The feeling is given to me: මට instead of මම
English says 'I am afraid', 'I want', 'I understand' — with the subject 'I'. Sinhala speaks about a good half of the feelings differently: not 'I' but 'to me'. Instead of මම stands මට, and the feeling turns out to be what happened to me, not what I do. For example: “මට මේ වැඩේ එපා වෙලා” — I am fed up with this job. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says 'I am afraid', 'I want', 'I understand' — with the subject 'I'. Sinhala speaks about a good half of the feelings differently: not 'I' but 'to me'. Instead of මම (mama) stands මට (maṭa), and the feeling turns out to be what happened to me, not what I do.
So are built මට බයයි (maṭa bayayi) 'I am afraid (to me is fear)', මට ලැජ්ජයි (maṭa læjjayi) 'I am ashamed', මට තේරෙනවා (maṭa tērenavā) 'I understand (it is clear to me)', මට එපා වෙලා (maṭa epā velā) 'I am fed up', මට එයාව මතක් වෙනවා (maṭa eyāva matak venavā) 'I miss him (he comes to my memory)', මට කේන්ති යනවා (maṭa kēnti yanavā) 'I am getting angry'. Note: the English rendering almost always goes through 'I', and that is exactly why the turn must be memorized whole.
The form -ට (-ṭa) is the same as for direction (ගෙදරට (gedaraṭa) 'home') and for the addressee (එයාට දෙන්න (eyāṭa denna) 'give it to him'). Here it marks the one to whom the feeling was given: ඔයාට (oyāṭa), එයාට (eyāṭa), අපිට (apiṭa), ළමයාට (ḷamayāṭa).
But not all feelings are like this. Some are built with the ordinary subject මම: මම බය වෙනවා (mama baya venavā) 'I get afraid (begin to fear)', මම ආඩම්බර වෙනවා (mama āḍambara venavā) 'I am proud (become proud)', මම දුක් වුණා (mama duk vuṇā) 'I got upset'. The rule is rough but workable: a state — through මට, an act or a change — through මම.
Politeness grows from here too. මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ (maṭa tērenne nǣ) 'it is not clear to me' sounds softer than the reproach 'you explain badly', and in a talk with an official it saves the day.
Table
| Through මට (it happened to me) | Through මම (I do) | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| මට බයයි | මම බය වෙනවා | I am afraid — I get scared |
| මට ලැජ්ජයි | මම ලැජ්ජ වෙනවා | I am ashamed — I feel shy |
| මට එපා වෙලා | — | I am fed up |
| මට කේන්ති යනවා | — | I am getting angry |
| මට එයාව මතක් වෙනවා | — | I miss him |
| — | මම ආඩම්බර වෙනවා | I am proud |
| — | මම දුක් වුණා | I got upset |
By example
- මට මේ වැඩේ එපා වෙලාmaṭa mē væḍē epā velāI am fed up with this job
- එයාට ලැජ්ජයි කතා කරන්නeyāṭa læjjayi katā karannaHe is ashamed to start talking
- මම පුතා ගැන ආඩම්බර වෙනවාmama putā gæna āḍambara venavāI am proud of my son
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 feeling is given to me: how does it work in Sinhala?
English says 'I am afraid', 'I want', 'I understand' — with the subject 'I'. Sinhala speaks about a good half of the feelings differently: not 'I' but 'to me'. Instead of මම stands මට, and the feeling turns out to be what happened to me, not what I do.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මට මේ වැඩේ එපා වෙලා” (maṭa mē væḍē epā velā) — I am fed up with this job. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.