වමට
“වමට” (vamaṭa) — to the left in Sinhala. Adverb, level A1, topic — asking the way. The 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. In a live sentence: “කඩේ ළඟින් වමට හැරෙන්න” — Turn left by the shop. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ව, ම, ට.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | වමට |
| Read in Latin letters | vamaṭa |
| Translation | to the left |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
- වමටvamaṭato the left
Why it looks that way
The 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
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.
- කඩේ ළඟින් වමට හැරෙන්නkaḍē ḷangin vamaṭa hærennaTurn left by the shop
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
- දකුණටdakuṇaṭato the rightAlready 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
- 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 left” in Sinhala?
The 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
- 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 left” in Sinhala?
«වමට», read “vamaṭa”. In a live sentence: “කඩේ ළඟින් වමට හැරෙන්න” — Turn left by the shop. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters ව, ම, ට.
How is “වමට” written in Latin letters?
vamaṭa. 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 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. 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.