LingoflyBasic words in Sinhala
312 words in Sinhala on the topic “basic words”: හොඳයි (hondayi) — fine, well, හොඳ (honda) — good, ඔව් (ov) — yes, නෑ — no. 312 words can be played from recordings.
312 words on the topic
- 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
- ඇතිætienoughOne word instead of 'that's enough for me, thanks'. People often double it: æti æti
- ඔක්කොමokkomaaltogetherThe spoken 'everything, all of it taken together'. The bookish sīyalla exists but is not said
- වැඩියෙන්væḍiyenmoreFrom væḍi, 'much'. About quantity, not size: loku is 'big'
- අඩුවෙන්aḍuvenlessThe pair to væḍiyen, from aḍu, 'little, not enough'
- බරයිbarayiheavyThe stem bara is both 'weight' and 'heavy'. With -yi it becomes a ready phrase: 'it is heavy'
- සැහැල්ලුයිsæhælluyilight (weight)se-hael-lu-yi: two æ sounds in a row and a doubled l — don't swallow the middle
- අලුත්alutnewStands before the noun: alut gedara, 'a new house'. The New Year is alut avurudda, the main festival of April
- පරණparaṇaoldOnly about things. An old person is a different word, and mixing them up is insulting
- කැඩිලාkæḍilābrokenFrom kæḍenavā, 'to break'. The same -lā state form as in æralā: a state, not an action
- කමක් නෑkamak nǣno problemLiterally 'there is no matter', that is, 'nothing terrible'. It answers both an apology and a thank-you
- ඔක්කොම හොඳයිokkoma hondayieverything is fineThe answer to 'how are you?' when everything really is in order. Okkoma here is 'everything together'
- මිනිසාminisāpersonThe plural is minissu, 'people', not a form built from this word. About a particular person in speech people rather say miniha, and 'someone, a certain one' is kenek
- එකොළහekoḷahaelevenEleven and twelve share the tail -oḷaha, an old word for ten. You can't see dahaya, 'ten', inside it: eka plus -oḷaha
- දොළහdoḷahatwelvedeka plus the same -oḷaha tail. Counting things, the number takes -k: doḷahak, 'twelve of them'. There is no separate word for 'dozen'
- දහතුනdahatunathirteenFrom thirteen on the row turns transparent: dahaya, 'ten', in front, the digit behind. The next numbers are built the same way
- දාහතරdāhatarafourteendaa-ha-ta-ra; the long first vowel is the only thing that keeps fourteen from sounding like four, hatara
- පහළොවpahaḷovafifteenThe odd one out: not dahapaha, but paha in front and the same -oḷaha tail behind, settled into -ḷova. It has to be learned separately
- දහසයdahasayasixteendahaya + haya, but inside the number haya loses its h and sounds like saya. Outside compound numbers that shape never appears
- දාහතdāhataseventeendaa-ha-ta; only that long first syllable separates it from seven, hata — in noise the two get mixed up
- දහඅටdahaaṭaeighteendahaya and aṭa are simply written together, with no fusion at all, and the seam is audible: 'daha-ata'
- දහනවයdahanavayanineteenThe only one in the row where the digit keeps its full tail -ya: not dahanava but dahanavaya
- විස්සvissatwentyIts own word, no relation to dahaya. After it the ten drops the tail: visieka, 'twenty-one'; visideka, 'twenty-two'
- තිහtihathirtyThe tens from thirty to fifty end in -ha and start from the digit: tuna gives tiha. Maṭa avurudu tihayi, 'I am thirty', is the same ten with a -yi tail
- හතළිහhataḷihafortyha-ta-li-ha; the ḷ is an l with the tongue curled back toward the roof of the mouth, duller than the plain l
- පනහpanahafiftyOf paha, 'five', only the opening pa- is left. After this the tens stop being transparent altogether
- හැටhæṭasixtyOf haya, 'six', only the opening hæ is left here. The word is short, and the final ṭa is the retroflex 't', as in aṭa
- හැත්තෑවhættǣvaseventySeventy, eighty and ninety end in -va: hættǣva, asūva, anūva. The long æ in the middle has to be held, or the word won't be recognised
- අසූවasūvaeightyYou can no longer spot aṭa, 'eight', inside: asūva is a word of its own with a long ū
- අනූවanūvaninetynavaya, 'nine', shrank to anū-, just as eight shrank to asū-. The last two tens are easiest to learn as a pair: asūva, anūva
- සීයsīyahundredCareful with sīyā, 'grandfather': the hundred has no long -ā at the end. Counting, people say sīyak, and 'two hundred' is desīya
- දාහdāhathousanddaa-ha; the long 'aa' in the first syllable keeps the thousand apart from daha-, the stem of the ten, dahaya (daha-aṭa, 'eighteen')
- මිලියනයmiliyanayamillionEnglish million with a Sinhala tail -ya; in counting the tail drops: miliyana dahayak. Big sums are more often counted in lakhs — lakshaya, a hundred thousand
- බින්දුවbinduvazeroLiterally 'a dot', and the digit 0 is one too. Phone numbers are usually dictated with the English word for zero; the bookish shunyaya lives in a maths textbook
- පළවෙනිpaḷavenifirstOrdinals are built from the number plus -veni. Only 'first' refuses eka and takes the old stem pala-. Both spellings occur; speech doesn't tell them apart
