The name of an action: -ීම, “...න එක” and the written -නය
Sinhala turns a verb into a name in three ways, and they do not stand in for one another. For example: “කසළ රීසයිකල් කරන එක අපේ ගමේ පටන් ගත්තා” — Recycling garbage was started in our village. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sinhala turns a verb into a name in three ways, and they do not stand in for one another.
In speech you take the -න shape and add එක (eka): රීසයිකල් කරන එක ("recycling"), බොන එක ("drinking"). Word for word, that is "the very thing that gets done".
An application or a public notice uses -ීම: ගෙවීම ("a payment"), බැඳීම ("an obligation"). The root vowel often repaints itself on the way. Verbs with කරනවා (karanavā) give කිරීම (kirīma): පරිත්යාග කිරීම (parityāga kirīma) is "a donation".
A newspaper and a signboard carry ready-made written names: නිෂ්පාදනය ("production"), දූෂණය ("pollution"). There is no need to take those apart. The three ways differ not in sense but in who is speaking.
Table
| Way | Where it sounds | From the verb | The name |
|---|---|---|---|
| ...න එක | speech | රීසයිකල් කරනවා | රීසයිකල් කරන එක — recycling |
| ...න එක | speech | බොනවා | බොන එක — drinking |
| -ීම | an application, an announcement | ගෙවනවා | ගෙවීම — a payment |
| -ීම | an application, an announcement | බඳිනවා | බැඳීම — an obligation |
| -ීම | an application, an announcement | අදිනවා | ඇදීම — a strain |
| කිරීම | any verb with කරනවා | පරිත්යාග කරනවා | පරිත්යාග කිරීම — a donation |
| -නය, -ණය | a newspaper, a notice | a ready literary name | නිෂ්පාදනය — production |
| -නය, -ණය | a newspaper, a notice | a ready literary name | දූෂණය — pollution |
By example
- කසළ රීසයිකල් කරන එක අපේ ගමේ පටන් ගත්තාkasaḷa rīsayikal karana eka apē gamē paṭan gattāRecycling garbage was started in our village
- ගෙවීම මාසෙ අන්තිමට, බැඳීම ලිඛිතවgevīma māse antimaṭa, bændīma likhitavaThe payment at the end of the month, the obligation in writing
- පරිසර දූෂණය අඩු කරන එක ලේසි නෑparisara dūṣaṇaya aḍu karana eka lēsi nǣReducing the pollution of the environment is not easy
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
The name of an action: how does it work in Sinhala?
Sinhala turns a verb into a name in three ways, and they do not stand in for one another.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“කසළ රීසයිකල් කරන එක අපේ ගමේ පටන් ගත්තා” (kasaḷa rīsayikal karana eka apē gamē paṭan gattā) — Recycling garbage was started in our village. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.