දකුණට
“දකුණට” (dakuṇaṭa) — to the right in Sinhala. Adverb, level A1, topic — asking the way. Already a case form: dakuna, 'the right side', plus -ta. 'On the right' and 'from the right' take other endings. The same word means 'south': the Southern Province is dakunu pata. In a live sentence: “ඊළඟ පාරෙන් දකුණට යන්න” — Turn right at the next street. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ද, ක, ු, ණ, ට.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | දකුණට |
| Read in Latin letters | dakuṇaṭa |
| Translation | to the right |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
- දකුණටdakuṇaṭato the right
Why it looks that way
Already a case form: dakuna, 'the right side', plus -ta. 'On the right' and 'from the right' take other endings. The same word means 'south': the Southern Province is dakunu pata
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.
- ඊළඟ පාරෙන් දකුණට යන්නīḷanga pāren dakuṇaṭa yannaTurn right at the next street
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- කොහෙද?koheda?where?The stem kohe plus the question particle -da. Direction is shown not by a preposition but by a case ending: 'to where' and 'from where' each get their own
- මෙතනmetanahereFirst in a row of three: metana (here, by me), etana (there, by you), atana (over there). 'To here' takes a different ending
- අතනatanathereThe far point of the row metana / etana / atana — the thing you point a finger at. 'To there' and 'from there' get their own endings
- වමටvamaṭato the leftThe pair to dakunata, built the same way: vama plus -ta. 'On the left' is vame. The left hand on the island counts as unclean, and offering things with it is not done
- කෙළින්keḷinstraight aheadThe 'heavy' l in the middle. The same word means 'straight' about a line and 'frankly' about talk: kelinma kiyanna, 'say it straight'
- ළඟḷanganearTwo letters, both with a curl: la is the 'heavy' l, and the nga is a half-nasal 'ng'
- දුරdurafarAlso the noun 'distance': dura kiyada?, 'how many kilometres?'. The predicate is durayi, the question durada
- කොහොමද යන්නේkohomada yannēhow do I get there?Literally 'how does one go?'. On foot or by bus — the verb is the same for both
- පැමිණෙනවාpæmiṇenavāto arriveThe bookish 'arrive' — that's what timetables write. In speech about a journey people use the familiar 'reach' or just 'come'
- එහා පැත්තේehā pættēon the other sideehā is that side, mehā this one. You know anit pætten — but that's 'on the other hand' in an argument, not across the street
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to the right” in Sinhala?
Already a case form: dakuna, 'the right side', plus -ta. 'On the right' and 'from the right' take other endings. The same word means 'south': the Southern Province is dakunu pata
- How do you say “far” in Sinhala?
Also the noun 'distance': dura kiyada?, 'how many kilometres?'. The predicate is durayi, the question durada
- How do you say “there” in Sinhala?
The far point of the row metana / etana / atana — the thing you point a finger at. 'To there' and 'from there' get their own endings
- How do you say “on the other side” in Sinhala?
ehā is that side, mehā this one. You know anit pætten — but that's 'on the other hand' in an argument, not across the street
- How do you say “near” in Sinhala?
Two letters, both with a curl: la is the 'heavy' l, and the nga is a half-nasal 'ng'
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 “to the right” in Sinhala?
«දකුණට», read “dakuṇaṭa”. In a live sentence: “ඊළඟ පාරෙන් දකුණට යන්න” — Turn right at the next street. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters ද, ක, ු, ණ, ට.
How is “දකුණට” written in Latin letters?
dakuṇaṭa. 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?
Already a case form: dakuna, 'the right side', plus -ta. 'On the right' and 'from the right' take other endings. The same word means 'south': the Southern Province is dakunu pata. 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.