Tibetan language
Introduction
These pages are intended to provide the basic rules to build simple sentences in
Tibetan, suitable to have small conversations or ask information. The first part contains simple grammar rules and many
examples on how to use them. The second part is a collection of words and phrases useful on different occasions (visiting
towns and monasteries, trekking on mountains, eating at the restaurant, etc), where you can find some applications of the
rules presented in the first part. Hurried and lazy people can skip directly to the second part, using sentences
without knowing nothing about their structure, but it will be much less amusing...! Pronunciation rules Tibetan words
have been transcribed using the Latin alphabet, trying to reproduce the original pronunciation. However the readers must
take in mind that some Tibetan sounds have not a precise correspondence in western languages. For instance you can hear
a sound that is not really k nor g but stays somewhere in the middle between them; the same happens for p and b, or
for d and t. At the end of this grammar you can see the Tibetan alphabet, consisting of 29 consonants and 5 vowels.
For our western ears it can be difficult to perceive the difference between k and k’, between ts and ts’, or
between ch and ch’. Sounds that for us are quite similar, for Tibetans are very different. In any case, don’t
get discouraged...Tibetan people can understand you even if you don’t use the exact pronunciation and often, with
a smile or a warm laugh, they will repeat what you have awkwardly tried to say, giving you the possibility to listen the
correct way to pronounce it... 5 The Tibetan language is spoken in a very wide region, extending for thousands
of kilometers. The written language doesn’t change, but the pronunciation can vary a lot going from the western part
of Tibet to the extreme eastern regions or to the Himalayan lands. In this grammar we will refer to the pronunciation
used in Lhasa. In general you can read the Tibetan sentences of this book as in English, but remember that: a is
like in father e is like in let i is like in sing o is like in low ö is like the French eu in jeu u is like
in moon ü is like the French u ny is like the Spanish ñ in niño g is like in goat j is like in jam r is rolled,
don’t read it like the Italian nor the French r’s. ng is like in sing, but the g is almost silent (the very
common word nga, that means I, is pronounced as something between nga and na). k,g at the end of a word are almost silent
(yag, the popular animal yak, and chig, the number one, are pronounced almost ya and chi) h h after a consonant (except
after c) means a breathy consonant. Don’t read ph as in photo and don’t read th as in three or as in this.
Pronounce thr and dhr like in tree and drum. In this book all the words are divided in syllables to make easier the
learning. In a word the accent generally falls on the last syllable...but not always: at the restaurant remember to
ask for momò (typical dumplings) and not for mòmo (grandmother)... Good luck ! ... or better, Tashi deleg ! . ...continue 6 Sentence
structure In Tibetan language the structure of the sentence is: subject + object + verb The verb is always at the
end. Example: I am Pema = nga Pe-ma yin I - Pema - am this is a book = di teb re this - book - is Tenzin
is in Tibet = Ten-zin Pö la du Tenzin - Tibet - in - is Part I Grammar 7 Nouns In Tibetan language nouns
can be monosyllabic or polysyllabic. Most of them are disyllabic. Example: monosyllabic disyllabic earth = sa
mother = a-ma mountain = ri monastery = gom-pa people = mi lama = la-ma water = chu house = khang-pa tea =cha
good = yag-po Most of polysyllabic nouns end with the particles: -pa, -po, -ba, -bo, -ma, -mo. In some cases, by
adding the particle -pa to a word, a new term is created, denoting a man who is in some way connected to the item. Example: horse
= ta horseman = ta-pa Tibet = Pö man of Tibet = Pö-pa 8 Number and gender To make a noun plural you can add the
particle -tso. Example: book = teb books = teb-tso person = mi persons = mi-tso In many cases the terminations
-po and -mo define the gender. Example: king = gyel-po queen = gyel-mo Some nouns have a single form for masculine
and feminine. Example: children (male and female) = pu-gu In some case different words specifies different gender. Example:
male yak = yag female yak = dhri ...continue ...continue ...continue 9 Articles In Tibetan the definite
and indefinite articles do not exist. Instead of the indefinite articles a and an you can use the word for the number
one, chig, following the noun. Example: a boy = bu chig (pronounce chig almost as chi), a girl = bu-mo chig Instead
of the definite article the you can use, if necessary, the demonstrative adjectives this/that and these/those, always following
the noun. this = di that = de these = din-tso those = den-tso Example: the book (if it is near) = teb di the
