This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s 52-page Nepali Localization Style Guide (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Nepali translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Nepali translator reference by ChatsControl.

Nepali Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Nepali translation across all spheres (legal, medical, marketing, IT) requires a warm, conversational, scannable register — overly Sanskritized or bureaucratic Nepali feels alien in modern consumer-facing content.
• Use the respectful second-person pronoun तपाईं for direct address across software, marketing, and patient-facing materials; avoid तिमी and ऊ/उनी for generic user references — they read as either too casual or carry unintended gender.
• Drop formal Sanskrit-derived verbs that add length without meaning (हासिल गर्नुहोस् → प्राप्त गर्नुहोस्; रूपान्तर गर्नुहोस् → परिवर्तन गर्नुहोस्; उपयोग → प्रयोग) — modern Nepali prefers shorter, everyday equivalents.
• Nepali has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter); for gender-neutral generic references use उहाँ/उहाँहरू, role nouns (पाठक, ग्राहक, कर्मचारी), or व्यक्ति/मानिस — never default to masculine.
• Reference Pragya Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh, Gorkhapatra Style Book, and the Nepali Computer Glossary for normative orthography, terminology, and Devanagari conventions.

Register and tone for modern Nepali translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Nepali readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a register that feels human rather than ceremonial — heavily Sanskritized Nepali carries scholarly or administrative associations that signal distance from everyday speech.

Three principles define the modern Nepali register for consumer-facing content:

• Warm and relaxed. Sounds like honest conversation, not a government notice. Less formal, more grounded — matching how Nepali speakers actually talk in everyday settings.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Sentences short enough to parse on a phone screen. Simplicity is the default.
• Ready to help. Anticipates what the reader needs and offers it at the right moment, rather than burying it under qualifications.

Why this matters: Ceremonial Sanskritized register damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing copy it kills conversion — readers bounce when text sounds like a government circular. In patient-facing medical materials it reduces comprehension, particularly for less-literate readers and rural audiences who use spoken Nepali far removed from high-register Sanskrit. In software UI it creates friction at every interaction. In consumer-facing legal documents (terms of service, privacy notices) it obscures user rights. Only sworn legal translation and pure technical specifications retain the older formal register.

Audience targeting: technical vs. consumer vocabulary¶

The same source text requires different vocabulary depending on who reads the translation. Use technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common everyday words. A clinical drug monograph for prescribers uses precise pharmacological terminology; the patient leaflet for the same drug uses everyday Nepali. A software API reference uses developer jargon; the end-user help article uses plain Nepali.

This applies in every sphere. Legal translation for corporate counsel uses Sanskrit-derived legal terminology and procedural shorthand; consumer-facing versions need plain-Nepali framing. Medical translation for clinicians keeps Latin/English nomenclature; for patients it switches to everyday Nepali terms. IT translation uses developer jargon in engineer-facing docs, natural Nepali (often with transliterated English loanwords) in end-user help.

Flexibility: when to translate literally vs. when to rewrite¶

Flexibility is the translator’s discretion to depart from literal source structure when the literal rendering produces unnatural Nepali. The rule: understand the whole intention of the sentence, paragraph, or page, then rewrite as if composing it yourself for a Nepali reader. This frequently means restructuring sentences, splitting them, omitting redundant qualifiers, or rephrasing English noun-clusters into verb-driven Nepali sentences.

English example	Nepali example	Notes
The password isn’t correct, so please try again. Passwords are case-sensitive.	पासवर्ड सही छैन, त्यसैले कृपया फेरि प्रयास गर्नुहोस्। पासवर्ड केस-संवेदनशील हुन्छन्।	Short, friendly message asking the user to try again.
All ready to go	अगाडि बढ्न सबै कुरा तैयार छ	Casual short setup-complete message.
Would you like to continue?	तपाईं जारी राख्न चाहनुहुन्छ?	Polite second-person question.
Give your PC a name—any name you want. If you want to change the background color, turn high contrast off in PC settings.	आफ्नो पीसीलाई नाम दिनुहोस्—आफूले चाहेको कुनै पनि नाम। तपाईं पृष्ठभूमिको रङ बदल्न चाहनुहुन्छ भने पीसीको सेटिङमा हाई कन्ट्रास्ट बन्द गर्नुहोस्।	Direct address using second-person pronoun.

Why this matters: Source-faithful translation produces translatorese — text that reads as translated. Required in sworn legal translation and certified document translation (birth certificates, court rulings, disputed contracts) where literal accuracy is mandated. Harmful in marketing translation (lost conversion), patient-facing healthcare materials (lost clarity), and software UX (lost engagement). Knowing where the boundary sits is core translator judgment.

Caveat for UI work: standard system messages and error strings should not be freely rephrased — they may be referenced in support docs and help pipelines that depend on exact wording. Outside that narrow category, flexibility is the norm.

Word choice: approved terminology and conversational vocabulary¶

Approved terminology is the project-specific bank of fixed translations for key terms, product names, technical concepts, and recurring phrases. Every serious translation project has one, explicit (glossary, termbase) or implicit (translator’s accumulated decisions). Consistency within the bank matters more than the individual choice — switching between एप and एप्लिकेसन, or पीसी and व्यक्तिगत कम्प्युटर, in one document signals carelessness.

Short, everyday transliterated forms are preferred over long Sanskrit-derived compounds wherever both exist and the audience is non-specialist. Shorter words are friendlier, save screen space, and parse faster.

en-US source term	Nepali word	Nepali word usage
PC	पीसी	Use in place of ‘व्यक्तिगत कम्प्युटर’ (Personal Computer) as the short form is already well established and widely used.
App	एप	Use for ‘application’ which refers to a computer program.
You	तपाईं	Use to address the user directly or indirectly. तिमी also exists but तपाईं is more formal, polite and widely used in localized products.

Why this matters: Terminology consistency is non-negotiable in legal translation (a defined term in a contract must render identically across all 200 pages — variant renderings create ambiguity opposing counsel will exploit), medical translation (drug names, dosage units, anatomical terms must be invariant — a synonym swap can produce a dispensing error), and IT/software translation (UI labels, menu items, error codes must match help documentation word-for-word or users can’t find what they need). Choosing short transliterated forms vs. Sanskrit-derived compounds is a separate decision from consistency — but once chosen, apply uniformly.

