Nepali quotes with meanings: eight lines from home, in Devanagari and English

These Nepali quotes are the eight lines on our Voices of Home prints: five folk proverbs, called उखान टुक्का (ukhan tukka), and three more recent lines, two of them attributed to the poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. Each one is below in Devanagari with its English meaning, most of them romanised too, and what it means when someone says it.

What are some Nepali quotes about life?

Two of the best known come with an image. जीवन एक चक्का हो (jeevan ek chakka ho) says life is a wheel: turn it wrong, and it runs wrong. सबै कुरा एकै फेर पाइँदैन (sabai kura ekai pher paaidaina) says you can't get everything at once, because even the stars need the sun to set.

• जीवन एक चक्का हो, ठीक ठाउँमा नचले बेठीक ठाउँमा चल्छ. Life is a wheel: turn it wrong, and it runs wrong. Attributed to Laxmi Prasad Devkota.
• सबै कुरा एकै फेर पाइँदैन, तारा देखिन पनि घाम डुब्नु पर्छ. Sabai kura ekai pher paaidaina, taara dekhina pani ghaam dubnu parchha. Word for word: you can't get everything at once; even to see the stars, the sun has to set.

The Devkota line is on our Jeevan Ek Chakka Ho print, in Devanagari with the English meaning underneath.

What are famous Nepali proverbs with meaning?

Four of the folk proverbs on our prints: एउटा हाते ताली बज्दैन, one hand alone can't clap; बाघले सिनो खाँदैन, a tiger doesn't eat carrion; घर को बाघ, बन को स्याल, a tiger at home, a jackal in the forest; and चोरको मन बाटोतिर, a thief's mind is always on the road.

• एउटा हाते ताली बज्दैन. Euta haate taali bajdaina. One hand alone can't clap: it takes cooperation.
• बाघले सिनो खाँदैन. Baaghle sino khaandaina. A tiger doesn't eat carrion: the honourable don't stoop low.
• घर को बाघ, बन को स्याल. Ghar ko baagh, ban ko syaal. A tiger at home, a jackal in the forest: said about someone bold among family and timid everywhere else.
• चोरको मन बाटोतिर. Chor ko man baatotira. A thief's mind is always on the road: guilt gives itself away.

We go through these word for word in five Nepali proverbs and what they really mean.

What are Nepali quotes about family?

Two proverbs on our prints are about home and the people in it. एउटा हाते ताली बज्दैन, one hand alone can't clap, means it takes cooperation. घर को बाघ, बन को स्याल, a tiger at home and a jackal in the forest, is the teasing one, said about someone bold among family and timid everywhere else.

The cooperation proverb is on our Euta Hate Tali Bajdaina print. For the word Nepali families use for love itself, माया (maya) means love and affection in Nepali.

What are Nepali quotes about the heart?

Two lines on our prints speak about the heart. मानिस ठूलो दिलले हुन्छ, जातले हुँदैन, attributed to Laxmi Prasad Devkota, says a person's greatness is in their heart, not their caste. मलाई नसोध कहाँ दुख्छ घाउ says don't ask me where the wound hurts.

• मानिस ठूलो दिलले हुन्छ, जातले हुँदैन. A person's greatness is in their heart, not their caste. Attributed to Laxmi Prasad Devkota.
• मलाई नसोध कहाँ दुख्छ घाउ. Don't ask me where the wound hurts.

The Devkota line is on our Manis Thulo Dille Hunchha print.

Where can I find Nepali quotes in English?

Every line on this page has its English meaning next to it, and our prints carry the same English line under the Devanagari. The proverb is large, the English is small, so a guest can read it and a child who grew up abroad can learn the Nepali from it.

All eight are in the Voices of Home collection, from €29.95 for an unframed 30 x 40 cm print. They also come on a wood hanger or wood framed, in 30 x 40, 50 x 70 and 70 x 100 cm. Delivery within the EU is €5.95, free from €40.