මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ
“මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ” (maṭa tērenne nǣ) — I don't understand in Sinhala. Phrase, level A0, topic — phrases that save you. Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence. In a live sentence: “හෙමින් කියන්න, මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ” — Speak slowly, I don't understand. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Sinhala course.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ |
| Read in Latin letters | maṭa tērenne nǣ |
| Translation | I don't understand |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
- මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa tērenne nǣI don't understand
Why it looks that way
Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence
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.
- හෙමින් කියන්න, මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑhemin kiyanna, maṭa tērenne nǣSpeak slowly, I don't understand
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- හෙමින්heminslowlyIn speech it's usually doubled: hemin hemin, 'gently, no rush'. Add ṭikak and the request gets softer: ṭikak hemin kiyanna — 'a bit slower, please'
- නැවත කියන්නnævata kiyannasay it again, pleaseLiterally 'say anew'. The ending -nna is itself the polite request — no separate 'please' needed. In speech people more often say āyeth kiyanna with the everyday word for 'again'
- උදව්udavhelpBarely stands on its own: udav karanna, 'to give help'; udavvak ōnē, 'I need help'. The street cry for help is simply udav karanna!
- කාර්මිකයෙක්ට කතා කරන්නkārmikayekṭa katā karannacall a technicianLiterally 'talk with a technician': phoning and talking are the same verb. The ending -ṭa marks the one you turn to
- විනාඩියක් ඉන්නvināḍiyak innawait a minuteLiterally 'stay a minute': no separate verb 'to wait' is needed for such a request
- මට අරින්න බෑmaṭa arinna bǣI can't open itbǣ is 'I can't', the pair to puḷuvan, 'I can'. The scheme maṭa + verb-nna + bǣ works with any action
- ඇම්බියුලන්ස් එකæmbiyulans ekaambulanceThe bookish name, 'the sick man's carriage', lives on the side of the vehicle; people call it by the English word. The number is 1990
- මට දොස්තර කෙනෙක් ඕනේmaṭa dostara kenek ōnēI need a doctorkenek is 'one person', the counter word for people: without it the phrase sounds like 'I need medicine'
- පරිස්සමින්!parissamin!careful!Literally 'with carefulness'. Parting, people wish the same word: 'go carefully'
- භයානකයිbhayānakayidangerousbha-ya-na-kayi: the bh is an aspirated b, the puff of air right after the consonant
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I don't understand” in Sinhala?
Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence
- How do you say “ambulance” in Sinhala?
The bookish name, 'the sick man's carriage', lives on the side of the vehicle; people call it by the English word. The number is 1990
- How do you say “help” in Sinhala?
Barely stands on its own: udav karanna, 'to give help'; udavvak ōnē, 'I need help'. The street cry for help is simply udav karanna!
- How do you say “dangerous” in Sinhala?
From bhaya, 'fear', a Sanskrit root. It means both 'scary' and 'dangerous'
- How do you say “I can't open it” in Sinhala?
bǣ is 'I can't', the pair to puḷuvan, 'I can'. The scheme maṭa + verb-nna + bǣ works with any action
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 “I don't understand” in Sinhala?
«මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ», read “maṭa tērenne nǣ”. In a live sentence: “හෙමින් කියන්න, මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ” — Speak slowly, I don't understand. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A0, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters ම, ට, ත, ේ, ර, ෙ, න, ්, න, ේ, න, ෑ.
How is “මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ” written in Latin letters?
maṭa tērenne nǣ. 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?
Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence. 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.