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Nepali¶

Two distinct categories of vocabulary to avoid: heavily Sanskrit-derived formal verbs that add length without meaning, and English-source forms that add formality without adding value when a simpler Nepali equivalent exists.

Sanskrit-heavy formal vocabulary¶

en-US source	Nepali word/phrase to avoid	Preferred Nepali word/phrase
Change	रूपान्तर गर्नुहोस्	परिवर्तन गर्नुहोस्
Use	उपयोग गर्नुहोस्	प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्
Get	हासिल गर्नुहोस्	प्राप्त गर्नुहोस्

English-source formal vocabulary (apply equivalent preference)¶

en-US word/phrase to avoid	Preferred en-US word/phrase
Achieve	Do
As well as	Also, too
Attempt	Try
Configure	Set up
Encounter	Meet
Execute	Run
Halt	Stop
Have an opportunity	Can
However	But
Give/provide guidance, give/provide information	Help
In addition	Also
In conjunction with	With
Locate	Find
Make a recommendation	Recommend
Modify	Change
Navigate	Go
Obtain	Get
Perform	Do
Purchase	Buy
Refer to	See
Resolve	Fix
Subsequent	Next
Suitable	Works well
Terminate	End
Toggle	Switch
Utilize	Use

Why this matters: Sanskrit-heavy verbs appear in government documents and academic Nepali out of institutional habit but feel alien in modern consumer products, patient-facing medical materials, brand-led marketing, and user-friendly software. A privacy policy opening with “उपयोगकर्ताको डाटा हासिल गर्ने…” signals bureaucratic distance; “तपाईंको डाटा प्रयोग गर्ने…” reads as the product talking to its user. A patient leaflet using रूपान्तर गर्नुहोस् for “change” forces extra cognitive load when परिवर्तन गर्नुहोस् conveys the same meaning more directly. These substitutions are among the highest-leverage edits a Nepali translator can make.

Inclusive and gender-neutral language¶

Nepali has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Unlike English, verbs and pronouns inflect for gender of the subject, so gender bias creeps in unless the translator actively writes around it.

Avoid gender bias in pronouns and verbs¶

For generic references (where the actual gender is unknown or irrelevant), use respectful gender-neutral alternatives:

Use this	Not this	Notes
उहाँ अफिस जानुभयो।	उनी अफिस गइन्।	Use respectful tone (उहाँ + भयो/भएन ending) and avoid gender-specific forms.
उहाँले क्लिक गर्नुभयो।	उनले क्लिक गरे। (masculine) / उनले क्लिक गरिन्। (feminine)	Avoid gendered verb endings.
असल मानिसहरू / असल व्यक्तिहरू	असल पुरुषहरू / असल महिलाहरू	Use common nouns instead of differentiating male and female.
उहाँले पासवर्ड परिवर्तन गर्नुभएन।	उनले पासवर्ड परिवर्तन गरेनन्। (masculine) / गरिनन्। (feminine)	Same principle for negative verb forms.
सबैलाई धन्यवाद।	सबै महिला र पुरुषहरूलाई धन्यवाद।	Use common noun instead of listing genders.

When presenting generalizations, use non-gendered noun forms (मानिस, व्यक्तिहरू, विद्यार्थीहरू, etc.). Don’t use gendered pronouns (पुरुष, महिला, ऊ, उनी, etc.) in generic references. Instead:

• Rewrite to use the second or third person (तपाईं or कुनै व्यक्ति).
• Avoid gendered possessives (use कागजात / उक्त कागजात / सो कागजात instead of उसको कागजात / उनको कागजात).
• Refer to a person’s role (पाठक, कर्मचारी, ग्राहक, क्लाइन्ट).
• Use मानिस or व्यक्ति.

English source	Use this (Nepali)	Not this (Nepali)
A user with the appropriate rights can set other users’ passwords.	उपयुक्त अधिकारहरू भएका प्रयोगकर्ताले अन्य प्रयोगकर्ताको पासवर्ड सेट गर्न सक्छन्।	यदि प्रयोगकर्तासँग उपयुक्त अधिकारहरू छन् भने उसले अन्य प्रयोगकर्ताहरूका पासवर्डहरू सेट गर्न सक्छ।
Developers need access to servers in their development environments, but they don’t need access to the servers in Azure.	विकासकर्ताहरूलाई एक उनीहरूको विकास परिवेशहरूमा सर्भरहरूमा पहुँच चाहिन्छ, तर उनीहरूलाई Azure का सर्भरहरूमा पहुँच आवश्यक पर्दैन।	विकासकर्तालाई आफ्नो विकास परिवेशमा सर्भरहरूमा पहुँच चाहिन्छ, तर उसलाई Azure का सर्भरहरूमा पहुँच आवश्यक पर्दैन।
When the author opens the document…	जब लेखकले कागजात खोल्नुहुन्छ…	जब लेखिकाले उसको कागजात खोल्छे…
To call someone, select the person’s name, select Make a phone call, and then choose the number you’d like to dial.	कसैलाई कल गर्न, सो व्यक्तिको नाम चयन गर्नुहोस्, फोन कल गर्नुहोस् चयन गर्नुहोस् र त्यसपछि आफूले डायल गर्न चाहेको नम्बर छान्नुहोस्।	कसैलाई कल गर्न, उसको/उनको नाम चयन गर्नुहोस्, फोन कल गर्नुहोस् चयन गर्नुहोस् र त्यसपछि उसको/उनको नम्बर चयन गर्नुहोस्।

If you can’t write around the problem, it’s acceptable to use a respectful pronoun (उहाँ/उहाँहरू) in generic references. Don’t use constructions like ऊ/उनी.

When writing about a real person, use the pronouns that person prefers — including gendered ones like उनी, ऊ, उनको/उसको if that’s what they use themselves.

