LingoflyHow 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 (mēka atin liyanna ōna), ප්රින්ට් (prinṭ) කරන්න (karanna) එපා” (epā) — 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 (atin) ("by hand"), අමාරු (amāru) → අමාරුවෙන් (amāruven) ("with effort"), ලේසි (lēsi) → ලේසියෙන් (lēsiyen) ("easily"). The tail -ට (-ṭa) gives direction and degree: ඉක්මන → ඉක්මනට (ikmanaṭa) ("quickly"), හොඳ (honda) → හොඳට (hondaṭa) ("well").
The written tail -ව turns up in a contract: ලිඛිතව (likhitava) ("in writing"), තාවකාලිකව (tāvakālikava) ("for the time being"). In speech people say ලියලා (liyalā) instead. And -ම strengthens: ඉබේම (ibēma) ("by itself"), වැඩිපුරම (væḍipurama) ("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 (ængaṭa narakayi) ("harmful") and කියන්න අමාරුයි (kiyanna amāruyi) ("hard to say").
Table
| Seam | From what | What came out | In plain words |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ෙන් | අත (ata) — the hand | අතින් (atin) | by hand |
| -ෙන් | අමාරු (amāru) — hard | අමාරුවෙන් (amāruven) | with effort |
| -ෙන් | උදව් (udav) — help | උදව්වෙන් (udavven) | thanks to help |
| -ට | ඉක්මන — quickness | ඉක්මනට (ikmanaṭa) | quickly |
| -ට | වාසනාව — luck | වාසනාවකට (vāsanāvakaṭa) | fortunately |
| -ව | ලිඛිත (likhita) — written | ලිඛිතව (likhitava) | in writing (literary) |
| -ම | ඉබේ — by itself | ඉබේම (ibēma) | automatically |
| -ම | වැඩිපුර (væḍipura) — in excess | වැඩිපුරම (væḍipurama) | mostly |
| -ට + -යි | ඇඟ (ænga) — the body, නරක (naraka) — bad | ඇඟට නරකයි (ængaṭa narakayi) | harmful |
| -න්න + -යි | කියනවා (kiyanavā), අමාරු (amāru) | කියන්න අමාරුයි (kiyanna amāruyi) | 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
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 written tail -ව turns up in a contract: ලිඛිතව (likhitava) ("in writing"), තාවකාලිකව (tāvakālikava) ("for the time being"). In speech people say ලියලා (liyalā) instead. And -ම strengthens: ඉබේම (ibēma) ("by itself"), වැඩිපුරම (væḍipurama) ("mostly").
How to say bad for you in Sinhala?
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 (ængaṭa narakayi) ("harmful") and කියන්න අමාරුයි (kiyanna amāruyi) ("hard to say").
Ikmanin vs ikmanata?
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 Sinhala ending -en: by hand or with effort?
Sinhala has few ready words for "by hand", "with effort", "easily". It makes them on the spot, out of a noun or a quality.
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මේක අතින් ලියන්න ඕන (mēka atin liyanna ōna), ප්රින්ට් (prinṭ) කරන්න (karanna) එපා” (epā) (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.