What is Nenglish?

Written by Sabina Maharjan and published by Sambhu Raj Singh on 16 September 2026.

Nenglish is a blend of Nepali and English widely spoken and written across Nepal — especially in text messages, social media, and casual everyday conversations. Rather than using Devanagari script, Nenglish is written using the Roman (English) alphabet, making it instantly readable by anyone familiar with English letters.^[1]

The word Nenglish combines Nepali and English. It describes the way millions of bilingual Nepali speakers naturally express themselves in informal digital communication — typing Nepali words phonetically in Roman script, often mixing in English words and phrases within the same sentence.^[3]

What is Nenglish?

Nenglish is not a formally defined language. It is an informal code-switching phenomenon — a natural result of Nepal's widespread bilingualism.^[2][1] When Nepali speakers communicate in casual settings, they frequently switch between Nepali grammar and vocabulary written phonetically in English letters, and actual English words or phrases.

Unlike formal written Nepali, which uses Devanagari script^[4], Nenglish is always written in the Roman (English) alphabet. This makes it faster to type on standard keyboards and smartphones without needing a special Devanagari input method.

Nenglish follows no fixed spelling rules — different speakers may romanise the same Nepali word differently.^[1] For example, "thank you" in Nenglish may appear as "dhanyabad", "dhanyavad", or simply "thanks" depending on the speaker's regional background or personal style. What unifies all Nenglish is the use of Roman letters to write what would otherwise be Devanagari Nepali.

Where is Nenglish used?

• WhatsApp & Viber: Quick messages between friends and family are almost always written in Nenglish rather than formal Nepali.
• Facebook & Instagram: Captions, comments, and stories frequently mix Nepali vocabulary in Roman letters with English words.
• Twitter / X: Character limits and the Roman keyboard make Nenglish the natural choice.
• SMS & messaging: Nepali speakers used Nenglish for SMS on feature phones before Unicode Nepali keyboards were widely available.
• Email (informal): Between colleagues or peers, casual workplace emails are often written in Nenglish.

Nenglish Vocabulary

The table below shows common Nepali words in all three forms: Nepali Devanagari, Nenglish (Roman), and the English equivalent. Nenglish vocabulary is drawn from Nepali — the Roman spelling reflects how a Nepali speaker would phonetically write the word in English letters.

Greetings & Pleasantries

Greetings are where Nenglish is most immediately recognisable. The same greeting can be expressed in three forms depending on the context and audience. The table below shows common Nepali greetings in all three forms.

Everyday Conversations

Everyday Nenglish sentences often blend Nepali grammar with English vocabulary — a characteristic that feels natural to bilingual speakers but may appear unusual to those learning either language formally. The table below shows common conversational sentences in all three forms.

Nenglish in Different Contexts

Work & Office

The workplace is a major Nenglish domain, particularly in Kathmandu's growing private sector. English business vocabulary is borrowed directly — words like office, meeting, deadline, presentation, overtime, and boss appear alongside Nepali grammar without translation.

Shopping & Food

In markets and restaurants — from street stalls to online shopping — Nenglish is the natural register for price negotiations and ordering food. English words like discount and vegetarian appear directly; Nepali words like mito (delicious) and parcha (costs) provide the grammar.

Social Media & Technology

Technology and social media have accelerated Nenglish adoption. English tech terms — viral, post, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, Netflix — are absorbed directly into Nenglish sentences, combined with Nepali verbs and grammar.

Nenglish, Nepali & English: How They Relate

Nenglish sits between two languages, drawing its grammar and core vocabulary from Nepali while using the Roman alphabet and freely borrowing English words. The three are related but distinct:

Code-switching: the defining feature of Nenglish

Code-switching is the linguistic term for alternating between two languages within a single sentence or conversation.^[1] Nenglish is a persistent example of code-switching between Nepali and English — and its defining characteristic is that even the Nepali elements are written in Roman script rather than Devanagari.

A sentence like "Hijo office ma dherai workload thiyo" illustrates this precisely: the grammar is Nepali (hijo = yesterday, ma = in/at, dherai = a lot, thiyo = was), but the key content word (workload) is English — and the whole sentence is written in Roman letters. The formal Nepali equivalent is "हिजो अफिसमा धेरै कामको बोझ थियो"; the English translation is "There was a lot of workload at the office yesterday."

This mixing is not a sign of language deficiency. Linguists consider code-switching a natural feature of bilingual communities, reflecting fluid command of both languages rather than incomplete knowledge of either.^[1]