Accessibility language¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity such as अङ्ग भाँचिएको / अन्धो / बहिरो / लङ्गडो or समस्याग्रस्त / रोगग्रस्त. Don’t mention a disability unless it’s relevant to the content.

Use this (English)	Not this (English)	Use this (Nepali)	Not this (Nepali)
person with a disability	handicapped	अक्षमता भएको व्यक्ति	अपाङ्ग; विकलाङ्ग
person without a disability	normal person; healthy person	अक्षमता नभएको व्यक्ति	सामान्य व्यक्ति; स्वस्थ व्यक्ति

Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods and devices. In procedures and instructions, avoid verbs that don’t make sense with alternative input methods used for accessibility.

Use this (English)	Not this (English)	Use this (Nepali)	Not this (Nepali)
Select	Click	चयन गर्नुहोस्	क्लिक गर्नुहोस्

Other accessibility principles:

• Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure simple — aim for one verb per sentence. Read text aloud and imagine it spoken by a screen reader.
• Spell out words like and, plus, and about. Screen readers can misread text that uses special characters like the ampersand (&), plus sign (+), and tilde (~).

Why this matters: Inclusive language is enforceable in many legal/employment contexts (workplace policies, anti-discrimination notices) and increasingly expected in medical/healthcare communication (patient information sheets that don’t pathologize disability). For marketing translation it directly affects brand perception — using outdated or pity-implying terms damages trust with disabled audiences. For software UI, screen-reader-friendly phrasing affects whether the product is usable at all for blind users.

Pronouns: formal vs. informal address¶

Nepali distinguishes three levels of second-person address based on the social position and age of the addressee:

• तँ — used for people of low position or someone significantly younger than the speaker. Inappropriate for most professional translation contexts.
• तिमी — used for people of the same position or someone in the same age group. Acceptable in informal/peer contexts but too casual for most product, marketing, and consumer-facing material.
• तपाईं — used for people of higher position or someone elder than the speaker. The default for software, marketing, medical patient materials, and consumer-facing legal documents.

en-US old user reference	en-US new user reference
Users can change when new updates get installed.	You can change when new updates get installed.

ne-NP old user reference	ne-NP new user reference
अद्यावधिकहरू स्थापना भएपछि प्रयोगकर्ताहरूले परिवर्तन गर्न सक्नेछन्।	नयाँ अद्यावधिक स्थापना भएपछि तपाईं परिवर्तन गर्न सक्नुहुन्छ।

Common pronouns: मेरो, तिमी, तपाईं, ऊ, तिम्रो.

Why this matters: Wrong pronoun choice signals different things in different spheres. In medical patient communication, using तिमी to an adult patient can feel disrespectful and reduce trust; तँ is offensive. In legal documents, the choice affects whether the text reads as binding/respectful (तपाईं) or condescending (तिमी). In marketing copy, the choice signals the brand’s positioning — youth brands sometimes use तिमी deliberately for closeness, but the choice must be conscious. In software UI, तपाईं is the safe default across all audiences and product categories.

Word-to-word translation: why direct mapping fails¶

Word-to-word translation substitutes each source word with its dictionary equivalent while preserving source word order and syntax. In Nepali translation from English it produces stiff, unnatural — sometimes incomprehensible — text, because Nepali and English distribute information differently. Nepali is SOV (subject-object-verb), uses postpositions instead of prepositions, has rich verb morphology that encodes politeness/aspect/gender, and frequently omits subjects that English would require. Mapping one onto the other without restructuring produces the recognizable “translated-from-English” feel.

The remedy: read for paragraph-level meaning, then compose Nepali sentences that carry the same meaning naturally. Restructure to verb-final order, use postpositions, and drop redundant subject pronouns where context makes them clear.

Why this matters: Word-to-word translation is the dominant failure mode of inexperienced translators and unedited machine output. In legal contracts it produces clauses that translate every term but obscure who owes what, creating dispute risk. In medical instructions it separates action from actor in ways that confuse patients — a known source of compliance errors. In marketing copy it produces headlines that read as foreign — technically Nepali but emotionally flat. In software UI it produces labels users hesitate over because the phrasing doesn’t match how they’d describe the action.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

You might need to abbreviate some words in UI (mainly buttons or option names) due to lack of space. The following common terms should be consistently translated in the localized product:

English	Nepali
Home	गृह
Profile	प्रोफाइल
People	व्यक्ति
Mail	पत्र

Units of the International System (SI) that are abbreviated as a single capital Latin letter should be kept in Latin: W (watt), V (volt), J (joule), Hz (hertz), kHz (kilohertz). Others can be written either in Latin or in Devanagari: kg as कि.ग्रा., cm as से.मि., etc.

Temperature is always measured using the Celsius scale. All other temperature scales (e.g., Fahrenheit) must be recalculated into Celsius in localized products. Standard display: x°C (Latin C, even in Nepali) or x°से (Devanagari से). If temperature is below zero, the minus sign (–) is displayed; if equal to or above zero, the plus sign (+) is optional and rarely used (e.g., –273°C, 0°C, 25°C).

Information units: KB, MB, Bit, Bit/s — always use the English forms.

Common abbreviations:

Expression	Acceptable abbreviation
3-D	3-डी
ACL	एसिएल
API	एपिआई
AVI	एभिआई
CPU	सिपियु
CSS	सिएसएस
DB	डिबी
Digital ID	डिजिटल आइडी
DLL	डिएलएल
DPA	डिपिए
DPI	डिपिआई
DTD	डिटिडी
HTML	एचटिएमएल
IP	आइपी
RGB	आरजिबी
SQL	एसक्युएल
TCP	टिसिपी
TCP/IP	टिसिपी/आइपी
URL	युआरएल
VBA	भिबिए
XML	एक्सएमएल
XSL	एक्सएसएल

Additional guidelines:

• Use a non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR) inside any abbreviation.
• If non-breaking spaces are not available (in Help files, for example), it is also acceptable to write these abbreviations without a space to avoid having one letter move to the beginning of the next line.
• Some words defined in the Nepali Sabdakosh should not be abbreviated: Pound (पाउण्ड), Degree (डिग्री), Ruble (रूबल), Yuan (यूआन), Yen (येन).

