Nepali Language
What the section tests
The Nepali Language paper tests grammar (vyakaran), vocabulary, spelling (hijje), idioms and proverbs (ukhan–tukka), and writing skills such as letters, essays and précis. Objective items reward recognition; descriptive items reward correct production.
Core grammar
- Varna: 11 swar and 33 byanjan, with correct shirorekha, halant and conjunct consonants.
- Sandhi: swar sandhi (विद्या + आलय = विद्यालय), byanjan sandhi and visarga sandhi.
- Samas: tatpurush, karmadharaya, dvandva, bahuvrihi, dvigu, avyayibhav. Sandhi joins sounds; samas joins words into one compound - they are different operations.
- Karak and vibhakti: karta (ले), karma (लाई), karan (ले/द्वारा), sampradan (लाई), apadan (बाट), sambandha (को/का/की), adhikaran (मा).
- Linga, vachan, purush and kaal must agree between subject and verb.
- Paxya: kartri, karma and bhav vachya, with the correct auxiliary form.
- Pratyaya, upsarga, and the meaning of common ukhan–tukka.
Worked example
Join विद्या + आलय. Both meet at a vowel, and by swar sandhi आ + आ = आ, giving विद्यालय. The reasoning test is sandhi versus samas: here only sounds are joined and no vibhakti is dropped to form a new compound noun, so it is sandhi. In samas the parts lose their case endings and the compound carries a single meaning, as in राजकुमार.
Traps
Misspellings such as गरीब for गरिब and आर्शीवाद for आशीर्वाद. Swapping ले and लाई between karta and karma. Shifting tense mid-sentence. Reading an idiom literally. Omitting the formal address and closing in a letter.