34 Cute and Funny Newari Nicknames and Their Meanings

34 Cute and Funny Newari Nicknames and Their Meanings

Have you ever used any Newari Nicknames?

Wait, let me rephrase it. 

Have you ever HEARD any Newari Nicknames?

Dhwarwa: You think that it is a bit weird-sounding word, don’t you?

Yes, you do. It might even seem like a random string of letters to a lot of you. But that seemingly random set of letters is a word with meaning – a Newari meaning. It means Careless and is often a Newari nickname given to people who lose or break things often. If you find it hard to pronounce, which a lot of people do, it is Dh- wa- r- wa / ध् – वा – र् – व or ध्वार्व in short. 

Did you notice that there is a lot of half-letter in this word? It is not just a rare occurrence but a rather common form in all of the Newari languages making it even harder to read. Along with this, punctuation matters as well. We have talked about this in more detail in our article about Newari Names for Boys.

newari nicknames

You should also understand that one of the main reasons why Newari Language uses such a lot of half letters is because of the absence of a letter called “ae” in the modern language system. A lot of Newari letters end with “ae” but since it was taken out of the written system, the use of this letter “ae” has been compensated by half letters. 

Now going into the nickname part of Dhwarwa, just like in every language, there are a few names that Newari People use commonly for Nicknames. While a lot of these are based on animals, there are quite a few that are based on features and some are based on everyday things as well.

One such example is Dhowmpwa/धोम्प्वा: which means Manhole.  You may have noticed “:” in Dhompwa. It is a necessary part as the symbol of “:” is a sign to the readers that the letter it is attached to should be pronounced for a longer. 

With this being cleared, let’s move on to our list of 35 nicknames, their pronunciation, and their meanings. 

Newari Nicknames, Their Pronunciation, and Their Meanings

1. Baga (बाग:): Baa – ga – a/बा – ग – अ
This name means shortie. It is rather common for a short guy to be called a Baga in Newari Communities. 

2. Bakanfuslu (बकंफुस्लु): Ba – ka – n – fu – s – lu/बा – क – न् – फु- स् – लु 
If a person is a smooth talker and can slip his/her way out of any problems then this is a nickname that perfect for them. Although this word literally means a  swindler, one of the main skills that a swindler has is smooth-talking and when keeping this name as a nickname, the bad aspect is ignored if given by a good friend. 

3. Bakhhu (बख्खु): Ba – kh – khu/ब – ख – खु 
This word means a Pigeon. This nickname is used for people in a few cases like for a person who moves their head too much while talking or for smart people who look dumb in their looks. 

4. Bhujin (भुजिं): Bhu – ji – n/ भू – जी – न्
There are some people who really annoy us similar to a housefly. This nickname is given to those people who as this name mean a housefly.

5. Bili (बिलि): Bi – li/बि – लि 
This name means cockroach. If someone is annoying, dirty, or tenacious, this is a common nickname for them. This nickname can be used in reference to both good and bad things. 

6. Dhae (ढें): Dh –  a – n/ ध् – ए – न्
This is named after the annoying insect flea. So this is another nickname for those friends that are annoying.

7. Dhowmpwa (धोम्प्वा:): Dho – m – pwa – a/ धो – म् – प् – वा
This nickname means Manhole or a Sewerhole. If someone stinks or speaks too much nonsense, this nickname is used on them a lot of times.

8. Dhwarwa (ध्वार्व): Dh- waa – r – wa/ ध् – वा – र् – व   
This word means someone who is careless. As the meaning suggests, this is a normal and common nickname for people who are careless and can’t do things properly or mess up a lot. This is one of those words that has been less in use for the past two generations. 

9. Dhwo (ध्वं:): Dh – wa – n /ध् – व – न्
The word is used as a nickname in situations similar to Dhwompwa. If a person is smelly or speaks too much nonsense, s/he is nicknamed Dhwon as it means “Wash Basin” or a place where we wash our dirty plates and hands. 

10. Dhwo (ढों): Dho – n/ ढो – न् 
If you have someone who is sly and smart, this is the perfect nickname to give them in the Newari language. This nickname means fox

11. Gara (गरा): Ga – raa/ ग – रा
This word means a donkey or an ass (the animal). Just like in English, this nickname is given to someone who is either dumb or annoying. 

12. Gwajya (ग्वाज्य): G – wa – j – ya/ग्- वा – ज् – य
Also used by elder generations to call their dumb children, this word means “Someone Naïve“. Just like the meaning, this word is given as a nickname to the people who are naive. Gwajya is also combined with middle names such as Lal, Bahadur, and Kumar to heighten the effect as well. Similar to Dhwarwa, this also falls under those words that have seen a decrease in use over the past two generations. 

13. Gwara (ग्वारा): G – wa – raa/ ग् – वा – रा
If someone is fat or on the curvy side of the spectrum, in the Newari community, this word is given as a nickname. This world means round. You can use this by adding words such as ‘Bau’ meaning boy or ‘Mai’ meaning girl. There is a parody song, sung in the local community combining this name with a pickle called Gwarapau and a place called Gwarko.

Waa re gwara bau chha, gwarke wana gwarpau naya gwar gwar tula waa (वा रे ग्वारा बौचा ग्वार्के वना ग्वारा पाउ नया ग्वार्र ग्वार्र तुला वा)

This song means: Come chunky brother, go to gwarko, eat gwarapau and come rolling towards me.

14. Haku (हाकु): Haa- ku/हा – कु  
This name means the color, Black. It is a common nickname for people with dark or tanned skin within a Newari community. This is often combined with “Bau” meaning “boy” for males and “Mai” meaning “girl” for females when used as a nickname. 

