Samāvenna and karuṇākara: an apology and a request are different words
සමාවෙන්න is "forgive me". In shape it is a request, but it lives as a ready exclamation. It apologises for something done: a nudge, a delay, an interruption. For example: “සමාවෙන්න” — Sorry (asking forgiveness). A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
සමාවෙන්න (samāvenna) is "forgive me". In shape it is a request, but it lives as a ready exclamation. It apologises for something done: a nudge, a delay, an interruption.
කරුණාකර (karuṇākara) goes at the head of a request and means "please" only in that sense. It never answers ස්තූතියි (stūtiyi); there you need කමක් නෑ ("never mind"). Inside the request it is often spare, because politeness is carried by the -න්න ending.
The main trap is hailing a stranger. සමාවෙන්න will do for that, but it sounds formal.
In life a person is called by role: අයියා (ayiyā) to a young man, අක්කා (akkā) to a young woman, මුදලාලි (mudalāli) to a shopkeeper. A role is politer than any pronoun.
Table
| The word | Reading | What it does | What it does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| සමාවෙන්න | samāvenna | an apology for something done | possible as a hail, but formal |
| කරුණාකර | karuṇākara | "please" at the start of a request; in speech often karuṇākaralā | never answers "thank you" — that is kamak nǣ |
| -න්න | -nna | a polite request in itself | neither an order nor rudeness |
| අයියා / අක්කා / මුදලාලි | ayyā / akkā / mudalāli | a hail by role — that is how people call each other | not an apology |
By example
- සමාවෙන්නsamāvennaSorry (asking forgiveness)
- කරුණාකර නැවත කියන්නkaruṇākara nævata kiyannaPlease repeat
- මුදලාලි, මේක කීයද?mudalāli, mēka kīyada?Shopkeeper, how much is this? (call a stranger by role, not "excuse me")
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
How to say sorry in Sinhala?
සමාවෙන්න is "forgive me". In shape it is a request, but it lives as a ready exclamation. It apologises for something done: a nudge, a delay, an interruption.
Samawenna vs karunakara?
කරුණාකර goes at the head of a request and means "please" only in that sense. It never answers ස්තූතියි; there you need කමක් නෑ ("never mind"). Inside the request it is often spare, because politeness is carried by the -න්න ending.
How to say please in Sinhala?
The main trap is hailing a stranger. සමාවෙන්න will do for that, but it sounds formal.
How to call a stranger in Sri Lanka?
In life a person is called by role: අයියා to a young man, අක්කා to a young woman, මුදලාලි to a shopkeeper. A role is politer than any pronoun.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“සමාවෙන්න” (samāvenna) — Sorry (asking forgiveness). A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.