To whom one bows: වහන්සේ, හාමුදුරුවෝ and the polite plural
Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for a monk, for a god and for an elder. Saying එයා ආවා about a monk is as wrong as calling a person "it". For example: “හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවා” — The monk goes to the temple. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for a monk, for a god and for an elder. Saying එයා ආවා (eyā āvā) about a monk is as wrong as calling a person "it".
Respect is shown by the plural: හාමුදුරුවෝ ("a monk"), වැඩිහිටියෝ ("elders"), දෙවියන් වහන්සේ ("God"). The word stands in the plural although one person is meant.
වහන්සේ (vahansē) is the top tier, and it is not for people: බුදුන් වහන්සේ, උන්වහන්සේ ("he", of a monk). To an ordinary name it is never added. A monk has verbs of his own as well: not එනවා (enavā) but වඩිනවා (vaḍinavā), not කනවා (kanavā) but වළඳනවා.
The trap: වඳිනවා (vandinavā) and ගරු කරනවා (garu karanavā) are different things. The first is to fold your palms and bow, the second is to respect: වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම (væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma).
Table
| The ordinary word | The polite one | About whom | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| දෙවියෙක් | දෙවියන් වහන්සේ | God | the plural instead of one |
| — | බුදුන් වහන්සේ | the Buddha | not called a god |
| එයා | උන්වහන්සේ | a monk, the Buddha | a separate pronoun |
| පූජකයෙක් | හාමුදුරුවෝ | a monk | a plural form |
| එනවා | වඩිනවා | about a monk | the monk has verbs of his own |
| කනවා | වළඳනවා | about a monk | the same |
| නිදාගන්නවා | සැතපෙනවා | about a monk | the same |
| — | වඳිනවා | the gesture of the bow | not “to respect” but “to bow” |
| — | ගරු කරනවා | the attitude | to respect, without a gesture |
By example
- හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවාhāmuduruvō pansalaṭa vaḍinavāThe monk goes to the temple
- දෙවියන් වහන්සේ ගැන එයා හැම දාම කතා කරනවාdeviyan vahansē gæna eyā hæma dāma katā karanavāHe speaks about God every day
- වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම අපේ සිරිත, අත දීම බටහිර සිරිතක්væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma apē sirita, ata dīma baṭahira siritakRespect for the elders is our custom, the handshake is a Western one
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
To whom one bows: how does it work in Sinhala?
Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for a monk, for a god and for an elder. Saying එයා ආවා about a monk is as wrong as calling a person "it".
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවා” (hāmuduruvō pansalaṭa vaḍinavā) — The monk goes to the temple. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.