INTRODUCTION
Adjectives are those words which qualify a noun or a noun phrase to give it more depth or information. Adjectives are quite important to know, because they help us enrich our speech and helps us describe entities and thoughts with greater colour. For example, the adjective is in bold in the sentence below:
Red house
Adjectives are called विशेषण (viśeṣaṇ) in Nepali. Note that the /v/ sound is more closer to /b/. Use of adjectives is described in Sentence Structure.
Translations may be approximate and its use depends on the context. All adjectives listed are in Dictionary form (masculine/neutral) unless otherwise specified. Text in brackets indicate context.
LIST
Adjectives describing appearance, features and feelings
Bad/ Not good = नराम्रो (narāmro)
Beautiful = सुन्दर (sundar)
Fast = छिटो (chiṭo)
Good = राम्रो (rāmro)
Old (entity) = पुरानो (purāno)
Old (person /male/) = बुढो (buḍho)
Old (person /female/) = बुढी (buḍhī)
New = नयाँ (nayām̐)
Not beautiful/ Ugly = कुरूप (kurūp)
Slow = ढिलो (ḍhilo)
Young = जवान (jawān)
Adjectives describing colour
You can find an additional list here.
Black = कालो (kālo)
Blue = नीलो (nīlo)
Green = हरियो (hariyo)
Red =रातो (rāto)
White = सेतो (seto)
Yellow = पहेँलो (pahem̐lo)
Adjectives describing distance, shape and size
Big = ठूलो (ṭhūlo)
Deep = गहिरो (gahiro)
Far = टाढा (ṭāḍhā)
Fat/ Thick = मोटो (moṭo)
Flat = च्याप्टो (cyāpṭo)
Long = लामो (lāmo)
Low = होचो (hoco)
Near = नजिक (najik)
Short (distance) = छोटो (choṭo)
Short (entity/person) = पुड्को (puḍko)
Small = सानो (sāno)
Tall/ High = अग्लो (aglo)
Thin (entity)/ Dilute = पातलो (pātalo)
Thin (person) = दुब्लो (dublo)
Adjectives describing quality
Cheap = सस्तो (sasto)
Difficult (hard) = गाह्रो (gāhro)
Easy = सजिलो (sajilo)
Expensive = महँगो (maham̐go)
Adjectives describing taste
Bitter = तीतो (tīto)
Good tasting = मीठो (mīṭho)
Hot (taste) = पिरो (piro)
Not-so-good tasting = नमीठो (namīṭho)
Salty = नुनिलो (nunilo)
Sour = अमिलो (amilo)
Stale = बासी (bāsī)
Sweet = गुलियो (guliyo)
Adjectives describing touch and environment
Blurry/ Cloudy = धमिलो (dhamilo)
Bright = उज्यालो (ujyālo)
Coarse = खस्रो (khasro)
Cold (temperature/personality)/ Wet = चीसो (cīso)
Cold (weather) = जाडो (jāḍo)
Dark = अँध्यारो (am̐dhyāro)
Dry = सुक्खा (sukkhā)
Hard (entity) = कडा (kaḍā)
Hot (temperature) = तातो (tāto)
Hot (weather) = गर्मी (garmī)
Lukewarm (temperature) = मनतातो (mantāto)
Smooth = चिल्लो (cillo)
Soft = नरम (naram)
Warm (clothes/feeling) = न्यानो (nyāno)
EXERCISES
A. IDENTIFY THE ADJECTIVE AND WRITE ITS NEPALI TRANSLATION ALONG WITH THE MEANING
1. Blue house
2. Tall person
3. I climbed the big tree.
4. Tea goes with sweet biscuits.
5. He only drives fast cars.
B. WRITE THE OPPOSITE WORD TO THE FOLLOWING WORDS IN NEPALI
1. अँध्यारो
2. सेतो
3. चीसो
4. नयाँ
5. छोटो
ANSWERS
A.1. Blue = नीलो (nīlo)
A.2. Tall = अग्लो (aglo)
A.3. big = ठूलो (ṭhūlo)
A.4. sweet = गुलियो (guliyo)
A.5. fast = छिटो (chiṭo)
B.1. उज्यालो (ujyālo)
B.2. कालो (kālo)
B.3. तातो (tāto)
B.4. पुरानो (purāno)
B.5. लामो (lāmo)
Nepalgo 