Two Sinhalas: spoken and literary
The main feature of the language worth knowing at once: Sinhala is spoken and written differently, and the two registers diverge more than any pair in this app. For example: “මම සිංහල ඉගෙන ගන්නවා” — I learn Sinhala (spoken). A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The main feature of the language worth knowing at once: Sinhala is spoken and written differently, and the two registers diverge more than any pair in this app.
In literary Sinhala the verb agrees with the subject in person and number, the word order is stricter, and half of the frequent words are other words. Newspapers, signs and school textbooks are written in it; nobody speaks it, not even broadcasters off air.
The course teaches the spoken language: it is what gets you understood in a shop and in a tuk-tuk. Meeting කරමි instead of කරනවා (karanavā) in a text, know: it is the same word in literary dress.
Table
| Spoken | Literary | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| මම කරනවා | මම කරමි | I do |
| අපි කරනවා | අපි කරමු | we do |
| ඔයා | ඔබ | you (one person and many) |
| නෑ | නැත | no, there is not |
By example
- මම සිංහල ඉගෙන ගන්නවාmama siṁhala igena gannavāI learn Sinhala (spoken)
- ඔයා කොහෙද යන්නේ?oyā koheda yannē?Where are you going? (spoken)
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
Spoken vs written Sinhala?
The main feature of the language worth knowing at once: Sinhala is spoken and written differently, and the two registers diverge more than any pair in this app.
Which Sinhala to learn, spoken or literary?
In literary Sinhala the verb agrees with the subject in person and number, the word order is stricter, and half of the frequent words are other words. Newspapers, signs and school textbooks are written in it; nobody speaks it, not even broadcasters off air.
What diglossia in Sinhala means?
The course teaches the spoken language: it is what gets you understood in a shop and in a tuk-tuk. Meeting කරමි instead of කරනවා in a text, know: it is the same word in literary dress.
Why spoken Sinhala differs from the written language?
The course teaches the spoken language: it is what gets you understood in a shop and in a tuk-tuk. Meeting කරමි instead of කරනවා in a text, know: it is the same word in literary dress.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මම සිංහල ඉගෙන ගන්නවා” (mama siṁhala igena gannavā) — I learn Sinhala (spoken). A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.