Acronyms¶

Acronyms are words made up of the initial letters of major parts of a compound term: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language).

Since there are no capitalization rules in Nepali, the writing system differentiates between abbreviations and acronyms of names and organizations. For example, UNESCO is transliterated into Nepali as युनेस्को, NOT spelled out as युएनईएससिओ. Translators not fully familiar with the English pronunciation of acronyms sometimes spell each character separately, which is incorrect.

en-US source	Nepali target
P.T.O. (Please turn over)	कृ.पा.प. (कृपया पाना पल्टाउनुहोस्)
PIN	पिन

Unlocalized acronyms: in modern Nepali, many popular English abbreviated terms are kept transliterated for a modern, stylistic look and shorter character count.

en-US source	Nepali target
LAN	ल्यान
UNESCO	युनेस्को
UNICEF	युनिसेफ
UNICODE	युनिकोड
ZIP	जिप

Adjectives¶

Adjectives in Nepali either inflect for gender/number (those ending in -ओ) or remain invariant (most Sanskrit-derived adjectives). Adjectives ending in -ओ change to -ई for feminine, -आ for plural. Adjectives like असल (good) are invariant: असल केटा (good boy), असल केटी (good girl), असल गाउँलेहरू (good villagers).

Some Nepali suffixes form adjectives from nouns: -इलो can turn हाँस (smile) into हाँसिलो (smiling); -ली can form गोर्खाली (related to Gurkhas).

en-US source	Nepali target
New York is a beautiful city.	न्यूयोर्क एक सुन्दर सहर हो।
I have learnt many languages.	मैले धेरै भाषा सिकेको छु।
Adding some sugar will make the coffee tastier.	थोरै चिनी थप्नाले कफी अझ स्वादिलो हुनेछ।
This is the best day of my life.	यो मेरो जिन्दगीको सबैभन्दा राम्रो दिन हो।

Possessive adjectives in Nepali: मेरो (mine), तिम्रो (your), तपाइँको (Your — respectful), उनीहरूको (their), उसको (his), हाम्रो (our).

Articles¶

Nepali has no articles. There is no need to translate every English A/An into Nepali. However, if context or meaning demands, use these अव्यय (particles):

• A/An = कुनै, एउटा, एक (mostly for singular and uncertainty cases)
• The = उक्त, यो, त्यो, यही, त्यही (mostly for any number and more certainty cases)

Unlocalized feature names (Microsoft, Windows, Bing, etc.) are used without articles, and you cannot attach genitive markers to them — they’re treated as proper nouns:

en-US source	Nepali target
Windows Mail shares your Internet Connection settings with Microsoft Edge	Windows Mail ले Microsoft Edge सँग तपाइँको इन्टरनेट सेटिङहरू साझा गर्दछ
Website addresses will be sent to Microsoft	वेबसाइट ठेगानाहरू Microsoft मा पठाइने छन्

Localized feature names are treated as regular nouns and can take articles:

en-US source	Nepali target
Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse	विन्डो सक्रिय बनाउन त्यसमाथि माउस होभर गर्नुहोस्
Select a location closest to your office	तपाईंको कार्यालयको सबैभन्दा नजिकको स्थान चयन गर्नुहोस्

For English borrowed terms, consider Motivation (does the English word have features that integrate easily into Nepali grammar?), Analogy (is there an equivalent Nepali term whose article use can guide you?), and Frequency (what does other technical documentation use?). Consult Microsoft Terminology and the Nepali Computer Glossary.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds; unintuitive compounds are an intelligibility and usability issue.

en-US source	Nepali target
Internet Accounts	इन्टरनेट खाताहरू
Logon script processing	लगअन स्क्रिप्ट प्रशोधन हुँदैछ
Internet News Server Name	इन्टरनेट समाचार सर्भर नाम

Conjunctions¶

Starting a sentence with a conjunction (र, तर, क्योंकि, etc.) can convey an informal, conversational tone — acceptable in modern Nepali for marketing/UI copy.

en-US source	Nepali (old, formal)	Nepali (new, conversational)
As gains features, there is a risk that older content may not display correctly.	जब ले सुविधाहरू प्राप्त गर्छ, पुराना सामग्रीहरू राम्रोसँग प्रदर्शन नहुन सक्छन्।	तर यी सुविधाहरूका कारण पुराना सामग्रीहरू राम्ररी प्रदर्शन नुहुनु सक्छ।
Due to installation of downloaded updates some of the old features may not function.	डाउनलोड गरिएको अद्यावधिकहरू स्थापना गरेपछि केही पुराना सुविधाहरू नचल्न सक्छन्।	तर यी डाउनलोडहरू स्थापना गर्नाले केही पुराना सुविधाहरू नचल्न सक्छन्।
Install your new Windows, your old programs may not function.	नयाँ Windows स्थापना गर्नुहोस्, तपाईंका पुराना प्रोग्रामहरू नचल्न सक्छन्।	तर नयाँ Windows स्थापना गर्नाले तपाईंका केही प्रोग्रामहरू नचल्न सक्छन्।

Gender¶

Nepali has three genders: masculine (पुलिङ्ग — nouns ending in -आ vowel), feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग — nouns ending in -ई vowel), and neuter (समलिङ्गी — plural nouns ending in -ए vowel). Verbs and pronouns must agree with the subject’s gender, which is why gender-neutral rewriting (above) requires conscious effort.

Genitive¶

Nepali nouns do not inflect for case; instead, postpositions (clitics) attach to the entire phrase. Key postpositions:

• -को — possessive (“of”)
• -ले — ergative (subject in past-tense transitive sentences) / instrumental
• -लाई — direct object marker on animate nouns; indirect object on all nouns
• -को बारेमा — “about”
• -को लागि — “for”
• -भन्दा माथि — “above”

Trademarked product names cannot take a genitive “s” or be modified — keep as “Microsoft Office Word”, not “Microsoft Office Word’s“.

