A question is the particle ද
To turn anything into a question, add -ද to the word. There is no separate word order for questions, and even the rising tone is optional — the particle does the work. For example: “කඩේ කොහෙද?” — Where is the shop?. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To turn anything into a question, add -ද (-da) to the word. There is no separate word order for questions, and even the rising tone is optional — the particle does the work.
කොහොම ("how") gives කොහොමද (kohomada)? ("how are you?"). කීය ("how much") gives කීයද (kīyada)? ("how much is it?"). කොහෙ ("where") gives කොහෙද (koheda)? ("where?").
It works on any word at all: තේද (tēda)? is "tea?", ඔයාද? is "you?". The question mark is written too, but it only repeats what the particle has already said.
By example
- කඩේ කොහෙද?kaḍē koheda?Where is the shop?
- මේක කීයද?mēka kīyada?How much is this?
- ඔයාගේ නම මොකක්ද?oyāgē nama mokakda?What is your name?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
A question is the particle ද: how does it work in Sinhala?
To turn anything into a question, add -ද to the word. There is no separate word order for questions, and even the rising tone is optional — the particle does the work.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“කඩේ කොහෙද?” (kaḍē koheda?) — Where is the shop?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.