අට
“අට” (aṭa) — eight in Sinhala. Numeral, level A1, topic — numbers and counting. A retroflex ṭ: the tongue at the roof of the mouth, the sound duller than a plain 't'. That is exactly what separates it from ata, 'a hand' — a hard pair by ear. In a live sentence: “වැඩ පටන් ගන්නේ අටට” — Work starts at eight. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters අ, ට.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | අට |
| Read in Latin letters | aṭa |
| Translation | eight |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A1 |
- අටaṭaeight
Why it looks that way
A retroflex ṭ: the tongue at the roof of the mouth, the sound duller than a plain 't'. That is exactly what separates it from ata, 'a hand' — a hard pair by ear
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- වැඩ පටන් ගන්නේ අටටvæḍa paṭan gannē aṭaṭaWork starts at eight
Nearby words: numbers and counting
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
- එකekaoneAlso 'a piece, a unit': tē ekak is 'one tea'. Where English needs 'a' or 'one', Sinhala just tags the noun
- දෙකdekatwoThe vowel sign stands to the left of the letter but is read after it: 'de-ka', not 'ed-ka'
- තුනtunathreeCounting things it takes -k: tunak. Before another word it shrinks to tun-: tun vaṭāvak, 'three times'; tunveni, 'third'; tunsīya, 'three hundred'
- හතරhatarafourIn compounds the stem changes a lot: hataḷiha, 'forty'; hārasīya, 'four hundred'. Counting things: hatarak
- පහpahafiveCounting things: pahak; about clock time: pahaṭa, 'at five'. In compounds it takes the bookish stems pan- or pas-: pansīya, 'five hundred'; pasvana, 'fifth'
- හයhayasixThe spoken haya against the bookish saya: the latter sits on banknotes and in textbooks. Counting things: hayak
- හතhatasevenBefore another word it drops its vowel: hatsīya, 'seven hundred'; hatveni, 'seventh'. Don't confuse it with hatara, 'four' — they are neighbours and sound close
- නවයnavayanineIn counting and in compounds the tail -ya falls off: navasīya, 'nine hundred'; navaveni, 'ninth'. Mind nava, 'new' — the same beginning, a different word
- දහයdahayatenThe tail -ya drops just as in navaya: dahaveni, 'tenth'; daha-aṭa, 'eighteen'. Length decides everything: dāha with a long 'aa' is already a thousand
- කිලෝkilōkilogramCounted through eka: kilō ekak is one kilogram, kilō dekak is two
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “numbers and counting”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “eight” in Sinhala?
A retroflex ṭ: the tongue at the roof of the mouth, the sound duller than a plain 't'. That is exactly what separates it from ata, 'a hand' — a hard pair by ear
- How do you say “seven” in Sinhala?
Before another word it drops its vowel: hatsīya, 'seven hundred'; hatveni, 'seventh'. Don't confuse it with hatara, 'four' — they are neighbours and sound close
- How do you say “three” in Sinhala?
Counting things it takes -k: tunak. Before another word it shrinks to tun-: tun vaṭāvak, 'three times'; tunveni, 'third'; tunsīya, 'three hundred'
- How do you say “kilogram” in Sinhala?
Counted through eka: kilō ekak is one kilogram, kilō dekak is two
- How do you say “six” in Sinhala?
The spoken haya against the bookish saya: the latter sits on banknotes and in textbooks. Counting things: hayak
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “eight” in Sinhala?
«අට», read “aṭa”. In a live sentence: “වැඩ පටන් ගන්නේ අටට” — Work starts at eight. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Numeral, level A1, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters අ, ට.
How is “අට” written in Latin letters?
aṭa. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
A retroflex ṭ: the tongue at the roof of the mouth, the sound duller than a plain 't'. That is exactly what separates it from ata, 'a hand' — a hard pair by ear. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.