Languagle #9: Nepali
हिराको मोल किराले जान्दैन
Hirako mol kirale jaandaina
"A worm does not know the worth of a diamond."
What it means
Something precious is wasted on someone who cannot see what it is. The worm crawls over the diamond without noticing it. Said when good advice, skill or kindness goes unappreciated, much like 'pearls before swine' in English.
How to say it
HEE-ra-ko MOHL KEE-ra-leh JAAN-dai-na
Every a is short and soft, like the u in 'cup', while aa is long, as in 'father'.
Word by word
- हिराको HEE-ra-ko: of a diamond (हिरा, diamond, + को, of)
- मोल mohl: worth, price
- किराले KEE-ra-leh: a worm (किरा, insect or worm; ले marks who does the action)
- जान्दैन JAAN-dai-na: does not know
हिरा and किरा, diamond and worm, rhyme, which is half the fun of it.
Where it was found
Nepali calls a proverb an ukhaan (उखान). This one is from a list of Nepali proverbs on Unique in Nepal.
Similar sayings
- English: Don't cast pearls before swine
How to recognise Nepali
Nepali is written in Devanagari, the script where letters hang from a line along the top. Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit use it too, so look at the little words. Nepali uses को (of), ले, मा (in) and verb endings like छ and -दैन. Hindi has है, का, की, में and नहीं instead. Marathi uses आहे and the letter ळ, which neither Hindi nor Nepali uses.
About the Nepali language
Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 20 million people as a first language and many more as a second, as the official language and lingua franca of Nepal. It is also spoken in Bhutan and in parts of India such as Sikkim and Darjeeling, where it is an official language. It is written in Devanagari, the same script as Hindi and Marathi, with a line running along the top of each word.
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