15. Hara (हारां): Haa- raa – n/हा – रा – न्
This word means “naughty” or someone who is bad. As per the meaning of this word, this is a common nickname for those who are naughty in the Newari Community. 


16. Hyami (ह्यामी): H – ya – mi/ह् – या – मी
Perverts exist everywhere and this word means just that. Although this word is rarely used nowadays and the decrease in the use of this word has been noticed for the past 3 generations. 

16. Ja gwara (जा ग्वारा): Jaa – G – wa- ra/ जा – ग् – वा – रा
This is a phrase that is made from two separate words. The first word is Ja which means “rice” in Newari and the second word is Gwara meaning round. These words combine to mean a fat rice ball. This is a nickname that is used for people who love to eat rice or for those who do nothing but eat and sleep all day.

17. Jha wen (झा वैं): Jha – we – n/ झा – वे – न्
This term is made of two words. “Jha” means “thorny shrub” and “wen” means “mad”. When these words are combined, it means a moody person. It is used for people who switch emotions randomly and are unpredictable. 

18. Jwantya (ज्वान्त्याँ): J – wa- n – t- ya – n /ज् – वा – न् – त् – या – न् 
This word means tall. Just like the meaning, this is used as nicknames for those who are tall. Jwantya is another one of those words that are rarely heard in the modern days. You can only hear this word every once in a while in a family or community that still retains traditional Newari speakers. 

19. Kaichha (काइचा): Ka – i – chha/  का – इ – चा
This is a rather common nickname among the Newari community. This word means a small boy and is usually the nickname of a boy who has been popular and known in the tole since a young age. 

20. Kha khu (खा खुं): Kha – khu – n/ खा – खु – न् 
There are a few nicknames that don’t need any reason to exist. This is one of such Newari Nicknames. This term is made from two words, khaa meaning Chicken, and khu meaning thief. When these words are combined, they mean “Chicken Thief” and contrary to what you may think, it is a rather popular nickname in communities that speak Newari. 

21. Khicha (खिचा): Khi – cha/ खि – चा  
Similar to Kha Khu, this is one of those nicknames that people give each other just for fun. One unique aspect of this name is that it can mean two things at the same time. While the primary meaning of this term is Dog, it can also mean mud from poop as Khi in Newari means Poop and chaa means Mud

22. Khichamwo (खिचा:म्वो): Khi – cha – a – m – wo/ खी – चा – आ –  म् – वो 
Similar to Dhowmpwa and Dhwoo, this word is also used for people who speak nonsense or stink but is a bit offensive when compared to those two terms. This word means Landfill.

23. Khicha khwan (खिचा ख्वं): Khi – cha – kh – wa – n 
This term is made from two words, khicha meaning dog and khwan meaning a stain. When both of these are combined, it means someone who is stubborn and won’t listen. This nickname is often given to kids when they are little by their grandparents as a means of teasing them. 

24. Kusi (कुसी): Ku – si/कु – सी 
Similar to Kha khu and Khicha, this is one of those nicknames that is used just for fun. This term means Flea.

25. Kwatra (क्वात्रा): K – wa- t-  raa/ क् – वा – त् – रा
Often mistaken for another offensive word, this word means a useless person or a thing. However, when used as a name, the meaning becomes turns into someone who is dumb. 

26. Maka (माक:): Maa- ka/ मा – क 
This word means Monkey. As a nickname, this word is used in many places including between lovers as well. So this is a really versatile nickname that can be used almost anywhere and by anyone. 

27. Maka khwa  (माक: ख्वा): Maa- ka – kh – wa / मा – क – ख् – वा 
Similar to Monkey this nickname can be given to anyone as well. It is made out of two words with maka meaning  Monkey and khwa meaning Faced. This term means “someone or something that has a face resembling a monkey

28. Paka (पाक:): Paa – ka/पा – क
This is one of those words that has two meanings and both of its meanings can be used as a nickname. The first meaning is stupid and the second meaning is Mute. So this word is used as nicknames for people who are both stupid and don’t have the guts to speak up or freeze up when in the face of danger. 

29. Phai (फै): Fai/ फै
This word means a Pig. people usually use this word as a nickname for those who are lazy and it is quite a common nickname. 

30. Phogi (फोगीं): Fo – gi – n/ फो – गी – न् 
This word means Beggar and although it sounds offensive, when used as a nickname, it does not. Those who are nicknamed Phogi are usually those who don’t like to dress up and wear random clothes without a care for their appearance.

31. Tinkhi (तिंखी): Tin – khi /तिन – खी
 This is one of the older Newari words and is rarely used in modern times. This word means Thin and was popular nickname for thin people a few decades ago.

32. Kawan (कवं): Ka – wa – n/क – व – न् 
This word means thin. Although Kawan has always been in Newari Language, its use as a substitute for “Tinkhi” has only been in rising for the past few decades. This word also means skeleton as well.

33. Washya (वाश्या): Wa – sh- ya/वा – श् – या
Washya is a common Newari nickname for those who do things slowly. This word means “Slowpoke” but can also be used instead of lazy as well.

34. Wen (वैं): We – n/वे – न्
This is a common and one of those evergreen nicknames given to irrational people. This word means Mad

By now you may be wondering that Newari has a lot of words that they use as a nickname and that is true. You may also be thinking that the Newari language has a lot of punctuations and is hard to read with all of those half letters. That is also true. We just hope that you were able to read through all of these as we acknowledge that it can sometimes be hard to read languages such as these even with a pronunciation guide. Before we end, did you find any of these names interesting? Let us know in the comments and as always if you have any suggestions for us, do leave them down below as well.

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