To whom one bows: වහන්සේ, හාමුදුරුවෝ and the polite plural
The unit about faith raises a question European languages do not have: Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for the monk, for the deity and for the elder, and the ordinary words simply do not fit there. This is not style and not ornament: to say about a monk එයා ආවා is as wrong as saying 'it came' about a person. For example: “හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවා” — The monk goes to the temple. A rule from the Sinhala course…
How it works
The unit about faith raises a question European languages do not have: Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for the monk, for the deity and for the elder, and the ordinary words simply do not fit there. This is not style and not ornament: to say about a monk එයා ආවා (eyā āvā) is as wrong as saying 'it came' about a person.
Politeness is expressed by the plural. දෙවියන් (deviyan) — 'God', and the word stands in the plural although one is meant. Likewise හාමුදුරුවෝ (a monk), වැඩිහිටියෝ (the elders), ගුරුතුමා (gurutumā) / ගුරුතුමිය (a teacher, a woman teacher). The plural instead of the singular is the language’s basic gesture of respect — the same one as in the familiar අධ්යක්ෂවරයා (adhyakṣavarayā).
වහන්සේ (vahansē) — the highest tier, and it is not for people. දෙවියන් වහන්සේ (God), බුදුන් වහන්සේ (the Buddha), උන්වහන්සේ ('he' about a monk and about the Buddha). Attaching වහන්සේ to an ordinary person’s name is impossible, neither in jest nor out of politeness.
The monk has verbs of his own. He does not එනවා (enavā) but වඩිනවා (come); not කනවා (kanavā) but වළඳනවා (eat); not නිදාගන්නවා (nidāgannavā) but සැතපෙනවා (sleep). There are not many of these verbs, about a dozen and a half, and at A2 they need not be known by heart — but they are worth recognizing: they are heard in the news every day.
වඳිනවා (vandinavā) and ගරු කරනවා (garu karanavā) are not the same thing. වඳිනවා is to fold the palms and bow: so one does before a monk, before an image of the Buddha and before one’s parents on the first day of the year. ගරු කරනවා is to respect, and it is about the attitude, not the gesture: වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම (væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma), අනුන්ගේ ආගමට ගරු කරනවා (anungē āgamaṭa garu karanavā). From here also අත දීම (ata dīma) — the handshake, a Western custom which in Lanka lives in the office but not in the temple.
And පින / පව (pava) — the pair on which all this speech rests. පින is merit, පව is sin. They also give everyday turns: පින්කම (a good deed, familiar from the unit about society), අනේ පව් ('poor thing'), පින්සිද්ධ වෙන්න ('do me the kindness' — so one begs in the street). The religious root lies far closer to the surface of spoken Sinhala than of English.
Table
| The ordinary word | The polite one | About whom | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| දෙවියෙක් | දෙවියන් වහන්සේ | God | the plural instead of one |
| — | බුදුන් වහන්සේ | the Buddha | not called a god |
| එයා | උන්වහන්සේ | a monk, the Buddha | a separate pronoun |
| පූජකයෙක් | හාමුදුරුවෝ | a monk | a plural form |
| එනවා | වඩිනවා | about a monk | the monk has verbs of his own |
| කනවා | වළඳනවා | about a monk | the same |
| නිදාගන්නවා | සැතපෙනවා | about a monk | the same |
| — | වඳිනවා | the gesture of the bow | not “to respect” but “to bow” |
| — | ගරු කරනවා | the attitude | to respect, without a gesture |
By example
- හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවාhāmuduruvō pansalaṭa vaḍinavāThe monk goes to the temple
- දෙවියන් වහන්සේ ගැන එයා හැම දාම කතා කරනවාdeviyan vahansē gæna eyā hæma dāma katā karanavāHe speaks about God every day
- වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම අපේ සිරිත, අත දීම බටහිර සිරිතක්væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma apē sirita, ata dīma baṭahira siritakRespect for the elders is our custom, the handshake is a Western one
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
To whom one bows: how does it work in Sinhala?
The unit about faith raises a question European languages do not have: Sinhala keeps a separate tier of words for the monk, for the deity and for the elder, and the ordinary words simply do not fit there. This is not style and not ornament: to say about a monk එයා ආවා is as wrong as saying 'it…
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“හාමුදුරුවෝ පන්සලට වඩිනවා” (hāmuduruvō pansalaṭa vaḍinavā) — The monk goes to the temple. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.