Kitchen forms: -න්න, -මු and එපා
A recipe, a request at the table and an invitation to visit rest on three verb forms, and all three are made from the familiar -නවා form. For example: “වතුර නටවලා තේ දාන්න” — Boil the water and make the tea. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A recipe, a request at the table and an invitation to visit rest on three verb forms, and all three are made from the familiar -නවා form.
-න්න — a request and an instruction. කරනවා (karanavā) → කරන්න (karanna), දානවා (dānavā) → දාන්න (dānna), කපනවා (kapanavā) → කපන්න (kapanna). This is both 'do (to one)' and 'do (to many)' and 'please do': there is no rudeness in the form, and a whole recipe is written with it. Softer with -කෝ (-kō): දාන්නකෝ 'do put it'.
-මු — 'let us together'. කමු 'let us eat', යමු (yamu) 'let us go', බෙදාගමු (bedāgamu) 'let us share'. The form invites the listener to do it together with the speaker, and as a guest one hears it more than anything else.
එපා (epā) — prohibition. It stands after the -න්න form: කරන්න එපා (karanna epā) 'do not do it', ලුණු දාන්න එපා (luṇu dānna epā) 'do not salt it', බය වෙන්න එපා (baya venna epā) 'do not be afraid'. On its own එපා means 'no need, I do not want it' — the familiar මට එපා (maṭa epā).
And one subtlety because of which requests sound harsh. The English 'give' Sinhala almost always stretches to 'do give to me': මට දෙන්න (maṭa denna), මට කියන්න (maṭa kiyanna). Without මට (maṭa) the phrase sounds like a command barked from the doorway. The same with -ලා දෙන්න (-lā denna): පාර්සල් කරලා දෙන්න (pārsal karalā denna) 'wrap it for me, please', word for word 'having wrapped, give' — the polite formula of every little Lankan shop.
Table
| Verb | Request -න්න | Together -මු | Prohibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| කනවා — to eat | කන්න | කමු | කන්න එපා |
| දානවා — to put | දාන්න | දාමු | දාන්න එපා |
| කපනවා — to cut | කපන්න | කපමු | කපන්න එපා |
| උයනවා — to cook | උයන්න | උයමු | උයන්න එපා |
| යනවා — to go | යන්න | යමු | යන්න එපා |
| බෙදාගන්නවා — to share | බෙදාගන්න | බෙදාගමු | බෙදාගන්න එපා |
By example
- වතුර නටවලා තේ දාන්නvatura naṭavalā tē dānnaBoil the water and make the tea
- අපි මේක බෙදාගමුapi mēka bedāgamuLet us share this
- තව ලුණු දාන්න එපාtava luṇu dānna epāDo not salt it any more
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
How to say please do it in Sinhala?
A recipe, a request at the table and an invitation to visit rest on three verb forms, and all three are made from the familiar -නවා form.
The Sinhala ending -nna: request or order?
-න්න — a request and an instruction. කරනවා → කරන්න, දානවා → දාන්න, කපනවා → කපන්න. This is both 'do (to one)' and 'do (to many)' and 'please do': there is no rudeness in the form, and a whole recipe is written with it. Softer with -කෝ: දාන්නකෝ 'do put it'.
How to say do not in Sinhala with epa?
-මු — 'let us together'. කමු 'let us eat', යමු 'let us go', බෙදාගමු 'let us share'. The form invites the listener to do it together with the speaker, and as a guest one hears it more than anything else.
-mu vs -nna in Sinhala?
එපා — prohibition. It stands after the -න්න form: කරන්න එපා 'do not do it', ලුණු දාන්න එපා 'do not salt it', බය වෙන්න එපා 'do not be afraid'. On its own එපා means 'no need, I do not want it' — the familiar මට එපා.
How to say let us do it together in Sinhala?
And one subtlety because of which requests sound harsh. The English 'give' Sinhala almost always stretches to 'do give to me': මට දෙන්න, මට කියන්න. Without මට the phrase sounds like a command barked from the doorway. The same with -ලා දෙන්න: පාර්සල් කරලා දෙන්න 'wrap it for me, please', word for…
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“වතුර නටවලා තේ දාන්න” (vatura naṭavalā tē dānna) — Boil the water and make the tea. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.