As, than, just as: comparison of a whole phrase
The comparative has been covered: මේක ඒකට වඩා ලාභයි — 'this is cheaper than that'. Now the same, but not for one word — for a whole phrase, and with three new linkers. For example: “මේ ගෙදර අර ගෙදරට වඩා ලොකුයි” — This house is bigger than that one. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The comparative has been covered: මේක ඒකට වඩා ලාභයි (mēka ēkaṭa vaḍā lābhayi) — 'this is cheaper than that'. Now the same, but not for one word — for a whole phrase, and with three new linkers.
වගේ (vagē) — 'like, similar to'. It stands after what is compared with: ඔයා වගේ (oyā vagē) 'like you', අලුත් ගෙදර පරණ එක වගේම ලොකුයි (alut gedara paraṇa eka vagēma lokuyi) — 'the new house is as big as the old one'. The tag -ම on වගේ gives exactly 'the same as, just as'.
තරම් (taram) — 'as much as, to the degree of': මං තරම් උස නෑ (maṁ taram usa nǣ) — 'not as tall as I am'. In negation this is the commonest way to compare: the English 'not as … as' maps onto it directly.
වඩා (vaḍā) — 'than', and with it the item compared with must stand in the -ට (-ṭa) form: මේ කුලිය ඒ කුලියට වඩා වැඩියි (mē kuliya ē kuliyaṭa vaḍā væḍiyi) — 'this rent is higher than that one'. Whole phrases can be compared: කොළඹ ගෙයක් කුලියට ගන්නවට වඩා ගමේ ගෙයක් ලාභයි (koḷamba geyak kuliyaṭa gannavaṭa vaḍā gamē geyak lābhayi) — 'renting a house in the village is cheaper than renting one in Colombo'.
The order inside the phrase is rigid and familiar: degree first, then the feature. ගොඩක් ලොකු ගෙදර (goḍak loku gedara) 'a very big house', ටිකක් අඩු කුලිය (ṭikak aḍu kuliya) 'a slightly lower rent'. It cannot be swapped.
And the everyday එකයි (ekayi): දෙකම එකයි (dekama ekayi) — 'both are the same', word for word 'both are one'. When there is no difference, Sinhala says just that instead of building a comparison.
Table
| Linker | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| … වගේ | like, similar to | මේ ගෙදර හෝටලයක් වගේ — this house is like a hotel |
| … වගේම | the same as | අලුත් එක පරණ එක වගේම — the new one is the same as the old one |
| … තරම් | as much as | මං තරම් උස නෑ — not as tall as I am |
| …ට වඩා | than | ඒකට වඩා ලාභයි — cheaper than that |
| ගොඩක් / ටිකක් + the feature | very / a little + the feature | ටිකක් අඩු කුලිය — a slightly lower rent |
| දෙකම එකයි | both are the same | ගාණ දෙකම එකයි — the price is the same for both |
By example
- මේ ගෙදර අර ගෙදරට වඩා ලොකුයිmē gedara ara gedaraṭa vaḍā lokuyiThis house is bigger than that one
- අලුත් කාමරේ පරණ එක වගේම ලස්සනයිalut kāmarē paraṇa eka vagēma lassanayiThe new room is as beautiful as the old one
- මේ කුලිය මං හිතපු තරම් වැඩි නෑmē kuliya maṁ hitapu taram væḍi nǣThis rent is not as high as I thought
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
As, than, just as: how does it work in Sinhala?
The comparative has been covered: මේක ඒකට වඩා ලාභයි — 'this is cheaper than that'. Now the same, but not for one word — for a whole phrase, and with three new linkers.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මේ ගෙදර අර ගෙදරට වඩා ලොකුයි” (mē gedara ara gedaraṭa vaḍā lokuyi) — This house is bigger than that one. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.