Lingoflyලීටර් දෙකක්: the measure first, the number after it
To ask for two litres, Sinhala puts the measure first and the number behind it: ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak). The same goes for මීටර් (mīṭar) තුනක් (tunak) ("three metres") and ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) ("a hundred grams"). For example: “මට (maṭa) තේ ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) සහ (saha) සීනි (sīni) කිලෝ (kilō) එකක් (ekak) දෙන්න” (denna) — Give me a hundred grams of tea and a kilo of sugar. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To ask for two litres, Sinhala puts the measure first and the number behind it: ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak) (līṭar dekak). The same goes for මීටර් (mīṭar) තුනක් (tunak) ("three metres") and ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) ("a hundred grams").
Beside a number the measure loses its tail: මීටරය (mīṭaraya) becomes මීටර් (mīṭar), ලීටරය (līṭaraya) becomes ලීටර් (līṭar). The -ක් on the number means "so many of them", while ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙක (deka) (līṭar deka) without it means the two litres already spoken of.
The size of a thing is shown by belonging: first the thing with the -ේ tail, then the measure. මේසෙ (mēse) දිග (diga) (mēse diga) is "the length of the table", දොරේ (dorē) පළල (paḷala) (dorē paḷala) is "the width of the door".
The trap sits in "about" and "exactly", which stand on opposite sides of the number. රුපියල් (rupiyal) දාහක් (dāhak) විතර (vitara) (rupiyal dāhak vitara) is "about a thousand", හරියටම (hariyaṭama) කිලෝ (kilō) දෙකයි (dekayi) (hariyaṭama kilō dekayi) is "exactly two kilos".
Table
| What to say | In Sinhala | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| two liters | ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak) | the measure first, the number after it |
| three meters | මීටර් (mīṭar) තුනක් (tunak) | මීටරය (mīṭaraya) loses the tail -ය |
| a hundred grams | ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) | the tail -ක් on the number |
| those very two liters | ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙක (deka) | without -ක් — the ones already named |
| the length of the table | මේසෙ (mēse) දිග (diga) | the thing with -ේ, the measure after |
| a long road | දිග (diga) පාරක් (pārak) | the same word before a noun — a feature |
| a quarter | හතරෙන් (hataren) එකක් (ekak) | the fraction is counted from බාගය (bāgaya) |
| about a thousand | රුපියල් (rupiyal) දාහක් (dāhak) විතර (vitara) | විතර (vitara) AFTER the number |
| exactly two kilos | හරියටම (hariyaṭama) කිලෝ (kilō) දෙකයි (dekayi) | හරියටම (hariyaṭama) BEFORE the number |
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
the measure first, the number after it: how does it work in Sinhala?
To ask for two litres, Sinhala puts the measure first and the number behind it: ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak). The same goes for මීටර් (mīṭar) තුනක් (tunak) ("three metres") and ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) ("a hundred grams").
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මට (maṭa) තේ ග්රෑම් (grǣm) සීයක් (sīyak) සහ (saha) සීනි (sīni) කිලෝ (kilō) එකක් (ekak) දෙන්න” (denna) (maṭa tē grǣm sīyak saha sīni kilō ekak denna) — Give me a hundred grams of tea and a kilo of sugar. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.