Quick answer: Are Nepalese people loose with time?

You cannot judge someone’s sense of time by nationality alone. Share specifics such as the difference between meeting time and start time, traffic conditions, and how to notify others when running late, and combine this with reminders at first so people can fairly understand Japanese workplace rules.

Consistently loose with time

Japanese people raised to be punctual often struggle with how to handle Nepalese people’s loose sense of time.

The behavior of Nepalese people who are consistently indifferent to time often lacks the concept of keeping appointment times or proceeding according to plan.

Whether teachers, politicians, or doctors, everyone is the same—they are all Nepalese—so things do not proceed on time. No one calls this out either, and time simply drifts by in a loose, unresolved way.

Being late is not a problem

The idea that keeping time deepens mutual trust does not hold. Conversely, failing to keep time does not damage the relationship either. A characteristic of Nepalese people is that relationships do not break down over lateness; the same relationship continues as if nothing happened.

“I’ll be there soon” means arrival time is unclear

When you call a Nepalese person scheduled to come today and ask about their timing, the answer is “I’ll be there soon.” This reply is almost 100% unreliable, so the basic approach is to keep handling your own tasks at your own pace regardless of the clock. If you wait with the stance that someone who said “I’ll be there soon” might arrive within a week or so, you are less likely to get angry.

Every clock shows a different time

Wall clocks in Nepalese homes and clocks at shops and banks you see when out and about all show their own original times. Because there is little habit of acting on schedule in the first place, almost no one seems to care what the clock says. Thirty minutes off… ten minutes slow… stopped clocks… Those wildly inaccurate clocks mix with Nepalese people’s loose sense of time, and in the end you end up with reasons why acting on time was never going to happen—that is Nepal.

Nepalese people who rise early and sleep early

Being strong in the morning is a characteristic of Nepalese people. A typical morning routine is getting up just before sunrise to sweep the entrance, go to a temple, or head to the morning market—people are actively on the move. Lights-out is also relatively early; in Nepal, where nightlife is not especially developed, it is common to go to bed soon after dinner. Rather than living by the clock, people appear to move with the cycle of sunrise and sunset.

No running, no rushing, no panicking

I have rarely seen Nepalese people running. Some even cross the road with a cow in a composed way even when they look about to be hit by a car. Because Nepal has no formal crosswalks, cars and pedestrians usually weave past each other as people cross. No one breaks into a jog because the light is about to turn red; people amble across and walk the sidewalk at any time and place.

Giving up early means time does not matter much

The image of someone rushing around under time pressure or scrambling in an emergency is hard to picture for Nepalese people. You may wonder how they can stay so relaxed, but their sense of time is different to begin with, and in Nepal’s often harsh daily environment most people conclude it is better to give up early. Rather than spending time and money forcing a solution, Nepalese people tend to choose the shorter path of letting go.

Milk delivery at the same time every day

Rarely, there are exceptional Nepalese people who work on time. Those who act correctly by the clock are so valuable you want to praise them as outstanding. Milk deliverers bring freshly milked milk to each household every morning by 5:00–6:00. Through all four seasons, with some variation in timing, the fact that deliveries continue without interruption every day is truly reassuring.

Why these milk-delivery workers can work so regularly can be inferred from the employer’s character and the shop’s popularity, but good workplaces attract good people in Nepal as well.

No pressure from the clock

In Nepal, no one applies pressure that you will be late if you do not hurry. Without a push from those around you, there is a relaxed environment with no need to rush.

Nepalese people who are never hurried naturally develop a sense of time that feels endless, without fretting over every minute.

The environment you are born into is very important and shapes the future. That said, when people spend a long time abroad in a different culture and set of customs, some adapt to environments outside their home country, and others become able to adjust through effort.

In closing

Drawing on experience living in Nepal, I have summarized points related to Nepalese people’s sense of time.

Nepalese people living and working in Japan will likewise be shaped between Japanese and Nepalese customs and culture, and some will gradually become able to adapt to Japanese society. When hiring Nepalese people at a company, it is ideal to set a certain period and gradually bridge differences arising from habits and culture. It may help for Japanese and Nepalese people to distinguish what requires mutual effort to meet halfway from what can be accepted naturally. Changing oneself takes time, and everyone has things they can and cannot flexibly adjust to.

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