A number of Nepalese nouns are formed by reduplication. As in other languages, the meaning is not that of a true plural, but collectives that refer to a set of the same or related objects, often in a particular situation.
For example, “rangi changi”* describes an object that is extremely or vividly colorful, like a crazy mix of colors and/or patterns, perhaps dizzying to the eye. The phrase “hina mina” means “scattered,” like a large collection of objects spilled (or scampering, as in small animals) in all different directions. The basic Nepalese word for food, “khana” becomes “khana sana” to refer to the broad generality of anything served at a meal. Likewise, “chiya” or tea (conventionally made with milk and sugar) becomes “chiya siya”: tea and snacks (such as biscuits or cookies).
"— Now, this is cool. It reminds me of the funky Mandarin compounds where conjoined antonyms refer to the continuum they are opposed on: viz. the compound “big”+”small” means “size”, “long”+”short” means “length”, father”+”mother” means “parents”, “left”+”right” means “thereabouts” and “buy”+”sell” means “business”.
