above format. (Adjectives cannot replace the first object though). For example:
यो घर मन्दिर जस्तो सफा छ (yo ghar mandir jasto safa cha)
= This house is clean like a temple.
[This + house + temple + like + clean + is]
.
घरमा पकाएको खाना जस्तो मिठो (ghar`ma pakaaeko khana jasto mitho)
= (It is as) Delicious as (how it is) cooked in home
[In House + Cooked + Food + like + delicious]
.
Also, it isn’t necessary that the comparison has to be in Present Tense. Using past tense is acceptable but sends a slightly different meaning:
यो घर दरवार जस्तो थियो(yo ghar darwar jastothiyo)
= This house waslike a palace.
COMPARING DISSIMILARITY
What if two things are dissimilar? For example, what if we were presented with a sentence like ’Snow isn’t as cold as Dry Ice.’? We can solve this problem fairly easily…infact very easily. We retain all the structure we saw above and make only one simple alteration, that is by making the verb Negative.
So, let’s go to our first example:
यो घर दरवार जस्तो छ (yo ghar darwar jasto cha)
= This house is like a palace.
.
Now, if we want to say ‘This house is NOTlike a palace’, then we simply change the verb into negative:
यो घर दरवार जस्तो छैन (yo ghar darwar jasto chaina)
= This house is not like a palace.
.
Here’s another sentence:
तिमी तिम्रो भाई जस्तो छैनौ (timi timro bhai jasto chainau)
= You are not like your younger brother.
.
*BONUS* DISPLAYING PROBABILITY
Jastocan also be used to show probability. We first make a sentence (a full one with a verb) and then add ’jasto cha’. Jasto chaacts like ’it seems’ here. For example:
यो हो जस्तो छ (yo ho jasto cha)
= This might be. (= This might be the thing, it seems)
.
तिमी जित्छौ जस्तो छ (timi jitchau jasto cha)
= You’ll win, it seems.
.
आज पानी परेर म ढिलो हुन्छु जस्तो छ (aja pani parera ma dhilo hunchu jasto cha)
= I’ll be late since it’s raining, it seems.
.
We can also use ‘jasto chaina’ to mean ’it doesn’t seem’:
पानी पर्छ जस्तो छैन (pani parcha jasto chaina)
= It doesn’t seem rain will fall.
.
More examples:
यो लुगा निलो-कालो जस्तो छ (yo luga nilo kalo jasto cha)
= This dress is blue-black, it seems.
हैन, यो लुगा सेतो-पहेलो जस्तो छ (haina, yo luga seto-pahelo cha)
= No, this dress is white-gold.
___
REMEMBER! The verb has to agree with the subject. If you are reading this, then you probably know that verbs have many forms, each agreeing with their own respective subjects. For example:
तपाईं राम जस्तो हुनुहुन्छ (tapai ram jasto hunuhuncha)
= You are like Ram.
तपाईं (tapai) agrees with हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) and use of any other form (like cha, chu etc.) is wrong.
___
EXERCISE
A. TRANSLATE AND TRANSLITERATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES
1. खोलाको पानी आइस जस्तो चिसो छ
2. खोलाको पानी आइस जस्तो छ
3. मौसम नराम्रो जस्तो छ
4. यो घर नारायणहिती जस्तो छ
5. सुन जस्तो चम्किलो धातु
.
B. CHA OR CHAINA?
1. तिम्रो आँखा चिलको जस्तो तेजिलो ____ (Your eyes are as sharp as an eagle’s /timro akha chil`ko jasto tejilo ___/ )
2. नदी कर्नाली जस्तो ठुलो ____ (River is big like Karnali /nadi karnali jasto thulo ____/ )
3. तिम्रो लुगा मेरो जस्तो उज्यालो ____ (Your dress is not bright like mine /timro luga mero jasto ujyalo ____/ )
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ANSWER (for illustrative purposes only)
A. 1. The river’s water(s) is cold like ice. /khola`ko pani ais jasto chiso cha/
A. 2. The river’s water(s) is like ice. /khola`ko pani ais jasto cha/
A. 3. The weather (is) bad, it seems. /mausam naramro jasto cha/
A. 4. This house is like Narayanhiti. /yo ghar narayanhiti jasto cha/
A. 5. Gold-like-shine (having) metal /sun jasto chamkilo dhatu/
B.1. cha
B. 2. cha
B. 3. chaina