ඟ — sanyaka-ga-yanna
«sanyaka-ga-yanna» is a consonant of Sinhala, the “the Sinhala script” script, read as “nga”. Prenasalized “ng” in one syllable: a glottal hum before the “ga”. For example, in the word “ළඟ” — close. The Sinhala alphabet has 76 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. The five prenasalized letters are a mark of Sinhala. Neither Sanskrit nor Tamil has them. It appears, for example, in the word “ළඟ” — near.
In short
| Character | ඟ |
| Name | sanyaka-ga-yanna |
| Sound | nga |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 24th of 76: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ඞ and ච, appears in 51 words of this site.
How it sounds
Prenasalized “ng” in one syllable: a glottal hum before the “ga”
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- ළඟlangaclose
The character in the “five prenasalized letters — a mark of sinhala” group
One letter for a nasal shade plus a consonant: ඟ, ඦ, ඬ, ඳ, ඹ. Sanskrit has nothing of the kind, nor do the neighboring Tamils — this is what makes Sinhala Sinhala.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «sanyaka-ga-yanna» it is “nga”, as in the word “ළඟ”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 76 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Sinhala character ඟ read?
As “nga” — it is a consonant of the “the Sinhala script” script. Prenasalized “ng” in one syllable: a glottal hum before the “ga”. For example, in the word “ළඟ” — close.
What is the letter ඟ called?
Sanyaka-ga-yanna. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Sinhala script: it is called “sanyaka-ga-yanna” and reads as “nga”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ඟ be confused with?
The five prenasalized letters are a mark of Sinhala. Neither Sanskrit nor Tamil has them. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.