books (if it is far) = teb den-tso Note: demonstrative adjectives will be more extensively discussed at pg.13. 10 Personal
pronouns In practice for he and she you can always use khong, even if it is an honorific term, to be used talking of
important people (for example lamas or professors). I nga you khye-rang he/ she khong (honorific) he kho /
kho-rang she mo / mo-rang we ngan-tso you khe-rang-tso they khong-tso 11 Genitive and dative cases To
form the genitive case (ex.: the book of Tenzin) one must insert the particle gi between the owner and the owned: owner
+ gi + owned Example: the house of the lama = la-ma gi khang-pa lama - of - house the price of the tea = cha gi
kong tea - of - price To form the dative case (ex.: I gave it to you) one has to put the particle la after the noun
or the personal pronoun that receives the action. to = la Example: to the lama = la-ma la to me = nga la Pronounce
these sentences with the accent on the particle la. 12 Possessive adjectives and pronouns To form possessive adjectives
and pronouns simply add the genitive particle –gi to the personal pronouns ( in practice “your” is
traduced as “of you”, etc.) except “nga-gi” that becomes “nge” (pronounce nge like
ñe with a long e) . For plural persons you can also change the termination tso in tsö. my - mine nge your - yours
khye-rang-gi his/her-hers/its khong-gi our - ours ngan-tso-gi / ngan-tsö your - yours khe-rang-tso-gi / khe-rang-tsö their
- theirs khong-tso-gi / khong-tsö Possessive adjectives must be placed before the noun. Example: my friend = nge
dhrog-po this is yours = di khye-rang-gi re 13 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns Demonstrative adjectives
must be placed after the noun. Example: this house = khang-pa di house - this this is my house = di nge khang-pa
re this - my - house - is that is your friend = de khye-rang-gi dhrog-pa re that - your - friend - is this = di that
= de / pha-gi these = din-tso those = den-tso / phan-tso / pha-gi-tso 14 Qualifying adjectives In Tibetan qualifying
adjectives are always placed after the nouns and do not change with the gender. The particle -tso to make plural or
demonstratives used as articles are placed after the adjectives. Example: good person = mi yag-po good persons
= mi yag-po-tso these good persons = mi yag-po din-tso Some common adjectives big = chen-po small = chun chun hot
= tsa-po cold = dhrang-mo good = yag-po bad = dug-cha long = ring-po short = tung tung old = nyim-pa new = sar-pa To
say very + adjective you can use: adjective + shi-tha or pe + adjective Es.: very hot = tsa-po shi-tha or pe tsa-po . 15 To
say extremely + adjective add the particle -shö to the adjective root. Example: extremely hot = tsa-shö To say too
+ adjective add the particle -tak to the adjective root. Example: too hot = tsa-tak To ask how + adjective ? add
the particle –lö to the adjective root . Example: how long is it ? = ring-lö re ? Comparatives To say more
+ adjective one adds the particles -ua to the adjective root. If the root ends with g or r instead of –ua you must
use -ga or -ra. Sometimes the root is slightly modified. Example: big = chen-po bigger = che-ua good = yag-po better
= yag-ga To make a comparison the particle le (pronounced with a long e) is used in the following way: Ex: my horse
is bigger than yours = nge ta, khye-rang-gi ta le, che-ua du my - horse - your - horse - than - bigger - is . . ...continue 16 Interrogative
pronouns Example: what is it ? = ka-re re ? what is there ? = ka-re du ? which is your house ? = ke-rang-gi khang-pa
ka-gi re? what time is it ? = chu-tsö ka-tsö re ? hour - how much - is ? how much is the price ? = kong ka-tsö re
? price - how much - is ? what ? = ka-re which ? = ka-gi where ? = ka-bar from where ? = ka-ne how ? = kan-dhre
in which way ? = kan-dhre-si how much ? = ka-tsö when ? = ka-dü who ? = sü why ? = ka-re se-na 17 Post-positions Post-positions
correspond to English prepositions, but always follow the noun they address (often between the noun and the postposition
the particle gi is inserted): in, at, to, for, towards = la from = ne on = gang-la under = uog-la in, inside = la
/ nang-la outside = chi-log-la near = thri-la far from = gyang-la in front of = dün-la behind = gyab-la before =
ngon-la after = je-la in middle = kyil-la with = nyam-du about = kor-la Example: in Tibet = Pö la with me = nga
nyam-du on the table = chog-tse gi gang-la near you = khye-rang gi thri-la I come from Italy = nga Ithaly ne yin I
talk about this = nga di kor-la lap-gi-yö 18 Verbs - To be Example: I am Tashi = nga Ta-shi yin I - Tashi -
am this is mine = di nge re this - mine - is I am = nga yin you are = khye-rang re he is = khong re In Tibetan
language the verb to be has two different forms: a) to express identity (ex: I am Tashi) b) to express location (ex.:
I am in Tibet). The verb to be doesn’t change with the number. This means that the conjugation of plural persons
(we, you, they) is equal to the conjugation of singular ones (I, you, he/she/it). To be also doesn’t change tense.
