Sinhala phrasebook
A Sinhala phrasebook arranged by situation, not alphabetically: introductions, cafés, directions. Each has both sides' lines, so you understand not only what to say but what you will be told back.
Conversations by situation
- 💬Getting acquaintedA first meeting in Colombo
- 💬At the tea shopOrdering at a roadside stall
- 💬In the tuk-tukAgreeing on a ride
- 💬වෙළඳපොළේHaggling over mangoes at the morning market
- 💬කාන්දුවA call to the landlord: the tap is leaking
- 💬ෆාමසියේAt the pharmacy without a prescription
- 💬හෙට කාලගුණයTwo people arranging a trip for the weekend
- 💬ඔයාගේ රැකියාවTalking with a new acquaintance about work
- 💬දුම්රිය ස්ථානයේAt the Fort station ticket office: a ticket to Kandy
- 💬වෙරළේ බෝට්ටුවOn the beach in Mirissa: arranging a boat
- 💬ඇඳුම් කඩේAt a clothing store: size and color
- 💬සමාවෙන්නTwo friends making up after a quarrel
- 💬රෙස්ටුරන්ට් එකේDinner for two: ordering and the bill
- 💬වයි-ෆයි සහ චාජර් එකIn a small cafe, asking for the Wi-Fi password and a socket
- 💬තානාපති කාර්යාලයට යන පාරIn the street, asking the way to the embassy
- 💬හවසට පාපන්දුA neighbor invites you to an evening match
- 💬මංගල්යයට ආරාධනාA colleague invites you to his sister’s wedding
- 💬ළමයි කීදෙනෙක්ද?Neighbors getting acquainted in the yard
- 💬ෆැකල්ටි එකේ පළමු දවසFirst day at the university: a newcomer asks a senior student about the faculty and the dormitory
- 💬බැංකුවේ ලෝන් එකක්At a bank branch, a person asks about a loan and interest
- 💬දොස්තර ළඟAt the clinic: the doctor asks about symptoms and prescribes treatment
- 💬ඉන්ටර්විව් එකA job interview: the employer asks about experience and conditions
- 💬ගෙදර බලන්න යනවාViewing a rental apartment: the broker shows the place, the tenant asks about the fee and the meter
- 💬කාර් එකක් කුලියටAt a car rental: the customer hires a car and asks about insurance, the tank and the return
- 💬රෑට ටීවී ළඟAt home in the evening: two argue about what to watch, look for the remote and switch the channel
- 💬ඉමිග්රේෂන් ඔෆිස් එකේAt the immigration office: an applicant extends a visa and asks about documents and timelines
- 💬යන්නද නැද්ද?Two people weigh whether to travel: possibility, necessity and doubt
- 💬ඒ ගැන දෙපැත්තක්An argument about a news item from social media: one believes, the other doubts and asks to check
- 💬එයා කොහොමද පේන්නේ?At the airport: the greeter describes over the phone what the person to find looks like
- 💬මූඩ් එක හොඳ නෑA friend quarreled with someone close; the other comforts her and advises making up
- 💬එළවළු ගන්නAt the market: a buyer chooses vegetables and fruit, haggles and asks about freshness
- 💬කමිසේ ආපහු දෙන්නAt the mall: a customer wants to exchange a shirt whose size did not fit
- 💬සර්විස් සෙන්ටර් එකේAt the service center: the customer explains what is wrong with the phone, the technician names the price and the time
- 💬හෙට කාලගුණේ කොහොමද?Two people are going to the mountains for the weekend and check the weather forecast
- 💬ස්ටේෂන් එකට යන්නේ කොහොමද?A visitor asks a passerby at a crossroads the way to the station
- 💬කෝස් එකට ලියාපදිංචි වෙනවාAt a language center: the administrator signs a person up for a Sinhala course
- 💬වෙලාවක් නියම කරමුOn the phone: two agree when to meet and move the time
- 💬මට හරියට තේරුණාද?At an office: the visitor misheard the clerk and keeps asking until sure of understanding
- 💬ෆැක්ටරියේ පළවෙනි දවසFirst day at the factory: the foreman meets the new worker, issues a pass and explains the order
- 💬ආවේ නැති ඕඩරයA call to an online store: the order has not arrived in time, and the delivery fee has already been charged
- 💬ගමේ පින්කමTwo neighbors in the yard: they collect money for a playground and divide the work
- 💬නාට්යයෙන් පස්සේTwo friends leave the theater and discuss the play, the director and the book it is staged from
- 💬ජිම් එකේ පළවෙනි දවසAt the gym: the trainer explains to a newcomer where to start and what not to do
- 💬කඩේ කිරනවාAt the shop: the customer takes tea, sugar and water, and the seller weighs and names the measures
- 💬දොස්තර ළඟදීAt the doctor's: fever and cough; the doctor explains that an antibiotic is not needed here
- 💬මංගල්යයට කලින්Two relatives count that things are not yet ready for the engagement and the wedding
- 💬රැස්වීමේ තර්කයA residents’ meeting: they argue whether to put a camera at the gate, and almost quarrel
- 💬වැස්සොත් මොකද කරන්නේTwo arrange a trip to the temple and go over conditions: rain, bus, time
- 💬කැඩුණු බඩුවAt the shop: the customer has brought an item whose coating has cracked and explains what exactly is wrong
- 💬අන්ධ මාවතේA driver has got lost in an unfamiliar block and asks a passerby the way
- 💬ගාණ හදන එකTwo calculate how much material the repair needs and argue whether to take it with a margin
- 💬වැඩේ පරක්කු වුණාමA boss and a worker go over why the job has dragged on and what to do next
- 💬කවුද ඇත්ත කියන්නේTwo colleagues examine a rumor that has spread through the office and check what it rests on
- 💬ගමේ පරණ කාලේA grandson asks his grandfather how life in the village was in the old days and what has changed
- 💬කුණු වෙන් වෙන් කරන එකTwo neighbors by the trash bins: one explains to the other how garbage is sorted now
- 💬ගබඩාවේ බාරගැනීමAccepting goods at the warehouse: the storekeeper and the driver check the batch against the waybill
- 💬වුණු දේ මෙහෙමයිTwo friends: one tells what happened on the road, the other asks back
- 💬අලුත් කෙනා ගැනTwo colleagues discuss the new worker — who he is and how to get along with him
Phrases that always rescue you
These are learned first not for politeness. They bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong — which makes them more useful than any list of nouns.
- ස්තූතියිstūtiyithank you
- සමාවෙන්නsamāvennaexcuse me
- කරුණාකරkaruṇākaraplease
- මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa tērenne nǣI don't understand
- හෙමින්heminslowly
- නැවත කියන්නnævata kiyannasay it again, please
- උදව්udavhelp
- ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda?can you make it cheaper?
- කාර්මිකයෙක්ට කතා කරන්නkārmikayekṭa katā karannacall a technician
- විනාඩියක් ඉන්නvināḍiyak innawait a minute
- කමක් නෑkamak nǣno problem
- මට අරින්න බෑmaṭa arinna bǣI can't open it
Frequently asked
Which Sinhala phrases to learn first?
“Hello”, “thank you”, “sorry”, “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”. The first three open a conversation; the last two save it.
Is a phrasebook enough without grammar?
For a short trip — yes. For living in the country — no: memorized phrases do not assemble into new ones, and the other person does not follow your script.