हो / होइन as Answers

Answering Yes or No

Level 1Sounds Like hō ra hō'ina (uttara)

Nepali answers a question by repeating its verb.

How It Works

Where English says yes or no, Nepali repeats the verb.

Question	Yes	No
तपाईं चिया पिउनुहुन्छ?	पिउँछु	पिउँदिनँ
यो तपाईंको फोन हो?	हो	होइन
घरमा चिया छ?	छ	छैन

The answer takes the doer from the question, so you change you into I: तपाईं चिया पिउनुहुन्छ? becomes पिउँछु, with म understood.

You can add a short reason: हो, मेरो फोन हो (yes, it is my phone) or होइन, म शिक्षक हुँ (no, I am a teacher). Listeners hear the verb as the answer, so repeat it and not another word. हजुर can also be a polite yes to a call.

हो is the answer to a question that has हो in it. For a question with another verb, repeat that verb.

Examples (5)

यो तपाईंको फोन हो? — हो, मेरो फोन हो।
Is this your phone? Yes, it is my phone.
The question has हो, so the answer is हो.
तपाईं चिया पिउनुहुन्छ? — पिउँछु।
Do you drink tea? Yes.
The answer repeats the verb पिउनु in the म form.
तपाईं कफी पिउनुहुन्छ? — पिउँदिनँ।
Do you drink coffee? No.
The negative पिउँदिनँ answers no.
घरमा चिया छ? — छैन।
Is there tea at home? No.
The question has छ, so the answer is छ or छैन.
तिमी विद्यार्थी हौ? — होइन, म शिक्षक हुँ।
Are you a student? No, I am a teacher.
होइन denies, and a short reason follows.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

हो / होइन as AnswersLevel 1Answering Yes or No

Learn This First

Answering yes or no uses the positive and negative forms together.

छैन / होइनSaying No with छैन and होइन
Know छैन and होइन, because the answer is हो or होइन.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

होइन रChecking with होइन रLevel 2

Practice हो / होइन as Answers in Bubblegum

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