Tenses must be deduced by the general context of the sentence. a) Identity 19 How to choose between du and yo-re
? Du (pronounced almost like dug) is used when the speaker has personally experienced what he is talking about, while
yo-re (pronounced with the accent on re) is used if he only knows the subject from other sources. Example: I am
in Tibet = nga Pö la yö I - Tibet - in - am If I have seen yaks in Tibet I can say: in Tibet there are yaks = Pö
la yag du If I have only read on books that yaks live in Tibet I say: in Tibet there are yaks = Pö la yag yo-re I
am = nga yö you are = khye-rang du / yo-re he is = khong du / yo-re b) Location, existence To express existence
in a place : . . ...continue ...continue ...continue 20 To be – negative form Example: he is
not Tenzin = khong Ten-zin ma-re he - Tenzin - is not I am not in Lhasa = nga Lha-sa la me I - Lhasa - in - am not here
there are no yaks = de yag min-du here - yaks - there are not Note that ma-re and min-du have to be pronounced with
the accent on the last syllable. yin ® min yö ® me re ® ma-re du ® min-du The negative form of to be is obtained
modifying the conjugation as follows: 21 To be – interrogative form Ex: is there a monastery ? = gom-pa
chig yo-re-pe ? monastery – a – is there Furthermore the 1st and the 2nd persons are swapped, that is to
say that in a question the verb is conjugated as expected in the answer (ex.: are you ? becomes am you ?). Ex.: are
you Tashi ? = khye-rang Ta-shi yin-pe ? you - Tashi - are (am) If in the sentence there is an interrogative pronoun
(what, who, where, when...) the verb doesn’t change. Ex.: where is the market ? = throm ka-ba yo-re ? market
– where – is Note that the accent of verbs in interrogative form falls always on pe and ge, that must be
pronounced with a long and open e. yin ® yin-pe yö ® yö-pe re ® re-pe du ® du-ge The interrogative form of to
be is obtained adding the terminations pe or ge, as shown in the panel. 22 To be - Summary To be (identity) Affirm.
Neg. Inter. Inter.-neg. nga yin min re-pe ma-re-pe khye-rang re ma-re yin-pe min-pe khong re ma-re re-pe ma-re-pe To
be (location) Affirm. Neg. Inter. Inter.-neg. nga yö me yo-re-pe yo-ma-re-pe khye-rang du min-du yö-pe me-pe yo-re
yo-ma-re yo-ma-re-pe khong du min-du du-ge min-du-ge yo-re yo-ma-re yo-re-pe yo-ma-re-pe 23 Verbs - To have The
choice between du or yo-re follows the same rules seen for to be. Example: I have a house = nga la khang-pa yö I
– house - have he has no yaks = khong la yag min-du he - yaks – has not have you a car ? = khye-rang
la mo-tha yö-pé ? you - car – have In Tibetan the verb to have doesn’t exist. To express the idea of
possession you can use the verb to be in its location form, putting the particle la after the subject. In practice “he
has...” is traduced as “by him there is….” I have = nga la yö you are = khye-rang la du / yo-re he
has = khong la du / yo-re 24 Verbs conjugation The verb conjugation is one of the most delicate parts of the Tibetan
grammar. To conjugate verbs one must add a suitable termination to the verb root, that depends on the person and the
tense. The terminations are formed by particle as gi or pa, followed by auxiliary verbs (the two forms of to be). The
terminations do not change with the number (for example the 3rd singular person he and the 3rd plural person them have
the same termination). The termination also changes if the verbs is active or passive. Active verbs define an action
“actively” performed (as to go, eat, read...). Passive verbs refers to actions or sensations that the subject
doesn’t have control over (as to be hungry, to feel, to fall asleep...). With some active verbs, the particle
gi has to be insert after the subject. 25 Verbs - Infinitive Verbs are formed by a root (fixed) and a termination
(that changes according to the person and the tense). The termination of the infinitive is -ua or –pa depending on
the verb. Example: Active verbs to go dhro-ua to come yong-ua to make je-pa to meet thuk-pa to eat sa-ua to
