Comparison: “than” stands before වඩා
Sinhala adjectives have no comparative form. ලොකු is 'big', and no 'bigger' can be squeezed out of it. Instead the word වඩා (vaḍā) — 'by comparison' — is inserted into the sentence, and the thing compared with takes the ending -ට. For example: “මේක ඒකට වඩා ගණන්” — This is dearer than that. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sinhala adjectives have no comparative form. ලොකු (loku) is 'big', and no 'bigger' can be squeezed out of it. Instead the word වඩා (vaḍā) — 'by comparison' — is inserted into the sentence, and the thing compared with takes the ending -ට (-ṭa).
The scheme is rigid, and relative to English it is turned around: first what you compare with, then වඩා, then the feature. 'This is dearer than that' sounds as 'this to that by comparison dear': මේක ඒකට වඩා ගණන් (mēka ēkaṭa vaḍā gaṇan). The commonest mistake is putting වඩා before the second item, the English way: what comes out is a heap of words.
In fast speech වඩා is often dropped altogether, and the ending -ට plus වැඩියි ('more') or අඩුයි ('less') is enough: මේක ඒකට වැඩියි (mēka ēkaṭa væḍiyi). That is not carelessness but the normal spoken variant.
The superlative is made with the particle -ම glued to the feature: ලොකුම (lokuma) — 'the biggest', ලාභම — 'the cheapest'.
Table
| Comparison | Word for word | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| මේක ඒකට වඩා ලොකුයි | this to that by comparison big | this is bigger than that |
| තේ කෝපියට වඩා ලාභයි | tea to coffee by comparison cheap | tea is cheaper than coffee |
| මේ කඩේ ලාභම | this shop the cheapest | here it is cheapest of all |
By example
- මේක ඒකට වඩා ගණන්mēka ēkaṭa vaḍā gaṇanThis is dearer than that
- මේ අඹ ලොකුම එකmē amba lokuma ekaThis mango is the biggest one
- ටිකක් අඩුවෙන් දෙන්නṭikak aḍuven dennaGive me a little less
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
Comparison: how does it work in Sinhala?
Sinhala adjectives have no comparative form. ලොකු is 'big', and no 'bigger' can be squeezed out of it. Instead the word වඩා (vaḍā) — 'by comparison' — is inserted into the sentence, and the thing compared with takes the ending -ට.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මේක ඒකට වඩා ගණන්” (mēka ēkaṭa vaḍā gaṇan) — This is dearer than that. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.