කොළඹ
“කොළඹ” (koḷamba) — Colombo in Sinhala. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. The European 'Colombo' comes from here: the Portuguese heard the local name and wrote it down their own way. In a live sentence: “කොළඹ ඉඳන් බස් එකක් තියෙනවා” — There is a bus from Colombo. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ක, ො, ළ, ඹ. One of 13 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Sinhala course.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | කොළඹ |
| Read in Latin letters | koḷamba |
| Translation | Colombo |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- කොළඹkoḷambaColombo
Why it looks that way
The European 'Colombo' comes from here: the Portuguese heard the local name and wrote it down their own way
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.
- කොළඹ ඉඳන් බස් එකක් තියෙනවාkoḷamba indan bas ekak tiyenavāThere is a bus from Colombo
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- ලංකාවlaṁkāvaSri LankaIn speech the country is simply Laṁkāva; the 'Sri' belongs to the official name
- මුහුදmuhudaseaThe sea as water; the beach is a separate word, muhudu verala. Don't confuse it with muhuna, 'a face': the beginning is shared, then they part ways
- බස් නැවතුම්පොළbas nævatumpoḷabus stationThe ordinary bus stop you know as the bus halt; this is the big ground where the long-distance buses gather
- ජැටියjæṭiyajettyThe English jetty stuck for good; the native toṭupoḷa stayed with the river ferry
- මුදල් මාරු කරන තැනmudal māru karana tænamoney exchangeThe place is named by description, 'where money is changed'; on the sign you'll see the English Money Exchange
- සත්තු වත්තsattu vattazooLiterally 'the garden of beasts', and in Dehiwala that is exactly what it's called. The bookish word stays on the sign
- සර්කස් එකsarkas ekacircusAn English word, and without the eka tail it won't bend into a Sinhala sentence
- ගිනි නිවන ඒකකයgini nivana ēkakayafire stationgini nivana is 'fire-extinguishing', the same phrase as in the fire engine; ēkakaya is a unit, a detachment
- වාහන සෝදන තැනvāhana sōdana tænacar washNo native word — people say 'the place where cars are washed'; the sign says Car Wash
- සංචාරක නියෝජිතායතනයsaṁcāraka niyōjitāyatanayatour agencyA long bookish word straight off a sign; in speech people say the English tour agency
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “Colombo” in Sinhala?
The European 'Colombo' comes from here: the Portuguese heard the local name and wrote it down their own way
- How do you say “circus” in Sinhala?
An English word, and without the eka tail it won't bend into a Sinhala sentence
- How do you say “bus station” in Sinhala?
The ordinary bus stop you know as the bus halt; this is the big ground where the long-distance buses gather
- How do you say “tour agency” in Sinhala?
A long bookish word straight off a sign; in speech people say the English tour agency
- How do you say “zoo” in Sinhala?
Literally 'the garden of beasts', and in Dehiwala that is exactly what it's called. The bookish word stays on the sign
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 “Colombo” in Sinhala?
«කොළඹ», read “koḷamba”. In a live sentence: “කොළඹ ඉඳන් බස් එකක් තියෙනවා” — There is a bus from Colombo. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters ක, ො, ළ, ඹ.
How is “කොළඹ” written in Latin letters?
koḷamba. 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 European 'Colombo' comes from here: the Portuguese heard the local name and wrote it down their own way. 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.