ऊ / उनी / उहाँ

He and She at Three Levels

Level 1Sounds Like ū, unī ra uhām̐

Nepali has three levels for he and she: ऊ is plain, उनी is middle and उहाँ is very respectful.

How It Works

Nepali has no he/she pair. One word covers both, and the choice is about respect.

PronounLevel“is” (हो)“goes”
उहाँvery respectfulहुनुहुन्छजानुहुन्छ
उनीmiddleहुन्जान्छन्, a woman जान्छिन्
ऊplainहोजान्छ, a woman जान्छे

Use उहाँ for a teacher, a grandparent or a person you have just met and want to honour. Use उनी for someone of about your age or for a colleague. Use ऊ for a child or a close friend.

Gender can show in the verb ending of ऊ and उनी, for a woman, but हो and हुन् do not show it, and speech often drops it. With उहाँ the ending stays the same for a man and a woman, and उहाँ also stays polite when the person is not there. When you are unsure, उहाँ is the safe choice.

Examples (5)

  1. ऊ विद्यार्थी हो।

    He or she is a student.

    ऊ is plain and takes हो.

  2. उनी शिक्षक हुन्।

    He or she is a teacher.

    उनी is the middle level and takes हुन्.

  3. उहाँ डाक्टर हुनुहुन्छ।

    He or she is a doctor.

    उहाँ is very respectful and takes हुनुहुन्छ.

  4. ऊ स्कुल जान्छे।

    She goes to school.

    The ending -छे shows that ऊ is a girl or woman.

  5. उनी घरमा छन्।

    He or she is at home.

    उनी takes the plural-looking ending छन्.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a plain verb with उहाँ.

    उहाँ डाक्टर हो।
    उहाँ डाक्टर हुनुहुन्छ।

    उहाँ is very respectful, so the verb needs the polite form हुनुहुन्छ.

How It Connects

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

ऊ / उनी / उहाँLevel 1He and She at Three Levels

Learn This First

Each word for he or she sits on one of three respect levels.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.