වැඩේ පරක්කු වුණාම in Sinhala
A boss and a worker go over why the job has dragged on and what to do next in Sinhala. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «වැඩේ තාම ඉවර නෑ නේද? මාසෙන් අවසන් කරන්න කිව්වා.» — The work is not finished yet? It was said to complete it in a month. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a boss and a worker go over why the job has dragged on and what to do next. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- වැඩේ තාම ඉවර නෑ නේද? මාසෙන් අවසන් කරන්න කිව්වා.væḍē tāma ivara nǣ nēda? māsen avasan karanna kivvā.The work is not finished yet? It was said to complete it in a month.
- ඇත්ත. පද්ධතියේ අක්රමිකතාවක් නිසා කල් ඇදුණා.ætta. paddhatiyē akramikatāvak nisā kal æduṇā.Right. Because of a failure in the system everything has dragged.
- ඒක අතපසුවීමක්ද, නැත්නම් අපිට අවහිර කරපු දෙයක්ද?ēka atapasuvīmakda, nætnam apiṭa avahira karapu deyakda?Was it a slip, or did something hinder us?
- දෙකම. ඒත් අපි අත් නොහැරම වැඩේ කරගෙන යනවා.dekama. ēt api at nohærama væḍē karagena yanavā.Both. But we persistently continue the work.
- හොඳයි. ඒත් වැඩේ බිඳ වැටීමට ඉඩ දෙන්න බෑ.hondayi. ēt væḍē binda væṭīmaṭa iḍa denna bǣ.Good. But the failure of the job must not be allowed.
- මම වැඩ පිළිවෙළ හරිගස්සන්නම්. ආරක්ෂක නීතිත් පිළිපදිනවා.mama væḍa piḷiveḷa harigassannam. ārakṣaka nītit piḷipadinavā.I will put the order of work right. And we observe the safety rules.
- වැස්සත් ගණන් ගන්න ඕන. එතකොට තව සතියක් ඉල්ලන්න.væssat gaṇan ganna ōna. etakoṭa tava satiyak illanna.The rain must also be counted in. Then ask for another week.
- ස්තූතියි. මොනවා වුණත් අන්තිම වෙනකොට ඉවර කරනවා.stūtiyi. monavā vuṇat antima venakoṭa ivara karanavā.Thank you. At any cost we will finish at the end.
Lines one by one
| Sinhala | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| වැඩේ තාම ඉවර නෑ නේද? මාසෙන් අවසන් කරන්න කිව්වා. | væḍē tāma ivara nǣ nēda? māsen avasan karanna kivvā. | The work is not finished yet? It was said to complete it in a month. |
| ඇත්ත. පද්ධතියේ අක්රමිකතාවක් නිසා කල් ඇදුණා. | ætta. paddhatiyē akramikatāvak nisā kal æduṇā. | Right. Because of a failure in the system everything has dragged. |
| ඒක අතපසුවීමක්ද, නැත්නම් අපිට අවහිර කරපු දෙයක්ද? | ēka atapasuvīmakda, nætnam apiṭa avahira karapu deyakda? | Was it a slip, or did something hinder us? |
| දෙකම. ඒත් අපි අත් නොහැරම වැඩේ කරගෙන යනවා. | dekama. ēt api at nohærama væḍē karagena yanavā. | Both. But we persistently continue the work. |
| හොඳයි. ඒත් වැඩේ බිඳ වැටීමට ඉඩ දෙන්න බෑ. | hondayi. ēt væḍē binda væṭīmaṭa iḍa denna bǣ. | Good. But the failure of the job must not be allowed. |
| මම වැඩ පිළිවෙළ හරිගස්සන්නම්. ආරක්ෂක නීතිත් පිළිපදිනවා. | mama væḍa piḷiveḷa harigassannam. ārakṣaka nītit piḷipadinavā. | I will put the order of work right. And we observe the safety rules. |
| වැස්සත් ගණන් ගන්න ඕන. එතකොට තව සතියක් ඉල්ලන්න. | væssat gaṇan ganna ōna. etakoṭa tava satiyak illanna. | The rain must also be counted in. Then ask for another week. |
| ස්තූතියි. මොනවා වුණත් අන්තිම වෙනකොට ඉවර කරනවා. | stūtiyi. monavā vuṇat antima venakoṭa ivara karanavā. | Thank you. At any cost we will finish at the end. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“වැඩේ තාම ඉවර නෑ නේද? මාසෙන් අවසන් කරන්න කිව්වා.” (væḍē tāma ivara nǣ nēda? māsen avasan karanna kivvā.) — The work is not finished yet? It was said to complete it in a month.. 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.