Useful Nepali Phrases for Travellers

Yes, English is widely understood in tourist areas, hotels, restaurants and trekking lodges, and almost all guides and many shopkeepers speak it well. In Kathmandu, Pokhara and along popular trails you can get by comfortably in English. Off the beaten path, fewer people speak it, so a handful of Nepali words becomes genuinely useful.

Namaste is the standard Nepali greeting, used for both hello and goodbye at any time of day. It is usually said with palms pressed together at the chest and a small nod, and roughly conveys respect and goodwill toward the other person. It works in nearly every situation, from greeting a host to thanking a shopkeeper.

Not for basic phrases — Nepali pronunciation is fairly consistent, so words are spoken much as they are written phonetically. You do not need to read the Devanagari script to use greetings, numbers and trail words; transliterations like "dhanyabad" are easy to pick up. Locals are warmly encouraging when travellers try, so even a few words go a long way.

Nepali is the official national language and is written in the Devanagari script. It is the common tongue across the country, but Nepal is highly diverse and dozens of ethnic languages such as Newari, Maithili, Tamang and Sherpa are also spoken regionally. English is widely understood in tourist areas and by guides, so most travellers manage easily.