ඔතනවා
“ඔතනවා” (otanavā) — to pack up in Sinhala. Verb, level A2, topic — home and things. To wrap in paper or cloth. The familiar 'pack the things' is bag-packing; otanavā wraps each piece. In a live sentence: “වීදුරු බඩු කඩදාසියෙන් ඔතන්න” — Wrap the glass things in paper. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ඔ, ත, න, ව, ා. One of 198 words in the set “home and things” in the Sinhala course.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | ඔතනවා |
| Read in Latin letters | otanavā |
| Translation | to pack up |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A2 |
- ඔතනවාotanavāto pack up
Why it looks that way
To wrap in paper or cloth. The familiar 'pack the things' is bag-packing; otanavā wraps each piece
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.
- වීදුරු බඩු කඩදාසියෙන් ඔතන්නvīduru baḍu kaḍadāsiyen otannaWrap the glass things in paper
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- ගෙදරgedarahomeHome as your own place and 'homeward' are one word with no preposition at all: gedara yanava, 'I'm going home'. A house as a building is another word, ge
- කූඩයkūḍayabasketA woven basket and the shop's basket alike. A long u: kuu-daya
- කැඩිලාkæḍilābrokenFrom kæḍenavā, 'to break'. The same -lā state form as in æralā: a state, not an action
- නවාතැනnavātænahousingLiterally 'a place of staying': thena is a place. A rented student room is a bōḍima
- කාමරයkāmarayaroomFrom Sanskrit. One room is kāmarayak, two are kāmara dekak: with the non-living the plural is often shorter than the singular
- කුස්සියkussiyakitchenkus-si-ya: the doubled ss is held longer than a single one
- නාන කාමරයnāna kāmarayabathroomLiterally 'the washing room', from nānavā, 'to wash'. The toilet is separate: væsikiliya
- බැල්කනියbælkaniyabalconyThe English balcony with the ending -ya. In a simpler house the same spot will be called the veranda
- තට්ටුවtaṭṭuvastoreyThe second floor is deveni taṭṭuva. The floor under your feet is a different word, bima
- ලිෆ්ට් එකlifṭ ekaliftThe English lift plus eka. The letter fa is the youngest in the alphabet; it appeared for loanwords
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to pack up” in Sinhala?
To wrap in paper or cloth. The familiar 'pack the things' is bag-packing; otanavā wraps each piece
- How do you say “bathroom” in Sinhala?
Literally 'the washing room', from nānavā, 'to wash'. The toilet is separate: væsikiliya
- How do you say “broken” in Sinhala?
From kæḍenavā, 'to break'. The same -lā state form as in æralā: a state, not an action
- How do you say “lift” in Sinhala?
The English lift plus eka. The letter fa is the youngest in the alphabet; it appeared for loanwords
- How do you say “kitchen” in Sinhala?
The spoken word; the bookish one is three times longer and is never heard in the house
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 pack up” in Sinhala?
«ඔතනවා», read “otanavā”. In a live sentence: “වීදුරු බඩු කඩදාසියෙන් ඔතන්න” — Wrap the glass things in paper. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A2, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters ඔ, ත, න, ව, ා.
How is “ඔතනවා” written in Latin letters?
otanavā. 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?
To wrap in paper or cloth. The familiar 'pack the things' is bag-packing; otanavā wraps each piece. 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.