Lesson 27: The River
Index · Lesson 26: Fire · Lesson 28: Thought and Night
नदी means river, नदी. It is feminine. The subject is नदी, with no visarga. That is the same trap as छात्रा in Lesson 4: Feminine Singular: one woman is छात्रा, and the dots in छात्राः mean more than one. नदी is not an आ word, so the other endings are not छात्रा’s endings. The last vowel is long ई. School calls that shape ईकारान्त.
One river
| Case | Form | A whole sentence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | नदी | नदी अस्ति। | नदी छ। The river is there. There is no ः on one river. |
| Object | नदीम् | अहं नदीं पश्यामि। | म नदी देख्छु। The object म् is written ं before a consonant. |
| With, by | नद्या | नद्या सह अहं गच्छामि। | नदीसँग म जान्छु। Recall नद्या. It is not नदीया. छात्रा in this job is छात्रया. |
| For | नद्यै | इदं जलं नद्यै अस्ति। | यो पानी नदीका लागि हो। |
| From | नद्याः | अहं नद्याः आगच्छामि। | म नदीबाट आउँछु। From and of are the same shape, नद्याः. |
| Of | नद्याः | इदं नद्याः जलम् अस्ति। | यो नदीको पानी हो। जलम् keeps म् because अस्ति starts with a vowel. |
| In, at | नद्याम् | नद्यां जलम् अस्ति। | नदीमा पानी छ। नद्याम् is written नद्यां before a consonant. |
| Calling | नदि | हे नदि। | ए नदी। The call ends in short इ. It is not नदी. |
More than two rivers
| Case | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | नद्यः | the rivers, doing the action. नदीहरू |
| Calling | नद्यः | हे नद्यः |
| Object | नदीः | the rivers that receive the action. नदीहरूलाई |
| With, by | नदीभिः | with the rivers. नदीहरूसँग |
| For | नदीभ्यः | for the rivers |
| From | नदीभ्यः | from the rivers |
| Of | नदीनाम् | of the rivers. नदीहरूको |
| In, at | नदीषु | in the rivers. नदीहरूमा |
The object नदीः and the subject नद्यः are not the same word. More than one woman, in Lesson 8: Feminine Plural, kept छात्राः for both jobs. This shape does not.
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नद्यः सन्ति। | Rivers are there. |
| अहं नदीः पश्यामि। | I see the rivers. |
| नदीषु जलम् अस्ति। | Water is in the rivers. |
The same column
| Word | Meaning | Nepali |
|---|---|---|
| देवी | goddess | देवी |
| पुत्री | daughter | छोरी |
| पत्नी | wife | पत्नी |
| नारी | woman | नारी |
| पृथ्वी | earth | पृथ्वी |
| लक्ष्मी | Lakshmi, fortune | लक्ष्मी |
| वाणी | speech | वाणी |
पुत्री means daughter, छोरी. इदं पुत्र्याः पुस्तकम् अस्ति। “This is the daughter’s book.” यो छोरीको पुस्तक हो। पुत्र्याः is the “of” form, the same job as नद्याः. The subject is पुत्री, with no visarga.
Two rivers are not in this lesson.
Practice
- Say the eight: नदी, नदीम्, नद्या, नद्यै, नद्याः, नद्याः, नद्याम्, नदि.
- Say नदी अस्ति, then अहं नदीं पश्यामि.
- Say इदं नद्याः जलम् अस्ति, “this is the river’s water.”
Next
Lesson 28: Thought and Night is the feminine noun in short इ. बुद्धिः has a visarga. नदी does not.