වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම
“වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම” (væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma) — respect for elders in Sinhala. Noun, level B1. væ-di-hi-ti-yan-ta; the ḍ and ṭa are palate-curled. In a live sentence: “වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම අපේ සංස්කෘතියේ මුල” — Respect for elders is the base of our culture. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ව, ැ, ඩ, ි, හ, ි, ට, ි, ය, න, ්, ට. A word from the everyday Sinhala course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම |
| Read in Latin letters | væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma |
| Translation | respect for elders |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීමvæḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīmarespect for elders
How to pronounce it
væ-di-hi-ti-yan-ta; the ḍ and ṭa are palate-curled
Why it looks that way
The familiar 'to respect' in the action-noun form. Elders are older in age and in standing alike; on the island it's the first thing a child is taught
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.
- වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම අපේ සංස්කෘතියේ මුලvæḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma apē saṁskṛtiyē mulaRespect for elders is the base of our culture
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 “respect for elders” in Sinhala?
«වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම», read “væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma”. væ-di-hi-ti-yan-ta; the ḍ and ṭa are palate-curled. In a live sentence: “වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම අපේ සංස්කෘතියේ මුල” — Respect for elders is the base of our culture. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1; written with the characters ව, ැ, ඩ, ි, හ, ි, ට, ි, ය, න, ්, ට.
How is “වැඩිහිටියන්ට ගරු කිරීම” written in Latin letters?
væḍihiṭiyanṭa garu kirīma. 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 familiar 'to respect' in the action-noun form. Elders are older in age and in standing alike; on the island it's the first thing a child is taught. 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.