म / हामी

I and We

Level 1Sounds Like ma ra hāmī

म means I and हामी means we, and each takes its own verb ending.

How It Works

म (I) and हामी (we) are the first two pronouns to learn. Both are used with every level of respect, because they refer to the speaker.

Pronoun“be” (हो)“be at” (छ)“go” (जानु)
महुँछुजान्छु
हामीहौँछौँजान्छौँ

A man and a woman use the same forms. The first person does not show gender in the present, so a woman also says म जान्छु.

To talk about yourself and one other person, say म र सरिता (Sarita and I) and use the हामी ending: म र सरिता साथी हौँ.

Notice the chandrabindu in हौँ and छौँ. It marks the nasal sound of the we-forms and is part of the standard spelling.

Examples (5)

  1. म विद्यार्थी हुँ।

    I am a student.

    म goes with हुँ.

  2. हामी साथी हौँ।

    We are friends.

    हामी goes with हौँ.

  3. म काठमाडौंमा बस्छु।

    I live in Kathmandu.

    The ending -छु matches म.

  4. हामी चिया पिउँछौँ।

    We drink tea.

    The ending -छौँ matches हामी.

  5. म र सरिता साथी हौँ।

    Sarita and I are friends.

    Two people including the speaker take the हामी ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the हामी ending with म.

    म विद्यार्थी हौँ।
    म विद्यार्थी हुँ।

    म is one person, so the verb is हुँ, not हौँ.

How It Connects

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

म / हामीLevel 1I and We

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.