How it is done: -ෙන්, -ට, -ව and “ඇඟට හොඳයි”
Sinhala has few ready words for "by hand", "with effort", "easily". It makes them on the spot, out of a noun or a quality. For example: “මේක අතින් ලියන්න ඕන, ප්රින්ට් කරන්න එපා” — This must be written by hand, not printed. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sinhala has few ready words for "by hand", "with effort", "easily". It makes them on the spot, out of a noun or a quality.
The tail -ෙන් answers "by what means": අත (ata) → අතින් ("by hand"), අමාරු (amāru) → අමාරුවෙන් ("with effort"), ලේසි (lēsi) → ලේසියෙන් ("easily"). The tail -ට (-ṭa) gives direction and degree: ඉක්මන → ඉක්මනට ("quickly"), හොඳ (honda) → හොඳට ("well").
The written tail -ව turns up in a contract: ලිඛිතව ("in writing"), තාවකාලිකව ("for the time being"). In speech people say ලියලා (liyalā) instead. And -ම strengthens: ඉබේම ("by itself"), වැඩිපුරම ("mostly").
Where there is no such seam, Sinhala names whom it is good for. ඇඟට හොඳයි (ængaṭa hondayi) is "good for you" — "good for the body". Hence ඇඟට නරකයි ("harmful") and කියන්න අමාරුයි ("hard to say").
Table
| Seam | From what | What came out | In plain words |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ෙන් | අත — the hand | අතින් | by hand |
| -ෙන් | අමාරු — hard | අමාරුවෙන් | with effort |
| -ෙන් | උදව් — help | උදව්වෙන් | thanks to help |
| -ට | ඉක්මන — quickness | ඉක්මනට | quickly |
| -ට | වාසනාව — luck | වාසනාවකට | fortunately |
| -ව | ලිඛිත — written | ලිඛිතව | in writing (literary) |
| -ම | ඉබේ — by itself | ඉබේම | automatically |
| -ම | වැඩිපුර — in excess | වැඩිපුරම | mostly |
| -ට + -යි | ඇඟ — the body, නරක — bad | ඇඟට නරකයි | harmful |
| -න්න + -යි | කියනවා, අමාරු | කියන්න අමාරුයි | hard to say |
By example
- මේක අතින් ලියන්න ඕන, ප්රින්ට් කරන්න එපාmēka atin liyanna ōna, prinṭ karanna epāThis must be written by hand, not printed
- දොර ඉබේම වැහෙනවා, අමාරුවෙන් අදින්න ඕන නෑdora ibēma væhenavā, amāruven adinna ōna nǣThe door closes automatically, no need to pull it with effort
- තෙල් කෑම ඇඟට නරකයි, ඇවිදින එක ඇඟට හොඳයිtel kǣma ængaṭa narakayi, ævidina eka ængaṭa hondayiFatty food is bad for you, and walking is good for you
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
Sinhala adverbs?
Sinhala has few ready words for "by hand", "with effort", "easily". It makes them on the spot, out of a noun or a quality.
How adverbs are formed in Sinhala?
The tail -ෙන් answers "by what means": අත → අතින් ("by hand"), අමාරු → අමාරුවෙන් ("with effort"), ලේසි → ලේසියෙන් ("easily"). The tail -ට gives direction and degree: ඉක්මන → ඉක්මනට ("quickly"), හොඳ → හොඳට ("well").
How to say bad for you in Sinhala?
The written tail -ව turns up in a contract: ලිඛිතව ("in writing"), තාවකාලිකව ("for the time being"). In speech people say ලියලා instead. And -ම strengthens: ඉබේම ("by itself"), වැඩිපුරම ("mostly").
Ikmanin vs ikmanata?
Where there is no such seam, Sinhala names whom it is good for. ඇඟට හොඳයි is "good for you" — "good for the body". Hence ඇඟට නරකයි ("harmful") and කියන්න අමාරුයි ("hard to say").
The Sinhala ending -en: by hand or with effort?
Where there is no such seam, Sinhala names whom it is good for. ඇඟට හොඳයි is "good for you" — "good for the body". Hence ඇඟට නරකයි ("harmful") and කියන්න අමාරුයි ("hard to say").
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මේක අතින් ලියන්න ඕන, ප්රින්ට් කරන්න එපා” (mēka atin liyanna ōna, prinṭ karanna epā) — This must be written by hand, not printed. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.