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

Three options:

1. Do not attempt to replace the source colloquialism with a Nepali colloquialism that fits the same meaning unless it is a perfect and natural fit for the context.
2. Translate the intended meaning of the colloquialism in the source text (rather than literally), but only if the colloquialism’s meaning is an integral part of the text that can’t be omitted.
3. If the colloquialism can be omitted without affecting the meaning, omit it.

Nouns¶

English loan words must be integrated into Nepali noun classes. When faced with an English loan word not previously used in localization, consider Motivation, Analogy, and Frequency (see Articles section).

en-US source	Nepali target
Delete this server.	यसलाई सर्भरबाट हटाउनुहोस्।
Enter a password to log into the server.	सर्भरमा लग इन गर्न पासवर्ड प्रविष्ट गर्नुहोस्।
DNS cannot resolve the server IP address.	DNS ले सर्भरको आइपी ठेगाना समाधान गर्न सक्दैन।
Verify the name of the server’s certificate.	सर्भरको प्रमाणपत्रको नाम प्रमाणित गर्नुहोस्।

Inflection¶

Nepali nouns inflect according to their function in the sentence (nominal inflection) — much more elaborate than English’s simple -s plural. In Devanagari, postpositions attach directly to the word, which can make inflection look like part of the word itself.

English loanwords inflect for plural in Nepali by adding हरू:

en-US source	Nepali target
Clients	क्लाइन्टहरू
Websites	वेबसाइटहरू
Downloads	डाउनलोडहरू
Proxys	प्रोक्सीहरू
Administrators	व्यवस्थापकहरू

Plural is formed by adding हरू: मेरो कार (my car, singular) → मेरा कारहरू (my cars, plural).

Prepositions (Postpositions)¶

Many translators, influenced by English, omit prepositions or change word order — Nepali uses postpositions, not prepositions, and they must follow the noun they modify. For Microsoft voice, postposition use is another way to convey a casual or conversational tone.

Source Text Expression	Nepali Expression
import to	मा आयात गर्नुहोस्
import from	बाट आयात गर्नुहोस्
export to	मा निर्यात गर्नुहोस्
export from	बाट निर्यात गर्नुहोस्
update to	मा अद्यावधिक गर्नुहोस्
upgrade to	मा स्तरवृद्धि गर्नुहोस्
Change to	मा परिवर्तन गर्नुहोस्
Click on	मा क्लिक गर्नुहोस्
Connect to	मा जडान गर्नुहोस्

Punctuation¶

• Do not use abbreviations in running text. Approved acronyms are fine.
• Do not use semicolons. Two shorter sentences are better than a single long sentence and easier to read.
• Do not use exclamation marks. Choose stronger words.
• An em dash demarcates an isolated element or introduces an item not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Comma (,) — separator for consecutive names or items, and for short pauses. Example: राम, श्याम, हरि.

Colon (:) — informs that what follows proves, clarifies, explains, or enumerates. Example: थप जानकारीका लागि कृपया यहाँ सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्:

Hyphen — divides words between syllables, links compound words, connects parts of inverted/imperative verb forms. Example: Pop-up = पप-अप, Drop-down = ड्रप-डाउन.

En dash — used as a minus sign (usually with spaces): 10–5 p.m. Also used in number ranges with no spaces: from page No. 1-5, पाना 1-5 सम्म.

Em dash — emphasizes an isolated element or introduces an aside. Example: रामको गाडी―जुन रातो थियो―हिजो राती दुर्घटनामा पर् यो।

Ellipsis (…) — omission of words from a sentence. Example: मैले धेरै प्रयास गर्न खोजेँ…

Period (.) — used after many abbreviations. Example: डा. प्रेम प्रसाद.

Quotation marks — “” for speech/quotation; ‘’ for nested speech/quotation. In US source strings, software references may use English quotation marks. Examples: “आज गणेश चतुर्थी” / रामले सोध्यो, ‘मेरो कार कहाँ हरायो?’

Parentheses — no space between the parentheses and the text inside them. Example: (कृपया जुत्ता फुकाल्नुहोला।)

Sentence fragments¶

For Microsoft voice, sentence fragments convey a conversational tone. They are used whenever possible because they are short and to the point.

en-US source	Long form (Nepali)	Sentence fragment (Nepali)
Use the following steps:	निम्न चरणहरू प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्:	निम्नानुसार गर्नुहोस्:
Are you sure you want to continue with this action?	तपाईं निश्चित रूपमा यो कार्य जारी राख्न चाहनुहुन्छ?	तपाईं साँच्चिकै यो कार्य जारी राख्न चाहनुहुन्छ?
There isn’t enough memory available to perform function.	यो प्रकार्य कार्यसम्पादन गर्नका लागि पर्याप्त मेमोरी उपलब्ध छैन।	यो कार्य गर्नका लागि पर्याप्त मेमोरी छैन।

Verbs¶

Use simple tenses. The simple present is the easiest to understand. Avoid future tense unless describing something that will genuinely happen in the future and simple present is inapplicable. Use simple past for events that have already happened.

Be consistent in how you translate verbs in error messages. If it’s grammatical to omit the predicate “be” in your language, you can omit it in error messages, but be consistent across all error messages. Be concise without changing the meaning.

en-US source	Nepali use of verb tense	Comments
Document too large.	कागजातको साइज एकदमै ठुलो भयो।	Be consistent in your usage of the verb “to be”.
Access denied.	पहुँच अस्वीकृत गरियो।	In complete sentences, use verbs and the same tense as in the source string.
The file ‘%s’ is an unknown graphics format.	‘%s’ फाइल अज्ञात ग्राफिक्स फर्म्याट हो।	Rephrase “is” with “have” if necessary to produce an appropriate translation.
No error occurred.	त्रुटि देखा परेन।	Shorten this construction where possible: Unknown error / No error.
A problem occurred while trying to connect to the network share ‘%1!s!’.	नेटवर्क साझेदारी ‘%1!s!’ मा जडान गर्ने प्रयास गर्दा एउटा समस्या भयो।	Shorten and rephrase if necessary.
The application may attempt to convert the graphic.	यो एप्लिकेसनले ग्राफिक्सलाई रूपान्तरण गर्ने प्रयास गर्न सक्छ।	“may + verb” can be rephrased as “Verb + possibly”.

