A difficult thing in Nepali are the words which mean the same but have different meanings. Such synonyms are called पर्यायवाची शब्द in Nepali. Let’s look at some common synonyms in Nepali.
अति (ati): too much
Synonyms: धेरै (dherai), असाध्यै, (asadhyai), बढी (badhi) निकै (nikai), ज्यादै (jyadai)
These have their own uses, which I’ll explain later.
आमा (ama): mother
Synonyms: जननी (janani), मुमा (muma), माता (mata)
Janani is rare, while mata sounds ‘divine’. Muma is usually said by children.
आँखा (akha): eye
Synonyms: चक्षु (chaxu), नेत्र (netra), नयन (nayan), लोचन (lochan)
Chaxu is rare, netra is kind of common. Nayan actually means pupils. As of lochan, I haven’t seen it other than archaic writings.
ईश्वर (ishwar): god; almighty
Synonyms: देव (dev), देवता (dewataa), भगवान् (bhagwan), परमेश्वर (parmeshwar)
These all are common, with bhagwan being the most common. All can be interchanged with each other. Parmeshwar isn’t as common.
इच्छा (icchaa): wish; hope; wants; desire
Synonyms: चाहना (chaahanaa), आकाङ्क्षा (aakangchya), कामना (kamana)
Chahana means ‘one’s desire’. Aakangchya means ‘one’s wish or hope’ while ‘kamana’ means wish. Aakaangchya is not so common but used a lot in technical writings.
उपहार (upahaar): present; reward; gift
Synonyms: कोसेली (koseli), सौगात (saugat), इनाम (inaam)
Koseli means ‘a type of gift you give as goodwill’. Inaam means ‘reward’.
ऋषि (rishi): sage; holy person; saint
Synonyms: मुनि (muni), योगी (yogi)
They can be interchanged with each other.
एकान्त (ekaanta): a silent place; silent
Synonyms: सुनसान (sunsan), निर्जन (nirjan)
खुट्टा (khutta): foot; leg; feet
Synonyms: पाउ (pau), गोडा (godaa)
Goda means ‘knees’.
गरिमा (garimaa): importance
Synonyms: महत्त्व (mahatwa), महिमा (mahima), गौरव (gaurav)
These sound like technical words, so it is best to go with Mahatwa.
घर (ghar): house; home; residence
Synonyms: आवास (aawass), निवास (niwas), गृह (griha), भवन (bhawan), सदन (sadan), निकेतन (niketan)
Niwas, griha, bhawan, sadan and niketan are usually conjoined with names. If you mean house, then it’s best to go with ‘ghar’.
चन्द्रमा (chandrama): Moon
Synonyms: चन्द्र (chandra), शशी (shashi), इन्दु (indu), सोम (som), जून (jun)
Common synonyms are chandra and jun. Others are not so common.
ठाउँ (thau): place; location
Synonyms: स्थल (sthal), स्थान (sthan), थलो (thalo)
Can be interchanged with each other. Thau is more common.
ताल (taal): lake
Synonyms: पोखरी (pokhari), तलाउ (talaau), दह (daha), सर (sar)
Interchangeable words. Pokhari is also common.
थोरै (thorai): less; little
Synonyms: कम (kam), कम्ती (kamti), न्यून (nyuun)
Interchangeable words. Nyuun isin’t common. It sounds old.
धन (dhan): assets; wealth
Synonyms: सम्पति (sampati), वित्त (witta), ऐश्वर्य (aishwarya)
Bitta and aishwarya are not common. It is preferable to say but dhan or sampati.
नयाँ (naya): new
Synonyms: नौलो (naulo), नव (nawa)
Naya is often joined with naulo when asking of anything new.
पहाड (pahaad): hill
Synonyms: पर्वत (parwat), शिखर (shikhar), गिरि (giri)
Pahaad is the most common word here. Shikhar sounds ‘divine’ while parwat is technical.
पिता (pita): father
Synonyms: बुबा (buba), बा (ba), बाबा (baba), बाउ (bau)
Interchangeable words. ‘Bau’ is considered rude.
फूल (phul): flower
Synonyms: पुष्प (pushpa), सुमन (suman), कुसुम (kusum), प्रसून (prasun)
Phul is common while pushpa is considered okay to use.
बल (bal): strength; power
Synonyms: शक्ति (shakti), क्षमता (chyamata), ताकत (taakat)
Chyamataa means ‘potential’. Shakti, bal and taakat are used equally, so they are interchangeable.
मान्छे (manche): person; people; human being
Synonyms: मानिस (maanis), मानव (manav), मनुष्य (manushya), जान (jan)
Now, manis and manche have the same meaning. Manav means ‘human’ or ‘human-like’. Manushya means ‘human being’ while jaan means ‘living body’.
वन (ban): forest; woods; jungle
Synonyms: अरण्य (aranya), जंगल (jangal) कानन (kaanan)
Jangal is common while the other two sound old.
सूर्य (surya): Sun
Synonyms: रवि (rawi), भानु (bhanu), दिवाकर (diwaakar), दिनकर (dinkar), दिनेश (dinesh), घाम (gham)
Other than gham, the rest sound very technical and ‘divine’. It is suggested that when referring the Sun, it is better to use gham or surya.
हात (haat): Hand
Synonyms: हस्त (hasta), कर (kar)
Haat is common. Hasta sounds old while kar, well, is rare.
Please note that there are more synonyms. The list would be very long, so I haven’t written others. Hope this list helps. If you are confused where to use what, or on any word, or need any help, you can ask me for help!
रुख