Yes, no and the essentials in Manipuri
The small words that carry half of every conversation, and the ones that rescue it. Play the ten Manipuri words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Manipuri phrases in this lesson
- ꯍꯣꯏHOI
- Yes
- ꯅꯠꯇꯦNAT-te
- No
- ꯌꯥꯔꯦYA-re
- Okay
- ꯑꯩ ꯈꯪꯕ ꯉꯝꯗꯦEI KHANG-ba NGAM-de
- I don't understand
- ꯅꯪ ꯏꯪꯂꯤꯁ ꯉꯥꯡꯕꯔꯥ?NANG ING-lis NGANG-bra
- Do you speak English?
- ꯑꯃꯨꯛ ꯍꯟꯅ ꯍꯥꯏꯕꯤꯌꯨa-MUK HAN-na HAI-bi-yu
- Can you repeat that?
- ꯇꯞꯅ ꯉꯥꯡꯕꯤꯌꯨTAP-na NGANG-bi-yu
- Slowly, please
- ꯃꯁꯤ ꯀꯔꯤꯅꯣ?ma-SI ka-RI-no
- What is this?
- ꯑꯩꯉꯣꯟꯗ ... ꯃꯊꯧ ꯇꯥꯏEI-ngon-da ... ma-THOU TAI
- I need...
- ꯑꯩꯕꯨ ꯃꯇꯦꯡ ꯄꯥꯡꯕꯤꯕꯔꯥ?EI-bu ma-TENG PANG-bi-bra
- Can you help me?
The plain yes, safe with anyone. When you are agreeing to a plan rather than confirming a fact, ꯌꯥꯔꯦ (YA-re), agreed, is the more natural choice.
Literally "it is not", used to deny or correct. To say something is unavailable or absent, the word is ꯂꯩꯇꯦ (LEI-te), there is none, which is what a shopkeeper will tell you when they are out of stock.
The workhorse of spoken Meiteilon: fine, alright, agreed, understood, will do. You will hear it several times in any transaction and it is the single most useful word in this lesson.
Literally "I am not able to know". ꯉꯝꯗꯦ (NGAM-de), cannot, attaches to any verb to say you are unable rather than unwilling, which is a kinder thing to say when you have simply lost the thread.
English is the language of school and government in Manipur, so in Imphal the answer is usually yes. Asking in Meiteilon first still changes the temperature of the conversation completely.
Literally "kindly say it once more".
Literally "kindly speak slowly".
Literally "to me ... is needed".
Literally "will you kindly help me?".