මොකටද
“මොකටද” (mokaṭada) — what for? in Sinhala. Adverb, level A1, topic — basic words. Assembled from 'what' + 'for' + -da: literally 'for what'. 'Why' asks the cause, 'what for' asks the purpose, and swapping them is as wrong as in English. In a live sentence: “ඔයාට මේක මොකටද?” — What do you need this for? You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ම, ො, ක, ට, ද.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | මොකටද |
| Read in Latin letters | mokaṭada |
| Translation | what for? |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
- මොකටදmokaṭadawhat for?
Why it looks that way
Assembled from 'what' + 'for' + -da: literally 'for what'. 'Why' asks the cause, 'what for' asks the purpose, and swapping them is as wrong as in English
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.
- ඔයාට මේක මොකටද?oyāṭa mēka mokaṭada?What do you need this for?
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- හොඳයිhondayifine, wellThe standard answer to kohomada. The ending -yi turns a quality into a ready sentence: 'it is good'. English splits 'good' and 'well' — this word covers both
- හොඳhondagoodThe bare stem of hondayi: before a noun it stands without the tail — honda tē, 'good tea'. As a statement it takes the tail back
- ඔව්ovyesVery often the answer isn't 'yes' but a repeat of the verb: 'Are you going?' — 'Going'. The word is that economical
- නෑnǣnonǣ also serves as the negation after a verb, where it stands as the last word: mama yannē nǣ, 'I'm not going'. One little word, two jobs
- ලොකුlokubigBefore a noun it stands bare: loku kaḍē. As a predicate it takes -yi: lokuyi. About people it also means 'elder': loku aiyā, 'the elder brother'
- පොඩිpoḍismallA retroflex ḍ. As a predicate: poḍiyi. It also means 'a little': poḍḍak, 'just a bit'. The bookish kuḍā lives on plates and in textbooks
- ලස්සනයිlassanayibeautifulFrom lassana, 'beautiful', with the ending -yi, just as 'tasty' comes from 'taste'. Before a noun it stands bare: lassana gedarak, 'a beautiful house'
- බාගයbāgayahalfAt the shop it sounds as bāgayak, 'a half of it': kilō bāgayak, 'half a kilo'
- මට එපාmaṭa epāI don't need itEpā is the exact opposite of ōnē. It also works as a polite 'no, thanks' and as a prohibition: yanna epā, 'don't go'
- තව එකක්tava ekakone moreTava is 'more', ekak is 'a piece'. In a tea shop that's enough to get a second cup
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “what for?” in Sinhala?
Assembled from 'what' + 'for' + -da: literally 'for what'. 'Why' asks the cause, 'what for' asks the purpose, and swapping them is as wrong as in English
- How do you say “beautiful” in Sinhala?
From lassana, 'beautiful', with the ending -yi, just as 'tasty' comes from 'taste'. Before a noun it stands bare: lassana gedarak, 'a beautiful house'
- How do you say “yes” in Sinhala?
Very often the answer isn't 'yes' but a repeat of the verb: 'Are you going?' — 'Going'. The word is that economical
- How do you say “one more” in Sinhala?
Tava is 'more', ekak is 'a piece'. In a tea shop that's enough to get a second cup
- How do you say “small” in Sinhala?
A retroflex ḍ. As a predicate: poḍiyi. It also means 'a little': poḍḍak, 'just a bit'. The bookish kuḍā lives on plates and in textbooks
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 “what for?” in Sinhala?
«මොකටද», read “mokaṭada”. In a live sentence: “ඔයාට මේක මොකටද?” — What do you need this for? You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ම, ො, ක, ට, ද.
How is “මොකටද” written in Latin letters?
mokaṭada. 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?
Assembled from 'what' + 'for' + -da: literally 'for what'. 'Why' asks the cause, 'what for' asks the purpose, and swapping them is as wrong as in English. 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.