Nepali Causative Verbs — Have Someone Do Something | KidSchooler

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Have someone do something — Nepali causative verbs

English distinguishes “I cooked” from “I had it cooked” with an extra verb (have). Nepali does it inside the verb itself — a small infix turns the base form into the causative. Once you see the pattern, you'll never miss this shape again.

The concept: doing vs. having done

गर्नु (garnu) is “to do.” गराउनु (garaaunu) is “to have done.” The first says you are the agent; the second says you arranged for someone else to be the agent. Both forms are followed by the usual tense and honorific endings.

Formation rule: insert -आउ-

The regular rule is to insert -आउ- (-aau-) between the stem and the infinitive ending -नु. A few verbs shift a vowel for euphony — but the shape is always there. Some pairs use -वा- (-waa-, e.g. खानु → खुवाउनु) instead.

Pattern

stem + -आउ- + नु

गर्- + आउ + नु → गराउनु | सुत् + आउ + नु → सुताउनु

Ten base → causative pairs

Tap any verb to hear it. The example sentence shows the causative in real use.

Ten Nepali base verbs paired with their causative forms, with example sentences.
Base	Causative	Example
गर्नु garnu — to do	गराउनु garaaunu — to have done / make do	मैले कोठा सफा गराएँ। Maile koṭhā saphā garaae~. I had the room cleaned.
खानु khaanu — to eat	खुवाउनु khuwaaunu — to feed / cause to eat	आमाले बच्चालाई भात खुवाउनुभयो। Aamaale bachchaalaai bhaat khuwaaunubhayo. Mother fed the child rice.
पिउनु piunu — to drink	पियाउनु piyaaunu — to give to drink	मैले कुकुरलाई पानी पियाएँ। Maile kukurlaai paani piyaae~. I gave the dog water to drink.
सुत्नु sutnu — to sleep	सुताउनु sutaaunu — to put to sleep	उनले बच्चालाई सुताइन्। Unle bachchaalaai sutaain. She put the baby to sleep.
उठ्नु uṭhnu — to rise / get up	उठाउनु uṭhaaunu — to wake / lift up	बिहान ६ बजे उठाइदिनुस्। Bihaan 6 baje uṭhaaidinus. Please wake me at 6 am.
हिँड्नु hi~ḍnu — to walk	हिँडाउनु hi~ḍaaunu — to make walk / lead	गाइडले हामीलाई दुई घण्टा हिँडाउनुभयो। Gaaiḍle haamiilaai dui ghaṇṭā hi~ḍaaunubhayo. The guide had us walk for two hours.
पढ्नु paḍhnu — to read / study	पढाउनु paḍhaaunu — to teach (make read)	उनले स्कुलमा नेपाली पढाउनुहुन्छ। Unle skul-mā nepālī paḍhaaunuhunchha. He teaches Nepali at the school.
हेर्नु hernu — to look / see	हेराउनु heraaunu — to show / cause to see	कोठा हेराइदिनुस्। Koṭhā heraaidinus. Please show the room.
बुझ्नु bujhnu — to understand	बुझाउनु bujhaaunu — to explain (cause to understand)	नियम बुझाइदिनुस्। Niyam bujhaaidinus. Please explain the rules.
सुन्नु sunnu — to hear / listen	सुनाउनु sunaaunu — to tell (cause to hear)	मलाई कथा सुनाइदिनुस्। Malaai kathā sunaaidinus. Please tell me a story.

Real expat examples

Causative + the benefactive ending -दिनुस् (-dinus) gives you the politest way to ask for a chore to be done. This is the workhorse of household and rental Nepali.

Please have the room cleaned.
कोठा सफा गराइदिनुस्।
Koṭhā saphā garaaidinus.
Please get the laundry done.
लुगा धुवाइदिनुस्।
Lugā dhuwāidinus.
Please have the pipe repaired.
पाइप बनाइदिनुस्।
Pāip banāidinus.
Please wake me at six.
मलाई ६ बजे उठाइदिनुस्।
Malaai 6 baje uṭhaaidinus.
Please feed the dog.
कुकुरलाई खुवाइदिनुस्।
Kukurlaai khuwāidinus.

