Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [228]
An ‘h’ after the consonants c, d, g, l, p and t indicates that they are ‘aspirated’ (released with a slight puff of air) – listen to the ‘p’ sounds in ‘pip’; the first is aspirated, the second is not. While getting aspiration wrong can have a direct impact on the meaning, it shouldn’t be a problem with the words and phrases in this guide.
c as the ‘ch’ in ‘church’
ng as in ‘sing’; practise using the ‘ng’ sound at the beginning of a word, eg ngawang (a name)
sh as in ‘ship’
t, th ‘dental’ consonants, pronounced with the tongue tip against the teeth
zh as the ‘s’ in ‘measure’
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CONVERSATION & ESSENTIALS
Hello. kuzuzangbo la
Goodbye.
(person leaving) läzhimbe jön
(person staying) läzhimbe zhû
Good luck. trashi dele
Thank you. kadriche
Yes. ing/yö
No. mê
Maybe. im ong
(Hello) How are you? chö gadebe yö?
I’m fine. nga läzhimbe ra yö
Where are you going? chö gâti jou mo?
What’s your name? chö meng gaci mo?
My name is … ngê meng … ing
Where are you from? chö gâti lä mo?
I’m from … nga … lä ing
I’m staying at … nga … döp ing
What is this? di gaci mo?
It’s cold today. dari jâm-mä
It’s raining. châp cap dowä
I know. nga shê
I don’t know. nga mi shê
Can I take a photo? pâ tabney chokar la?
May I take your photo? chögi pâ ci tapge mä?
That’s OK. di tupbä
mother ama
father apa
daughter bum
son bu
elder sister azhim
younger sister num/sîm
elder brother phôgem
younger brother nucu
friend totsha/châro
happy gatokto
enough tupbä/lâmmä
cheap khetokto
expensive gong bôm
big bôm
small chungku
clean tsangtokto
dirty khamlôsisi
good läzhim
not good läzhim mindu
heavy jice
this di
that aphidi
mine ngêgi
yours chögi
his/hers khogi/mogi
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DIRECTIONS & TRANSPORT
What time does the bus leave? drülkhor chutshö gademci kha jou inna?
I want to get off here. nga nâ dögobe
Is it near? bolokha in-na?
Is it far? tha ringsa in-na?
Go straight ahead. thrangdi song
left öm
right yäp
here nâ/nâlu
there phâ/phâlu
where gâti
which gade
in front of dongkha
next to bolokha
behind japkha
opposite dongko/dongte
north bjang
south lho
east shâ
west nup
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HEALTH & EMERGENCIES
I’m ill. nga nau mä
I feel nauseous. nga cûni zum beu mä
I feel weak. nga thangchep mä
I keep vomiting. nga cûp cûsara döp mä
I feel dizzy. nga guyu khôu mä
I’m having trouble breathing. nga bung tang mit shubä
doctor drungtsho
fever jangshu
pain nazu
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NUMBERS
1 ci
2 nyî
3 sum
4 zhi
5 nga
6 drû
7 dün
8 gä
9 gu
10 cuthâm
11 cûci
12 cunyî
13 cûsu
14 cüzhi
15 cänga
16 cûdru
17 cupdü
18 côpgä
19 cügu
20 nyishu/khächi
25 nyishu tsanga
30 sumcu or khä pcheda nyî
40 zhipcu/khänyî
50 ngapcu or khä pcheda sum
60 drukcu/khäsum
70 düncu or khä pcheda zhi
80 gepcu/khäzhi
90 gupcu or khä pcheda nga
100 cikja/khänga
1000 ciktong or tongthra ci
10,000 cikthri
100,000 cikbum/bum
1,000,000 saya ci
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SHOPPING & SERVICES
The word khang means building; in many cases it’s only necessary to add the kind of building.
Where is a …? … gâti mo?
bank ngükha
book shop pekha
cinema loknyen
hospital menkha
market throm
monastery goemba
police station thrimsung gakpi mâkha
post office dremkha
public telephone manggi jüthrin tangsi
shop tshongkha
temple lhakhang
toilet chapsa
Where is the toilet? chapsa gâti in-na?
How far is the …? … gadeci tha ringsa mo?
I want to see … nga … tagobe
I’m looking for … nga … tau ing
What time does it open? chutshö gademci lu go pchiu mo?
What time does it close? chutshö gademci lu go dam mo?
Is it still open? datoya pchidi ong ga?
What is this? di gaci mo?
I want to change money. nga tiru sôgobä
Bargaining is not a Bhutanese tradition, but if you are buying Bhutanese handicrafts at the weekend market, you might be able to lower the price a bit.
How much is it? dilu gadeci mo?
That’s too much. gong bôm mä
I’ll give you no more than … ngâgi … anemci