Verbs convey action (bring, read, walk, run) or state (exist, stand). Verbs must agree with the person, gender, and/or number of the subject:

English	Nepali
I write	म लेख्छु
I drive	म गाडी चलाउँछु
I love	म माया गर्छु

Continuous operations in English are usually expressed with a gerund — translate into Nepali. If an English heading begins with a gerund, try to use a nominalized form in Nepali.

English	Nepali
Sending a file	फाइल पठाउँदै
Using styles	शैलीहरू प्रयोग गर्दै

Style and tone considerations¶

Cross-cutting choices that apply across consumer-facing Nepali translation:

• Address with तपाईं. Standard in software, marketing, medical patient materials, and consumer-facing legal documents. Use तिमी only when the brand explicitly targets a peer-relationship register (rare).
• Avoid third-person references to the reader. “प्रयोगकर्ताले…” sounds institutional. Address directly: “तपाईंले…” or imperative: “क्लिक गर्नुहोस्”, “प्रविष्ट गर्नुहोस्”.
• Use gender-neutral forms for generic references. Default to उहाँ/उहाँहरू, role nouns, or व्यक्ति/मानिस. Don’t default to masculine.
• Active voice over passive — except in error messages. Active is more direct and usually shorter. For error messages specifically, Nepali tradition uses passive voice (“…गर्न सकिएन”) because the computer talking to the user in first person doesn’t match Nepali register expectations.
• Split long sentences. English tolerates long subordinated sentences better than Nepali on screen. If a sentence runs past two lines on a phone, split it.

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Accessibility options and programs make the computer usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities. Some accessible products may not be available in Nepali-speaking markets — verify with the appropriate resources before promising availability.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application/product names are often trademarked and rarely translated. Occasionally feature names are trademarked too (e.g., IntelliSense™). There are no Nepali-specific rules for trademarking — follow Microsoft’s trademark list.

Version numbers¶

Version numbers always contain a period (e.g., Version 4.2):

US English	Nepali target
WCAG 6.2	WCAG 6.2

Version strings (copyright)¶

Version strings containing copyright information should always be translated:

US English	Nepali target
© 2023 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.	© 2023 Microsoft Corporation. सर्वाधिकार सुरक्षित।

Trademarks¶

Trademarked names and the name Microsoft Corporation should not be localized unless local laws require translation and an approved translated form is available.

Software considerations¶

Error messages¶

Error messages inform the user of an error that must be corrected for the program to keep running. They may prompt action or signal a condition requiring a restart.

The core principle for Nepali error messages: use passive voice, not first-person from the computer. The computer-talking-to-the-user-in-first-person tone does not fit Nepali register expectations.

English term	Nepali translation
Something went wrong.	केही कुरा गडबड भयो।
Not enough memory to process this command.	यो कमान्ड सम्पन्न गर्नका लागि पर्याप्त मेमोरी छैन।

Standard error-message phrases:

English	Translation	Example
Cannot …	गर्न सकिँदैन…	यो फाइल हटाउन सकिँदैन/सकिएन
Could not …	गर्न सकिएन…	यो कार्य गर्न सकिएन
Failed to …	…गर्न सकिएन	यो कार्य गर्नमा असफलता भयो
Failure of …	…गर्नमा असफलता
Cannot find …	…खोज्न सकिँदैन	फाइल खोज्न सकिँदैन/सकिएन
Could not find …	…खोज्न सकिएन
Unable to find …	…खोज्न सकिएन	फाइल खोज्न/पत्ता लगाउन सकिएन
Unable to locate …	…पत्ता लगाउन असमर्थ
Not enough memory	पर्याप्त मेमोरी छैन
Insufficient memory	अपर्याप्त मेमोरी	पर्याप्त मेमोरी छैन / मेमोरी अपर्याप्त छ
There is not enough memory	पर्याप्त मेमोरी छैन
There is not enough memory available	पर्याप्त मेमोरी उपलब्ध छैन	पर्याप्त मेमोरी उपलब्ध छैन
… is not available	…उपलब्ध छैन	नेटवर्क उपलब्ध छैन
… is unavailable	…अनुपलब्ध छ	नेटवर्क अनुपलब्ध छ

Placeholders in error messages. When localizing error messages with placeholders, find out what will replace the placeholder so the sentence stays grammatically correct. Placeholder letters carry meaning:

• %d, %ld, %u, %lu — number
• %c — letter
• %s — string

A translator should first determine what the placeholder represents — that determines whether the sentence should use masculine/feminine, singular/plural forms.

Keyboard shortcuts¶

There are no Nepali-specific keyboard shortcuts. English keys apply.

Rules:

Keyboard shortcut option	Allowed?
“Slim characters” (I, l, t, r, f) as keyboard shortcuts	No
Characters with descenders (g, j, y, p, q) as keyboard shortcuts	No
Extended characters as keyboard shortcuts	No
Additional letter in brackets after item name as shortcut	No
Number in brackets after item name as shortcut	No
Punctuation sign in brackets after item name as shortcut	No
Duplicate keyboard shortcuts allowed	No
No shortcut when no characters available (minor options)	No

Key terms:

Term	Usage
access key	A subtype of keyboard shortcut. A letter or number used to access UI controls with text labels. Assigned to top-level controls. Most access keys are used with Alt. Example: F in Alt+F. In UI localization: H&ome.
key tip	The letter or number that appears in the ribbon when Alt is pressed. In UI localization, the last character after “": HomeH.
shortcut key	A subtype of keyboard shortcut. A key used to perform a common action without going through the UI. Not available for every command. Most use Ctrl. Example: Ctrl+N, Ctrl+V. Ctrl+letter combinations and function keys (F1–F12) are usually best.