Common mistakes

Using the causative when you did the thing yourself. If you cooked the rice, say पकाएँ (pakaae~) — not पकाएँ गराएँ.
Forgetting that causatives are still regular verbs after the infix — they take the normal tense, person, and honorific suffixes.
Stacking causatives — Nepali allows गराइदिनुस् (have-it-done-for-me), which is fine. But pure double-causation (have someone make someone do it) is rare in speech; rephrase instead.

Continue practicing

Formation rule: insert -आउ-

Pattern

stem + -आउ- + नु

गर्- + आउ + नु → गराउनु | सुत् + आउ + नु → सुताउनु

Ten base → causative pairs

Tap any verb to hear it. The example sentence shows the causative in real use.

Ten Nepali base verbs paired with their causative forms, with example sentences.
Base	Causative	Example
गर्नु garnu — to do	गराउनु garaaunu — to have done / make do	मैले कोठा सफा गराएँ। Maile koṭhā saphā garaae~. I had the room cleaned.
खानु khaanu — to eat	खुवाउनु khuwaaunu — to feed / cause to eat	आमाले बच्चालाई भात खुवाउनुभयो। Aamaale bachchaalaai bhaat khuwaaunubhayo. Mother fed the child rice.
पिउनु piunu — to drink	पियाउनु piyaaunu — to give to drink	मैले कुकुरलाई पानी पियाएँ। Maile kukurlaai paani piyaae~. I gave the dog water to drink.
सुत्नु sutnu — to sleep	सुताउनु sutaaunu — to put to sleep	उनले बच्चालाई सुताइन्। Unle bachchaalaai sutaain. She put the baby to sleep.
उठ्नु uṭhnu — to rise / get up	उठाउनु uṭhaaunu — to wake / lift up	बिहान ६ बजे उठाइदिनुस्। Bihaan 6 baje uṭhaaidinus. Please wake me at 6 am.
हिँड्नु hi~ḍnu — to walk	हिँडाउनु hi~ḍaaunu — to make walk / lead	गाइडले हामीलाई दुई घण्टा हिँडाउनुभयो। Gaaiḍle haamiilaai dui ghaṇṭā hi~ḍaaunubhayo. The guide had us walk for two hours.
पढ्नु paḍhnu — to read / study	पढाउनु paḍhaaunu — to teach (make read)	उनले स्कुलमा नेपाली पढाउनुहुन्छ। Unle skul-mā nepālī paḍhaaunuhunchha. He teaches Nepali at the school.
हेर्नु hernu — to look / see	हेराउनु heraaunu — to show / cause to see	कोठा हेराइदिनुस्। Koṭhā heraaidinus. Please show the room.
बुझ्नु bujhnu — to understand	बुझाउनु bujhaaunu — to explain (cause to understand)	नियम बुझाइदिनुस्। Niyam bujhaaidinus. Please explain the rules.
सुन्नु sunnu — to hear / listen	सुनाउनु sunaaunu — to tell (cause to hear)	मलाई कथा सुनाइदिनुस्। Malaai kathā sunaaidinus. Please tell me a story.

Real expat examples

Causative + the benefactive ending -दिनुस् (-dinus) gives you the politest way to ask for a chore to be done. This is the workhorse of household and rental Nepali.

Please have the room cleaned.

कोठा सफा गराइदिनुस्।

Koṭhā saphā garaaidinus.

Please get the laundry done.

लुगा धुवाइदिनुस्।

Lugā dhuwāidinus.

Please have the pipe repaired.

पाइप बनाइदिनुस्।

Pāip banāidinus.

Please wake me at six.

मलाई ६ बजे उठाइदिनुस्।

Malaai 6 baje uṭhaaidinus.

Please feed the dog.

कुकुरलाई खुवाइदिनुस्।

Kukurlaai khuwāidinus.

Common mistakes

Using the causative when you did the thing yourself. If you cooked the rice, say पकाएँ (pakaae~) — not पकाएँ गराएँ.

Forgetting that causatives are still regular verbs after the infix — they take the normal tense, person, and honorific suffixes.

Stacking causatives — Nepali allows गराइदिनुस् (have-it-done-for-me), which is fine. But pure double-causation (have someone make someone do it) is rare in speech; rephrase instead.