drink thung-ua to read log-pa to write dhri-ua to see ta-ua to buy nyo-ua to give te-ua to stay de-pa Passive
verbs to be hungry dro-go to-pa to be thirsty kha-kom-pa to remember dhen-pa to fall ill na-ua 26 Exemple: active
verbs: I go home = nga nang la dhro-gi-yö I - home - go he eats yak meat= khong yak-sha sa-gi-du he - yak meat
- eats passive verbs: I am hungry = nga dhro-go-to-gi-du they are thirsty = khong-tso kha-kom-gi-du Verbs - Present
tense Active verbs Passive verbs 1stperson +gi-yö +gi-du 2nd and 3rd person +gi-du +gi-du To conjugate the present
tense add the following terminations to the verb root: 27 Example: I will go to Lhasa = nga Lha-sa la dhro-gi-yin I
- Lhasa - to - will go you will drink tea = khye-rang cha thung-gi-re you - tea - will drink we will stay at home
= nga-tso nang la de-gi-yin we - home - at - will stay we will meet at the market = = ngan-tso throm la thuk-gi-yin we
- market- at -will meet Verbs - Future tense Active verbs Passive verbs 1stperson +gi-yin +gi-re 2nd and 3rd persons
+gi-re +gi-re Terminations to add to the verb root: 28 Example: you drank water = khye-rang chu thung-pa-re you
- water - drank I understood = nga ha-ko-song I forgot = je-song I heard = ko-song Note: some irregular verbs change
the root in the past, ex: to go dhro ® chin to come yong ® lep to eat sa ® se Ex.: I went to the restaurant =
nga sa-khang la chin-pa-yin I - restaurant - to - went Verbs - Past tense Active verbs Passive verbs 1stperson
+pa-yin +song 2nd and 3rd persons +pa-re +song Terminations to add to the verb root: 29 Verbs - Negative form Example: I
don’t go to the restaurant = nga sa-khang la dhro-gi-me I - restaurant - to - don’t go he doesn’t
go to Lhasa = khong Lha-sa la dhro-gi-min-du he - Lhasa - to - doesn’t go he will not eat meat = khong sha sa-gi-ma-re he
– meat – will not eat I have not understood = ha-ko-ma-song yin ® min yö ® me re ® ma-re du ® min-du song
® ma-song The negative form is obtained by modifying the terminations in the following way: 30 Verb - Interrogative
form Furthermore, as for the verb to be, the 1st and the 2nd persons are swapped, that is to say that in a question
the verb is conjugated as expected in the answer. Note that the termination gi-yin-pe can be shortened as ge, while
pa-yin-pe is shortened as pe. Example: do you go to Lhasa ? = khye-rang Lha-sa la dhro-gi-yö-pe? you - Lhasa - to
- go did you understand ? = ha-ko-song-ge ? will you go ? = khye-rang dhro-gi-yin-pe (short. dhro-ge )? did you go
? = khye-rang chin-pa-yin-pe (short. chin-pe )? Remember, the accent of the verb falls always on pe and ge. yin ® yin-pe
yö ® yö-pe re ® re-pe du ® du-ge song ® song-nge In order to obtain the interrogative form you must modify the
terminations as follows: 31 Questions and answers We have seen that in a question the 1st and the 2nd persons are
swapped, that is to say that the verb is conjugated as expected in the answer. To answer, if the answer is simply yes
or no, you have to use the courtesy particle la, followed by the auxiliary verb used in the question, in its affirmative
or negative form. Example: question: are you Tibetan ? = khye-rang pö-pa yin-pe ? answer: yes = la-yin no = la-min question:
do you eat meat ? = khye-rang sha sa-gi-yö-pe ? answer: yes = la-yö no = la-me question: is this a monastery ? = di
gom-pa re-pe ? answer: yes = la-re no = la-ma-re question: is there a market ? = throm chig yo-re-pe ? answer: yes
= la-yo-re no = la yo-ma-re If you don’t know the answer: maybe = chig che-na probably yes = yin-pa-dhra probably
not = me-pa-dhra 32 The ordinary form uses the termination -ah added to the verb root. For a more polite form add
the termination -nang or rog-nang to the verb root (the g of rog is almost silent). For an exhortation use the termination
–scig. For a strong command or in an informal situation you can simply drop the termination from the verb root. For
the negative form put the particle ma before the verb root. Example: come ! = sho-ah please, read = log-rog-nang
(the accent is on rog) come on, read ! = log-scig give me ! = te look ! = ta come here ! = de sho go away !
