LingoflyThis, that and that over there: මේ, ඒ, අර
English gets by with "this" and "that"; Sinhala needs three. මේ is what is in my hands. ඒ is what is beside you, or what we were just speaking about. අර (ara) is what we can both see, far off. For example: “මේ ෆෝන් එක (fōn eka) මගේ” (magē) — This phone is mine. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English gets by with "this" and "that"; Sinhala needs three. මේ (mē) is what is in my hands. ඒ (ē) is what is beside you, or what we were just speaking about. අර (ara) is what we can both see, far off.
Before a noun those are the words: මේ ෆෝන් එක (fōn eka) ("this phone"), අර (ara) පාර්ක් එක (pārk eka) ("that park over there"). With no noun after them other forms step in — මේක (mēka), ඒක (ēka), අරක: ඒක (ēka) කීයද (kīyada) (ēka kīyada)? is "how much is that?"
People take the same three steps: මෙයා, එයා (eyā), අරයා. එයා (eyā) ("he, she") is the middle one. Sinhala cares nothing for sex here, only for distance.
The trap: මේ කීයද (kīyada) (mē kīyada)? will not do, the pointing word hangs with nothing to lean on. You want මේක (mēka) කීයද (kīyada) (mēka kīyada)?, the form that stands in place of a noun.
Table
| Near (me-) | Middle (e-) | Far (ara-) | Question | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| මේ | ඒ | අර (ara) | මොන (mona) | before a noun: this / that / that over there / which |
| මේක (mēka) | ඒක (ēka) | අරක | මොකක්ද (mokakda) | in place of a noun: this one / that one / that one over there / what |
| මෙයා | එයා (eyā) | අරයා | කවුද (kavuda) | about a person: this one / he, she / that one over there / who |
| මෙතන (metana) | එතන | අතන (atana) | කොහෙද (koheda) | here / there / over there / where |
| මෙහෙම | එහෙම (ehema) | — | කොහොමද (kohomada) | this way / that way / how |
By example
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
This, that and that over there: how does it work in Sinhala?
English gets by with "this" and "that"; Sinhala needs three. මේ is what is in my hands. ඒ is what is beside you, or what we were just speaking about. අර (ara) is what we can both see, far off.
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මේ ෆෝන් එක (fōn eka) මගේ” (magē) (mē fōn eka magē) — This phone is mine. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.