Lingoflyමත්පැන්
- මත්පැන්matpænalcohol
“මත්පැන්” (matpæn) — alcohol in Sinhala. Noun, level A1, topic — food and drink. The bookish-official word: it is written in laws and on shop signs. In speech people say arrack for the strong stuff or just name the drink. In a live sentence: “මම මත්පැන් බොන්නේ නෑ” (mama matpæn bonnē nǣ) — I don't drink alcohol. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ම, ත, ්, ප, ැ, න, ්.
In short
| Written in Sinhala | මත්පැන් (matpæn) |
| Read in Latin letters | matpæn |
| Translation | alcohol |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The bookish-official word: it is written in laws and on shop signs. In speech people say arrack for the strong stuff or just name the drink
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.
Nearby words: food and drink
A menu, a market, a shop sign, the question “what is this?”. Food is the most frequent subject of the first weeks and the safest excuse to start talking.
- වතුරvaturawaterDrinking water is bona vatura, boiled water is thambapu vatura — on the island you ask that way, not for 'just water'. The bookish jala sits on utility bills
- තේtēteaThe country's main word: Ceylon tea is this very tē. When ordering you specify kiri tē, with milk, or plēn tē, plain
- කෝපිkōpicoffeeA long ō in the first syllable: 'koo-pi', not 'kopi'. The island runs on tea, and coffee in a roadside shop is almost always instant
- කිරිkirimilkLives in kiri tē, 'tea with milk', and in kiribath, the festive rice cooked in coconut milk. Fresh cow's milk is rare at home: more often it's powdered, kiri piṭi
- බත්batriceBoth 'rice' and 'a meal' in general: bat kanavā means 'to have a meal', whatever is being served
- මාළුmāḷufishA long mā and the 'heavy' ḷ: maa-ḷa. Don't confuse it with mala, 'a flower'. Fish curry, māḷu kari, is the coast's main dish
- පාන්pānbreadA Portuguese inheritance: pão stayed in the language together with the loaf itself
- බිත්තරbittaraeggOne shape for one egg and for a dozen; the number does the counting: bittara dekak. Hold the doubled tt long, or it will sound like bitara
- එළවළුeḷavaḷuvegetablesPlural by its very nature — you can't say 'one vegetable'. Two 'heavy' ḷ sounds in a row make it one of the hardest spellings to read
- පොල්polcoconutGrated coconut goes into almost every dish; pol sambōla is what they'll serve with your rice
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “food and drink”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “alcohol” in Sinhala?
The bookish-official word: it is written in laws and on shop signs. In speech people say arrack for the strong stuff or just name the drink
- How do you say “bread” in Sinhala?
A Portuguese inheritance: pão stayed in the language together with the loaf itself
- How do you say “coffee” in Sinhala?
A long ō in the first syllable: 'koo-pi', not 'kopi'. The island runs on tea, and coffee in a roadside shop is almost always instant
- How do you say “coconut” in Sinhala?
Grated coconut goes into almost every dish; pol sambōla is what they'll serve with your rice
- How do you say “fish” in Sinhala?
A long mā and the 'heavy' ḷ: maa-ḷa. Don't confuse it with mala, 'a flower'. Fish curry, māḷu kari, is the coast's main dish
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 “alcohol” in Sinhala?
«මත්පැන්» (matpæn), read “matpæn”. In a live sentence: “මම මත්පැන් බොන්නේ නෑ” (mama matpæn bonnē nǣ) — I don't drink alcohol. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “food and drink”; written with the characters ම, ත, ්, ප, ැ, න, ්.
How is “මත්පැන්” (matpæn) written in Latin letters?
matpæn. 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 bookish-official word: it is written in laws and on shop signs. In speech people say arrack for the strong stuff or just name the drink. 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 this 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.