= gyu don’t do that ! = ma-che Imperative 33 gi-min-du-ge gi-du-ge gi-min-du gi-du khong gi-me-pe gi-yö-pe
gi-min-du gi-du khyerang gi-min-du-ge gi-du-ge gi-me gi-yö nga gi-ma-re-pe gi-re-pe ghi-ma-re gi-re khong gi-min-pe
gi-yin-pe / ge ghi-ma-re gi-re khyerang gi-ma-re-pe gi-re-pe min gi-yin nga pa-re-pe pa-ma-re pa-re khong pa-yin-pe
/ pe pa-ma-re pa-re khyerang pa-re-pe pa-min pa-yin nga Affirm. Neg. Inter. Inter.-neg. Present Future Past Verbs
– Terminations table Active verbs 34 gi-min-du-ge gi-du-ge gi-min-du gi-du khong gi-min-du-ge gi-du-ge gi-min-du
gi-du khyerang gi-min-du-ge gi-du-ge gi-min-du gi-du nga gi-ma-re-pe gi-re-pe gi-ma-re gi-re khong gi-ma-re-pe gi-re-pe
gi-ma-re gi-re khyerang gi-ma-re-pe gi-re-pe gi-ma-re gi-re nga ma-song-nge song-nge ma-song song khong ma-song-nge
song-nge ma-song song khyerang ma-song-nge song-nge ma-song song nga Affirm. Neg. Inter. Inter.-neg. Present Future Past Passive
verbs .. . ...continue ...continue ...continue 35 To want, need, must, can, etc To traduce to want, to
need something, you must use the verb go in the following way: Ex.: I want some tea = nga la cha go I don’t
want Tibetan tea = nga la Pö cha ma-go do you want some tea ? = khye-rang la cha go-pe ? answer: yes =go no = ma-go what
do you want ? = ka-re go ? To traduce to need, must + verb, you have to use the present tense form of the verb and substitute
the particle gi of the termination with the particle go. Ex.: I have to go to the market = nga throm la dhro-go-yö you
must go = khye-rang dhro-go-re To traduce to want + verb you must use the present tense of the verb and substitute dö
to ghi. Furthermore you must add a -n to the verb root. Ex.: I want to go to Lhasa = nga Lha-sa la dhron-dö-yö I
don’t want to eat = nga san-dö-me 36 ...continue To traduce can, to be able, use the form verb + tub + termination: Ex.:
I can go to Lhasa = = nga Lha-sa la dhro-tub-gi-yö To traduce to have intention of...you must use tsi in the following
way: Ex.: I intend to buy this = nga di nyo-tsi-yö To traduce to be allowed you must use the verb cho: Ex.: Am I
allowed to go there ? = = nga pa-ghi dhro cho-gi-re-pe ? answer: yes = cho-ghi-re no = cho-ghi-ma-re To like To
traduce to like...use the expression ga-bo in this way: Es.: I like tea = nga cha la ga-bo yö I don’t like tea=
nga cha la ga-bo me do you like tea ? = khye-rang cha la ga-bo yö-pe ? I like tea very much = nga cha la ga-bo shi-tha
yö 37 Special structures A sentence made of two parts connected by the conjunction if, like: if [subordinate
sentence], [main sentence] is traduced in the following way: [subordinate sentence] na, [main sentence] Ex: if he
comes, I will go = khong yong-gi-du na, nga dhro-gi-yin he - comes - if, I - will go Expressions as before + verb,
are traduced with the form ma-verb-kong-la. Ex.: before he arrives… = khong ma-lep-kong-la... In expressions
with when + verb..., the form verb-dü is used. Ex.: when we arrive to Lhasa… = nga-tso Lha-sa la lep-dü... 38 Expressions
with to, in order to + verb are traduced with the form verb-ga. Ex.: let’s go to eat = ngan-tso sa-ga dhro Who
is doing the action The termination ken added to the verb root indicates who or what is doing the action. Ex.: the
car that is going to Lhasa = = Lha-sa la dro-ken mo-ta .
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