Tibetan Language

Tibetan has its own script that it shares with Ladakhi and Dzongkha, which is derived from the ancient Indian Brahmi script. The alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan words. The language is generally clarified as a Tibet-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan language family, although the boundaries between ‘Tibetan’ and other Himalayan languages are often unclear.

The language is spoken in regional dialects, which although they’re mutually legible, generally cannot be understood by speakers of different oral forms of Tibetan.

It is employed throughout the Tibetan plateau and Bhutan and is also spoken in parts of Nepal and northern India, including the Sikkim.

In general, the dialects of central Tibet (including Lhasa), Kham, Amdo and some smaller nearby areas are considered Tibetan dialects. Other forms, particularly Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Sherpa, and Ladakhi, are considered by their speakers, largely for political reasons, to be separate languages.

Although spoken Tibetan varies according to Tibet region, the written language, based on Classical Tibetan, is consistent throughout. This is probably due to the long-standing influence of the Tibetan empire, whose rule embraced (and extended at times far beyond) the present Tibetan linguistic area, which runs from northern Pakistan in the west to Yunnan and Sichuan in the east.It also goes from the northern part of Kokonor lake (Qinghai) south to as far as Bhutan.

Frequently used English and Tibetan Language

English	Tibetan		English	Tibetan
Thank you	thuk jay chey		Milk	om ma
Good Bye(said when leaving)	ghaley shu		Milk tea	cha ngamo
Goodbye(Said to the person who is leaving)	ghaley phey		Tibetan tea	pur cha
See you	ja yong		Meat	sha
That’s it	rey		Yak meat	yak sha
No, it’s not	ma rey		Vegetables	tsel
Need	gin		Fish	nya
Don’t need	magoo		Fruit	shingto
Please(drink or eat it)	nen ro nang		Yoghurt	sho
Did you understand	ha kho song ai?		Sugar	chey ma ka ra
Understood	ha kho song		Salt	tsa
Did not understand	ha kho ma song		Chili	seben
How much?	Gormo khatseur rey?		It’s delicious	shimbo du
It’s expensive	khong chenbo du		It’s hot (spicy)	kha tsa po du
Give me a discount	khong doktsam jakthang		It’s hot (in temprature)	tsapo du
What is this?	di kha rey rey?		It’s cold	trang mo du
Is it there? Do you have?	duk gey?		Highland barley alcohol	chang
Yes, it’s there/we have	du		Road	lamka
No, it’s not there/we don’t have	min du		Mountain	ri
My name is…	ngye ming la….yin		Mountain pass	la
What’s your name?	Kheyrang khi ming la kha rey rey?		River	chu / tsangpo
Where are you from?	Phayul kha nai yin?		Lake	tso
I’m from…	…nai yin		Valley	lung shong
Sorry	gon da		Nomad	drogpa
that’s good	yapo du		Right	yey
that’s isn’t good	yapo mindu		Left	yin
i like it	la gapo du		Tent	gur
i don’t like it	la gapo mindu		Village	trong sep
i feel happy / i’m glad	kyipu du		Snow	khang
I	nga		Rain	char wa
You	khey rang		Hot spring	chu tsan
He/she	khong		Tractor	tho la
Mother	ama la		Yak	yak
Father	pa la		Horse	ta
Uncle	a kha		What’s the time?	Chu tso kha tsoe rey?
Sister	a cha la		Today	te ring
Teacher	gen la		Yesterday	kay san
Elder brother	jhola		This year	thalo
Mr/Ms	kusho la		Next year	thu sang
When	kadu		Tomorrow	san yi
Where	kaba		The day after tomorrow	nan nyin
Who	su		Morning	shokhai
What	kha ray		Afternoon	nyin gung
Which one?	kha gi		Night (evening)	gong mo
How	khan dres		Monastery	gom pa
Hotel	drong khang		Chapel / Temple	lha khang
Room	khang pa		Lama / Monk	lama / trawa
Toilet	seng chue		Reincarnation / Incarnation	trul ku
Shower	chu khang		Rinpoche	rin po che
Bed	nyitri		May i take a photo	par gyab dig gi ray peh?
Key	dey mi		Statue of Buddha	kun drag
Lost the key	day mi la song		Scripture	pay cha
Electricity	lo		hospital (clinic)	men khang
Candle	yang la		medicine	men
Belongings	ja la		doctor	a m chi
Food	khala		oxygen	yang long
Drink	tung yag		i have a headache	go nagi du
			stomach ache	tro kho na gi du