Key names¶

In normal text, key names appear without small caps:

English Key Name	Nepali Key Name
Alt	Alt
Backspace	Backspace
Break	Break
Caps Lock	Caps Lock
Ctrl	Control
Delete	Delete
Down Arrow	तल बाण
End	End
Enter	Enter
Esc	Escape
Home	Home
Insert	Insert
Left Arrow	बायाँ बाण
Num Lock	Num Lock
Page Down	Page Down
Page Up	Page Up
Pause	Pause
Right Arrow	दायाँ बाण
Scroll Lock	Scroll Lock
Shift	Shift
Spacebar	स्पेसबार
Tab	Tab
Up Arrow	माथि बाण
Windows key	Windows की
Menu Key	मेनु की
Print Screen	Print Screen

Standard shortcut keys¶

US Command	US English Shortcut Key	Nepali Command	Nepali Shortcut
Help window	F1	मद्दत विन्डो	n/a
Context-sensitive Help	Shift+F1	प्रसङ्ग-संवेदनशील मद्दत	n/a
Display pop-up menu	Shift+F10	प्रदर्शन पप-अप मेनु	n/a
Cancel	Esc	रद्द गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Activate/Deactivate menu bar mode	F10	मेनुपट्टी मोड सक्रिय/निष्क्रिय गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Switch to the next primary application	Alt+Tab	अर्को प्राथमिक एप्लिकेसनमा स्विच गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Display next window	Alt+Esc	अर्को विन्डो देखाउनुहोस्	n/a
Display pop-up menu for the window	Alt+Spacebar	विन्डोको पप-अप मेनू प्रदर्शन गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Display pop-up menu for the active child window	Alt+-	सक्रिय सानो विन्डोको पप-अप मेनु देखाउनुहोस्	n/a
Display property sheet for current selection	Alt+Enter	हालको छनौटको लागि गुण सिट प्रदर्शन गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Close active application window	Alt+F4	सक्रिय एप्लिकेसन विन्डो बन्द गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Switch to next window within (modeless-compliant) application	Alt+F6	(मोडविहीन-अनुपालन) एप्लिकेसन भित्र अर्को विन्डोमा स्विच गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Capture active window image to the Clipboard	Alt+Prnt Scrn	सक्रिय विन्डोको छवि क्लिपबोर्डमा क्याप्चर गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Capture desktop image to the Clipboard	Prnt Scrn	डेस्कटपको छवि क्लिपबोर्डमा क्याप्चर गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Access Start button in taskbar	Ctrl+Esc	कार्यपट्टीमा रहेको सुरु गर्ने बटन प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Display next child window	Ctrl+F6	अर्को बाल विन्डो प्रदर्शन गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Display next tabbed pane	Ctrl+Tab	अर्को ट्याबयुक्त प्यान प्रदर्शन गर्नुहोस्	n/a
Launch Task Manager and system initialization	Ctrl+Shift+Esc	कार्य प्रबन्धक र प्रणालीको सुरुवात सुरु गर्नुहोस्	n/a
File New	Ctrl+N	नयाँ फाइल	n/a
File Open	Ctrl+O	फाइल खोल्नु	n/a
File Close	Ctrl+F4	फाइल बन्द गर्नु	n/a
File Save	Ctrl+S	फाइल बचत गर्नु	n/a
File Save as	F12	फाइललाई यस रूपमा बचत गर्नु	n/a
File Print Preview	Ctrl+F2	फाइल छपाइ पूर्वावलोकन	n/a
File Print	Ctrl+P	फाइल छाप्नु	n/a
File Exit	Alt+F4	फाइलबाट बाहिर निस्कनु	n/a
Edit Undo	Ctrl+Z	सम्पादन पूर्ववत् गर्नु	n/a
Edit Repeat	Ctrl+Y	सम्पादन दोहोर्याउनु	n/a
Edit Cut	Ctrl+X	सम्पादन काट्नु	n/a
Edit Copy	Ctrl+C	सम्पादन प्रतिलिपि बनाउनु	n/a
Edit Paste	Ctrl+V	सम्पादन टाँस्नु	n/a
Edit Delete	Ctrl+Backspace	सम्पादन हटाउनु	n/a
Edit Select All	Ctrl+A	सम्पादन सबै चयन गर्नु	n/a
Edit Find	Ctrl+F	सम्पादन खोज्नु	n/a
Edit Replace	Ctrl+H	सम्पादन प्रतिस्थापन गर्नु	n/a
Edit Go To	Ctrl+G	सम्पादन यहाँ जानु	n/a
Help	F1	मद्दत	n/a
Italic	Ctrl+I	इटालिक	n/a
Bold	Ctrl+B	बोल्ड	n/a
Underlined/Word underline	Ctrl+U	रेखाङ्कित/शब्द रेखाङ्कन	n/a
Large caps	Ctrl+Shift+A	n/a	n/a
Small caps	Ctrl+Shift+K	n/a	n/a
Centered	Ctrl+E	केन्द्रित	n/a
Left aligned	Ctrl+L	बायाँ पङ्क्तिबद्ध	n/a
Right aligned	Ctrl+R	दायाँ पङ्क्तिबद्ध	n/a
Justified	Ctrl+J	समायोजित	n/a

Voice video considerations¶

A good Microsoft voice video addresses only one intent (one customer problem), is not too long, has high audio quality, has visuals that add to the information, and uses the right language variant/dialect/accent in voiceover.

Successful techniques for voicing video content:

• Focus on the intent. Show the best way to achieve the most common task and stick to it.
• Show empathy. Understand and acknowledge the viewer’s situation.
• Use SEO. Include search phrases in the title, description, and headers so people can easily find the topic.
• Talk to the customer as if they are next to you, watching you explain the content.
• Record a scratch audio file. Check for length, pace, and clarity.

English pronunciation in Nepali voiceover¶

English terms and product names left unlocalized should generally be pronounced the English way. For example, Microsoft is pronounced the English way. However, if Nepali has an established pronunciation for a common term (e.g., “server”), use the local pronunciation. Pronunciation can be adapted to the Nepali phonetic system if the original sounds awkward.

Example	Phonetics	Comment
SecurID	[sɪ’kjʊər aɪ diː]	n/a
.NET	[dot net]	n/a
Skype	[skaip]	Product names are pronounced as in the source language.

