Vocabulary: Western Loanwords

Nepali is full of loan words. Words such as ‘Radio’ are relatively new. Most words today are borrowed from Sanskrit. It is easy to guess a word’s meaning if it’s a loanword. But a note is that, English speakers might expect English words to sound, English. That’s not the case! You have say it with Nepali Accent! In western Loanwords, we look at loan words borrowed from Western Languages. Also, these are the spellings of the time when it was borrowed. So, modern spelling might be different now. Example, Doctor is actually spelt ‘Daak-ter’ in Nepali.

ENGLISH

Bagब्याग (byāg)
Cameraक्यामेरा (kyāmerā)
Cancerक्यान्सर (kyānsar)
Cinemaसिनेमा (sinemā)
Coatकोट (koṭ)
Computerकम्प्युटर (kampyuṭar)
Doctorडाक्टर (ḍākṭar)
Motorमोटर (moṭar)
Photoफोटो (phoṭo)
Radioरेडियो (reḍiyo)
Schoolस्कुल (skul)
Telephoneटेलिफोन (ṭeliphon)
Ticketटिकट (ṭikaṭ)

PORTUGUESE

Coffeeकफी (kaphī)
Curfewकर्फ्यु (karphyu)
Flower Potगमला (gamalā)
Godownगोदाम (godām)
Keyचाबी (cābī)
Pickleअचार (acār)
Shirtकमेज (kamej)
Soapसाबुन (sābun)
Towelतौलिया (tauliyā)

FRENCH

Collegeकलेज (kalej)
Engineerइन्जिनियर (injiniyar)
Policeपुलिस (pulis)
Touristटुरिस्ट (ṭurisṭ)

LATIN

Calendarक्यालेन्डर (kyālenḍar)
Campusक्याम्पस (kyāmpas)
Quotaकोटा (koṭā)
Studioस्टुडियो (sṭuḍiyo)