ඩ්රයිවර්
“ඩ්රයිවර්” (ḍrayivar) — driver in Sinhala. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. The English driver: that's how one addresses a tuk-tuk and a bus driver. The licence says the native word. In a live sentence: “ඩ්රයිවර්ට ගාන දුන්නා” — I paid the driver the fare. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ඩ, ්, ර, ය, ි, ව, ර, ්. One of 15 words in the set “transport” in the Sinhala course.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | ඩ්රයිවර් |
| Read in Latin letters | ḍrayivar |
| Translation | driver |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- ඩ්රයිවර්ḍrayivardriver
Why it looks that way
The English driver: that's how one addresses a tuk-tuk and a bus driver. The licence says the native word
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.
- ඩ්රයිවර්ට ගාන දුන්නාḍrayivarṭa gāna dunnāI paid the driver the fare
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- බස් එකbas ekabusEnglish bus plus eka, 'a piece' — that is how the island naturalizes loans
- දුම්රියdumriyatrainLiterally 'a smoke carriage': dum is smoke, riya is a carriage. The railways came with the word
- ටුක් ටුක්ṭuk ṭuktuk-tukThe three-wheeler, the main city transport. The price is agreed before the ride, never after
- ටැක්සිṭæksitaxiEnglish taxi with a retroflex t at the start. On the island you order a taxi by app; what you hail in the street is a tuk-tuk
- නැවතුමnævatumastop (any)Bare nævatuma is any stop on the route; the bus stop you know as the bus halt
- මගියාmagiyāpassengerFrom maga, 'the way'. In announcements it sounds as the polite plural — 'dear passengers'
- ආසනයāsanayaseatThe bookish word from the plate; on the bus people say 'the seat eka', as in 'the seat by the window'
- අත්වැලatvælahandrailata is 'hand', væla is 'a vine': the thing one holds onto. In a local bus it's a rope with loops, not a tube
- ටිකට් චෙක් කරන කෙනාṭikaṭ cek karana kenāticket inspectorOn the island one person sells and checks the ticket — the conductor; a separate inspector is rare and is named by description
- බස් ගාස්තුවbas gāstuvabus faregāstuva is 'a fee, a charge for a service' in general; you already know 'to pay the fare'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “driver” in Sinhala?
The English driver: that's how one addresses a tuk-tuk and a bus driver. The licence says the native word
- How do you say “seat” in Sinhala?
The bookish word from the plate; on the bus people say 'the seat eka', as in 'the seat by the window'
- How do you say “tuk-tuk” in Sinhala?
The three-wheeler, the main city transport. The price is agreed before the ride, never after
- How do you say “bus fare” in Sinhala?
gāstuva is 'a fee, a charge for a service' in general; you already know 'to pay the fare'
- How do you say “passenger” in Sinhala?
From maga, 'the way'. In announcements it sounds as the polite plural — 'dear passengers'
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 “driver” in Sinhala?
«ඩ්රයිවර්», read “ḍrayivar”. In a live sentence: “ඩ්රයිවර්ට ගාන දුන්නා” — I paid the driver the fare. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters ඩ, ්, ර, ය, ි, ව, ර, ්.
How is “ඩ්රයිවර්” written in Latin letters?
ḍrayivar. 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?
The English driver: that's how one addresses a tuk-tuk and a bus driver. The licence says the native word. 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.