Acronyms pronounced as real words, adapted to local pronunciation:

Example	Phonetics
RADIUS	रेडियस
RAS	र्यास
ISA	आइएसए
LAN	ल्यान
WAN	व्यान
WAP	व्याप
MAPI	मापी
POP	पोप
URL	युआरएल

Other abbreviations pronounced letter by letter:

Example	Phonetics
ICMP	आइसीएमपी
IP	आइपी
TCP/IP	टिसिपी/आइपी
XML	एक्सएमएल
HTML	एचटिएमएल
OWA	ओडब्ल्युए
SQL	एसक्युएल

URLs: “http://” should be left out; the rest of the URL is read entirely. “www” is pronounced as डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु. The “dot” should be omitted but can also be read out as डट.

Example: http://www.microsoft.com/cze → डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु डट माइक्रोसोफ्ट डट कम.

Punctuation marks are naturally implied by voice. En dash (–) is pronounced as a short pause (like a comma). Special characters (/ \ ˘ < > + -) use the Nepali names approved in Microsoft Terminology.

Tone in voiceover¶

Use a tone matching the target audience: more informal, playful, and inspiring for consumer products and games; formal, informative, and factual for technical texts.

Video voice checklist¶

Topic and script: apply single intent, clarity, everyday language, friendliness, relatable context.

Title: includes the intent and search keywords.

Intro (10 seconds): put the problem into a relatable context.

Action and sound: keep something happening visually and audibly, maintain pace, synchronize visuals with voice-over, fine to alternate between first and second person, repetition of big points is fine.

Visuals: guide the eye through the procedure with smooth, easily trackable pointer motions and judicious callouts; use appropriate motion graphics and branding-approved visuals.

Ending: recaps are unnecessary.

Reference materials: authoritative Nepali dictionaries¶

Use these references for orthography, grammar, and terminology when this guide doesn’t specify. Standard authorities consulted by professional Nepali translators across spheres.

Normative references (deviation typically fails a string):

1. Pragya Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh — National dictionary published by Nepal Pragya-Pratishthan, latest edition, Kathmandu, Nepal.
2. Gorkhapatra Style Book — Published by Gorkhapatra Sansthan, latest edition, Kathmandu, Nepal.
3. Nepali Computer Glossary — Nepali Language in Information Technology, High Level Commission for Information Technology, Steering Committee.
4. Nepal’s Cultural Convention for Information Technology — DATA BOOK — High Level Commission for Information Technology; Nepali Language in Information Technology, Steering Committee.
5. Nepalese Standards of Character Codes for Information Inter-exchange — High Level Commission for Information Technology; Nepali Language in Information Technology, Steering Committee.
6. Nepali Sabdasagar — ‘Nepal’-Bhabha Pustak Bhandar.
7. shabdkosh.com — Primarily a Hindi site, but useful because many Nepali and Hindi terms share Sanskrit or Urdu origins.

Informative references (background, comparison, supplementary):

1. Who is Who — Research Center for Communication and Development.
2. Nepali Bhasha ra Byakaran — Sajha Prakashan, Kathmandu, Nepal.
3. Nimna Madhyamik Nepali Byakaran Rachana — Dr. Basudev Tripathee, Mahadev Awasthi, Parashmani Bhandari.
4. The Unicode Standard — The Unicode Consortium.
5. Gautam’s Up to Date Nepali English Dictionary — Gautam Prakashan.
6. रामो रचना मीठो नेपाली by कृष्णप्रसाद पराजुली, latest edition.

Microsoft references:

• Microsoft Terminology — Globalization: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/reference/microsoft-terminology
• Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/desktop/

FAQ¶

What’s the modern register for Nepali translation across professional contexts?¶

Warm, conversational, scannable. This applies to medical patient materials, marketing copy, software UI, and consumer-facing legal documents. Pure technical specifications and sworn legal translation may retain higher Sanskritized formality, but even there, clarity beats bureaucratic register.

Which pronoun should I use to address users in Nepali translation?¶

Use तपाईं — the respectful second-person form. Avoid तिमी (used between equals/peers, too casual for most products), तँ (used for inferiors/intimates, inappropriate everywhere), and third-person references like प्रयोगकर्ता (“user”), which sound institutional. For real people writing about themselves, follow their stated preference.

How does Nepali handle gender-neutral language?¶

Nepali distinguishes masculine, feminine, and neuter gender across nouns, pronouns, and verb endings. For generic references, use उहाँ/उहाँहरू (respectful), role nouns (पाठक, कर्मचारी, ग्राहक), or व्यक्ति/मानिस instead of gendered ऊ/उनी/उसको. Rewrite to second person where possible. Don’t default to masculine.

Which Nepali vocabulary should I avoid in modern translation?¶

Heavily Sanskritized formal verbs that add length without meaning: हासिल गर्नुहोस् (use प्राप्त गर्नुहोस्), रूपान्तर गर्नुहोस् (use परिवर्तन गर्नुहोस्), उपयोग गर्नुहोस् (use प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्). Also avoid pity-implying disability terms (अपाङ्ग, विकलाङ्ग); use अक्षमता भएको व्यक्ति.

How are English loanwords and acronyms handled in Nepali?¶

Modern Nepali freely transliterates established English terms into Devanagari (एप for “app”, पीसी for “PC”, ल्यान for “LAN”, युनेस्को for “UNESCO”). Plurals add हरू (वेबसाइटहरू, डाउनलोडहरू). SI units that are single capital letters stay in Latin (W, V, Hz); compound units may use Devanagari abbreviation (कि.ग्रा., से.मि.).

What authoritative Nepali language references should I use?¶

Pragya Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh (Nepal Pragya-Pratishthan, latest edition) is the national dictionary; Gorkhapatra Style Book covers journalistic conventions; the Nepali Computer Glossary from the High Level Commission for IT covers tech terminology; Nepali Sabdasagar for general lookup. See “Reference materials” section above for full citations.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Nepali (PDF)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Microsoft Terminology Search
• Pragya Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh — Nepal Pragya-Pratishthan