LingoflyLet's set a time in Sinhala
On the phone: two agree when to meet and move the time in Sinhala. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «අපි වෙලාවක් නියම කරමු (api velāvak niyama karamu). ඔයාට හරියන වෙලාව කියන්න» (oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyanna) — Let us set a time. Tell me when it suits you; «දවල් පස්සේ (daval passē) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan). හැබැයි (hæbæyi) පහට කලින් බෑ» (pahaṭa kalin bǣ) — I can do the afternoon. But not earlier than five. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: on the phone: two agree when to meet and move the time. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- අපි වෙලාවක් නියම කරමු. ඔයාට හරියන වෙලාව කියන්නapi velāvak niyama karamu. oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyannaLet us set a time. Tell me when it suits you.
- daval passē puḷuvan. hæbæyi pahaṭa kalin bǣI can do the afternoon. But not earlier than five.
- එතකොට හවස් වෙනකොට හම්බවෙමුද?etakoṭa havas venakoṭa hambavemuda?Then shall we meet toward the evening?
- hari. oyāṭa ōnǣma velāvaka kōl karanna puḷuvanGood. You may call me at any time.
- කනගාටුයි, බැරි වෙයි. මීටිං එකේ වෙලාව මාරු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?kanagāṭuyi, bæri veyi. mīṭiṁ ekē velāva māru karanna puḷuvanda?I am afraid not. May the meeting be moved?
- vuṇē mehemayi, maṭa vena væḍak āvā. puḷuvan vuṇot heṭa karamuThe point is that another matter has come up. If it works, let us do it tomorrow.
- kamak nǣ. heṭa maṭa matak karanna, mama velāvaṭa ennamNo harm done. Remind me tomorrow, I will be on time.
Lines one by one
| Sinhala | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| අපි වෙලාවක් නියම කරමු (api velāvak niyama karamu). ඔයාට හරියන වෙලාව කියන්න (oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyanna) | api velāvak niyama karamu. oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyanna | Let us set a time. Tell me when it suits you. |
| දවල් පස්සේ (daval passē) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan). හැබැයි (hæbæyi) පහට කලින් බෑ (pahaṭa kalin bǣ) | daval passē puḷuvan. hæbæyi pahaṭa kalin bǣ | I can do the afternoon. But not earlier than five. |
| එතකොට (etakoṭa) හවස් වෙනකොට (havas venakoṭa) හම්බවෙමුද? | etakoṭa havas venakoṭa hambavemuda? | Then shall we meet toward the evening? |
| හරි (hari). ඔයාට (oyāṭa) ඕනෑම වෙලාවක (ōnǣma velāvaka) කෝල් (kōl) කරන්න (karanna) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) | hari. oyāṭa ōnǣma velāvaka kōl karanna puḷuvan | Good. You may call me at any time. |
| කනගාටුයි, බැරි වෙයි (kanagāṭuyi, bæri veyi). මීටිං එකේ වෙලාව මාරු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? (mīṭiṁ ekē velāva māru karanna puḷuvanda) | kanagāṭuyi, bæri veyi. mīṭiṁ ekē velāva māru karanna puḷuvanda? | I am afraid not. May the meeting be moved? |
| මොකද (mokada) වුණේ (vuṇē)? | mokada vuṇē? | And what happened? |
| වුණේ මෙහෙමයි (vuṇē mehemayi), මට (maṭa) වෙන (vena) වැඩක් (væḍak) ආවා (āvā). පුළුවන් වුණොත් (puḷuvan vuṇot) හෙට කරමු (heṭa karamu) | vuṇē mehemayi, maṭa vena væḍak āvā. puḷuvan vuṇot heṭa karamu | The point is that another matter has come up. If it works, let us do it tomorrow. |
| කමක් නෑ (kamak nǣ). හෙට (heṭa) මට මතක් කරන්න (maṭa matak karanna), මම වෙලාවට එන්නම් (mama velāvaṭa ennam) | kamak nǣ. heṭa maṭa matak karanna, mama velāvaṭa ennam | No harm done. Remind me tomorrow, I will be on time. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Sinhala in this situation?
“අපි වෙලාවක් නියම කරමු (api velāvak niyama karamu). ඔයාට හරියන වෙලාව කියන්න” (oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyanna) (api velāvak niyama karamu. oyāṭa hariyana velāva kiyanna) — Let us set a time. Tell me when it suits you. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.