Socially and politically, Brahmins and Chetris have been the dominant caste group in Nepal for a long time. These people are scattered along the middle belt of Nepal, but have rarely settled higher than 6,000 ft in elevation. Only a minority of them live in the Terai. The mother language of these castes is Nepali, which is also spoken by a number of occupational castes. Farming, teaching, and government service are their main occupations. The Brahmins add to their income by acting as family priests. The literary and priestly traditions of the Brahmins has facilitated their taking important roles in modern Nepalese government, education, and business. The two castes together are responsible for the country's national language, Nepali.

Brahmins are considered higher caste than the Chetries however other than this minor distinction the two castes share many similarities.

Very often, one can identify Brahmins and Chetris by their middle name. Bahadur, Bikram, Singh, and Kumar are common middle names of Chetri men.

Some Brahmin family names are: Neupane, Koirala, Paudel, Nirwala, Pokhrel, Regmi, Chiluwal, Adhikari, Dhakal

Some Chetri family names are: Shaha, Rana, Thapa, Basnet, Khadka, Karki