Dzongkha phrasebook

Dzongkha (རྫོང་ཁ་) is the national language of Bhutan. Most educated Bhutanese are able to communicate in English as well, though attempting to speak Dzongkha will almost certainly impress your hosts.

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

Vowels are [a ɛ e i ø y ɜ ɨ o u]. Diphthongs are [ai au ei øy ɤu/ou iɛ uɔ/yɔ]. The only coda is eng, in /aŋ eŋ oŋ/ and syllabic [ŋ̩].

Consonants

		Bilabial	Labio- dental	Alveolar	Alveolo- palatal	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m		n	ȵ		ŋ
Plosive	voiced	b		d			ɡ
	voiceless	p		t			k
	aspirated	pʰ		tʰ			kʰ
Fricative	voiced		v	z				ɦ
	voiceless		f	s	ɕ			h
Affricate	voiced			dz	dʑ
	voiceless			ts	tɕ
	aspirated			tsʰ	tɕʰ
Approximant						j
Lateral Approximant				l

Phrase list

Basics

Hello (formal)

Kuzoozangpo la

Hello (informal)

Kuzoozangpo

How are you?

Gadaybay Zhu yi Ga?

I'm fine

Legshom (Layshom) or Legshom bey rang yoe (full)

What is your name?

Chhoe gi ming ga chi mo?: What is your name (formal)

Na ge tshen ga chi zhuwu eena?

My name is _____

Nge gi ming _____ in

I am from ____

Nga ____ lay in la

Thank you

Kadrin chhe

See you later (formal)

Shoo lay log jay gay

See you later (alternate)

Tama chhay gay

See you tomorrow

Naba chhay gay

Where

Gatey

How much

Gademchi

Problems

Where is the bathroom?

chhab sang gatey inna la?

We need to go to the hospital.

Nga chey (plural)/ nga (singular) menkhang na jo go bay.

Doctor:

Drung tsho

What is the Problem?

Choe gi Ka Ngyel ga chi mo?

Where is the Bank?

Ngyul Khang Ga teey mo?

Numbers

0

leykor

1

chi

2

nyi

3

sum

4

zhi

5

nga

6

dru

7

dhuen

8

ghay

9

gu

10

chutham

11

chu chi

12

chu nyi

Time

Clock time

time

(...)

o'clock

bazaar

8 o'clock

bazaar gyed/ chhutsed gyed

Duration

_____ minute(s)

karma

_____ hour(s)

chhutsed

_____ day(s)

Zha/nim

_____ week(s)

dhuenthra

_____ month(s)

Daw

_____ year(s)

Lo

Days

Monday

Migmar

Tuesday

Lhagpa

Wednesday

Phurba

Thursday

Pasang

Friday

Penpa

Saturday

Nima

Sunday

Dawa

Months

January

indha dangpa

February

indha nyipa

March

indha sumpa, indha zhipa, indha ngapa, indha drukpa, indha duenpa, indha gyepa, indha gupa and indha chunyepa for December

Note

For the months of lunar calendar the prefix is rangda, indha is used for the months of the international calendar.

Colors

Green

Changkha

Red

Marp

White

Karp

Blue

Hoem

Black

Naap

Yellow

Sep

Orange

Leewang

Transportation

Taxi

Identified by the yellow top (hood) and BT registration affixed before the number.

Taxi

la khor

Fare

la

how much

ga day chi in na la

Money

How much is this/it ? Ngultrum ga them chi mo

Eating

Meal : Toh /zhay go

Breakfast: dom zer

Lunch: nima ge toh

Dinner: tsho

eating : zhaygo za ni

delicious : zhim bay

bitter  ; khag tay

sweet  : ngam

sour  ; chup

Water  ; chhu

Tea  : ja

Curry  : tshoem

Soup :thup

Chilli  : ema

Cheese :datshi

cook(verb)  : toh bey ni

eat  : zhey (formal)/ za (informal)

Dry Chilli : ema kam

Bars

May I please have _____: Nga lu ______ nang mey la

Alcoholic Beverage

Changg

Bar

Changkhang

Tip

soera

Whats the bill

Ga de chi mo

I am drunk

changg dang so ye

Water

chu

HOT Water

Chu-tse

Local Drink

Ara

It is strong(spirit)

ah ni ga tra du

It is mild

lha si si du

Shopping

shop : tsongkhang

how much : ga de chi mo?

discount please : gong phab nang mey la

Driving

Car : Numkhor

Drive : Numkhor tang ni

Licence : Lak Kher

Police  : thrim sung

Road  : Lam

High speed : joba joba/ shuk bay tang

Low speed  : drey gay bay tang

please take caution(driving) : reb drim di tang

Lets go  : jogay

stop  ; numkor kag nang

Risky  : ngyen khag

Love

I love you: nga gi che lu ga

I miss you: nga choe drem mey

I can't stay without you: nga che me pa me cha bay

I will make you a phone call: nga gi che lu juthen tang gay

Do you miss me: che nga dem mey ga

You're so beautiful: che namay samay jarim dhu

I miss you very nuch : na may sa may dren yi

w:Dzongkha