I had a look at the LP Nepali Hindi guidebook for the Nepali Hindi words for "thank you". Apparently "dhaniavaad" is not commonly used. Even after turning to the pages which were supposed to explain how to expess thanks in Nepali Hindi, I still did not get the answer.
So how does one say "thank you" or convey appreciation in Nepali Hindi, please?
Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language as is Hindi. However to call it Nepali Hindi is likely to insult the speakers of either language. It's a bit like calling English, German-English because they are both a Germanic language.
That aside "Dhanyavād" is a proper way to say thank you the confusion arises because in Nepali "Thank you" is implied rather than expressed.
Used to be you only heard tourists saying "Dhanyabad"; now you will hear Nepalis saying this to tourists....
Shukriya is another. But more interesting is that there are words for it at all, given how rarely it's used.
And you'll never hear "You're welcome".
Opps, sorry, I should have checked; What I meant was Nepali, not Nepali Hindi.
I supposed "thank you" in English will do, as many Nepalis speak English anyway? Except in villages etc....
Nepalis use dhanyavad for formal and major things so are amused at tourists who use it for minor things such as service in a restaurant or getting hotel keys. That amusement is not unkind though. A smile suffices and a 'thank you' does no harm.
I've heard Nepalese people saying "dhanyabad" when people serve them or offer them tea or food. But not very common. "Thank you" is quite commonly used among Nepalese people too. Normally they would say "welcome" after I said "thank you" or "dhanyabad" to them.
The Western polite manners using "please" and "thank you" so frequently is covered in Nepali by the use of polite forms of address. I express my respect for you not by saying "thank you" but by treating you with respect and using the respectful form of you ("tapai")--unless you are notably younger than me in which case too much respect is amusing because I am the one deserving of respect.
I overused "dhanyabad" when I first came to Nepal, especially because it was one of the few Nepali words I had. After more than a year in Kathmandu, I have settled on using "dhanyabad" only in instances where I would say "Thank you so very very much. I really appreciate it." (for example, when a taxi driver came back to where he had dropped me 10 minutes before and returned my mobile phone which I had left in his front seat). If I just ask directions or am leaving after a transaction at a shop, I mostly use a smile and little hand bow with "namaste."Out of habit, sometimes I add, "thank you" in English before "namaste" as I leave. That seems to be received with less amusement than "dhanyabad," though Nepalis at tiny non-tourist shops do often seem pleasantly surprised/amused that a Westerner would even frequent their place of business and/or try to speak any Nepali at all.
I was trekking for 3 days with two Peace Corps volunteers who speak (very) fluent Nepali.
They confirmed that using "dhanyabad" in the same way we use "thank you" in English is not the Nepali way, even though it's not impolite.
They suggested to use the word "hus" (as in the first syllable of "husky") which is a polite acknowledgment (a polite "ok"). You can use "hus" when people answer your question, for example.