तिमी
timī[t̪imi]
The Nepali word for "you" is तिमी (timī).
In Nepali, the choice of the word for "you" depends entirely on the social hierarchy and the level of intimacy between the speaker and the listener.
Meaning: subject pronoun: the person being addressed (pron)
Which one should you use?
The form तिमी is less formal than तपाईं, which is used for elders or people of higher status. It is also less informal than तँ, which is used for very close friends, children or can be used in a derogatory manner.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using तिमी as the subject, the verb "to be" must take the second person singular form छौ.
How do you pronounce it?
timī
Did you know?
- In some religious contexts or when praying to a deity, speakers may use the most informal तँ to express an intimate and raw connection with God.
- Using the formal तपाईं for a spouse or a very close sibling can actually create emotional distance and may be interpreted as a sign that the speaker is angry.
- In many Nepali social contexts, instead of using a pronoun like तिमी, people prefer to address others by their relationship to the speaker, such as 'brother' or 'sister'.
Examples in context
- तिमी को हौ, साथी?Who are you, friend?This sentence is useful for asking who someone is using तिमी.Tatoeba #11862033 by taro, translation #3349931 by LanguageExpert
- को हौ तिमीहरु सबै?Who are you all?This sentence is useful for asking who a group of people are using तिमी.Tatoeba #12148361 by taro, translation #952790 by CK
- टम, तिमी त्यहाँ छौ?Tom, are you there?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is in a specific location using तिमी.Tatoeba #11788621 by taro, translation #1874308 by CK
- 129 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sumit and Srijana are talking about a book.
- सुमित Sumitतिमी यो किताब पढ्छौ?Timi yo kitab padhchau?Do you read this book?
- सृजना Srijanaहो, म यो पढ्दै छु।Ho, ma yo paddai chu.Yes, I am reading it.
- सुमित Sumitतिमीलाई यो कस्तो लाग्यो?Timilai yo kasto lagyo?How did you like it?
- सृजना Srijanaमलाई यो धेरै राम्रो लाग्यो।Malai yo dherai ramro lagyo.I liked it very much.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry तिमी, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