- දෙවෙනිdeveniseconddeka drops -ka and takes -veni. The bookish devena stands in headlines, the spoken deveni is everywhere else
- තුන්වෙනිtunvenithirdtuna takes the form tun- before -veni. After this the row is even: hataraveni, pahaveni, hayaveni
- අන්තිමantimalastStands before the word: antima bas eka, 'the last bus'. Antimaṭa, 'in the end', is the same word with a case tail
- කීයක්දkīyakdahow many?Kīyada asks price and time; kīyakda asks the count of things. About people the politer form is kī denāda, about the uncountable — koccarada
- ජෝඩුවjōḍuvapairA pair of things and a couple of people — one word. 'A couple' meaning 'a few' is already deka tunak, literally 'two-three'
- එකක්ekakpiece, unitThere is no separate word for 'a piece': you count by adding -k to the number — ekak, dekak, tunak. Ekak itself is 'one piece'. Kǣlla is a broken-off chunk
- සියයටsiyayaṭapercentLiterally 'per hundred', and it stands BEFORE the number: siyayaṭa dahayak, 'ten percent'. Poliya is interest on a loan — a different word
- හැමhæmaeveryhæma almost never stands alone: the noun after it takes the tail -ma — hæma davasama, hæma pārama. Without that -ma the phrase sounds cut off
- කවුදkavudawho?ka-vu-da, even, no stress; the voice rises only on the final -da
- ඇයිæyiwhy?ae-yi, run together into 'ay' in quick speech; the æ is an open 'a', the same as in nǣ
- මොකටදmokaṭadawhat for?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
- මොනmonawhich?Stands before the noun, and the question particle -da glues onto the NEXT word: 'which colour?'. A bare mona, with no -da anywhere after, asks nothing
- කාගේදkāgēdawhose?The same stem as kavuda, 'who', but in its oblique form kā, then -gē, 'my, your', and -da. Built exactly like magē and oyāgē
- කවුරුවත්kavuruvatnobodyThe tail -vat turns a question word into a negative one, but it doesn't negate by itself: nǣ must follow, just as English needs 'not'. Kavurut does the same job — in negations the two are interchangeable
- මොකක් හරිmokak harisomethingLiterally 'what — all right': hari, 'correct', after a question word makes it indefinite. Kavuru hari, 'someone', and kohē hari, 'somewhere', are built the same way
- දෙන්නමdennamabothAbout people: 'the two' plus the booster -ma. About things it would be dekama. Don't confuse it with 'I will give' — there the ending carries a dot
- මම දන්නේ නෑmama dannē nǣI don't know'To know' plus the negative nǣ as the last word. In fast speech the whole phrase shrinks to dannǣ — not carelessness, just the ordinary spoken form
- දකිනවාdakinavāto seeThe deed of the one who looks. The past dækka is heard in speech more often than the present. When a thing falls into view by itself, people say 'it shows itself to me'
- ඇහෙනවාæhenavāto heare-he-na-vaa; from ahannavā, 'I ask', the word differs only by the open 'e' at the start, and in noise they get mixed up
- නිදාගන්නවාnidāgannavāto sleepGannavā, 'to take', is not a separate word here but a tail: 'to take sleep'. The bedroom, nidana kāmaraya, comes from the same stem
- ගෙනියනවාgeniyanavāto carryAssembled from gena, 'having taken', and yanavā, 'to go': carry from here to there. Carrying this way is genenavā, with enavā inside. The direction is chosen at once — 'carry' without it can't be said
- තියනවාtiyanavāto set downti-ya-na-vaa, no 'e' in the middle; with it you get tiyenavā — 'there is'
- කඩනවාkaḍanavāto breakBreaking what snaps: a stick, a branch, a wall. It broke by itself is kæḍenavā, and kæḍilā tiyenavā, 'it's broken', comes from it too
- ගොඩනගනවාgoḍanaganavāto buildLiterally 'to raise a heap': goḍa is a pile, naganavā is to raise. About one's own house people in speech rather say hadanavā — the same verb that means 'to fix'
- ගොඩක්goḍaka lotLiterally 'a heap', and it fits both the countable and the uncountable: a lot of people, a lot of water. In goḍak lokuyi, 'too big', the same word means 'too'
- මදිmadinot enoughNot 'a little' but 'insufficient', and it stands as the last word instead of the predicate: salli madi, 'money is not enough'. Plain 'a little' is ṭikak, a different word
- මොළොක්moḷoksoftmo-lok; the ḷ is an l with the tongue curled back to the palate, duller than the plain l
- තදtadahardThe opposite of soft, and one word for 'hard', 'tight', 'strong' and 'thick': tada tē is strong tea; tada karanavā is 'to tighten'
- තෙත්tetwetStands before the word: 'wet clothes'. 'I got wet' is already a verb of its own. Dampness in a room is a noun built from the same root
- වේලුණුvēluṇudryA participle of 'to dry out', built like iduṇu, 'ripe'. About dry air and dry climate the forecast uses the bookish viyaḷi — that's the word the radio says
- තුනීtunīthinAbout the thickness of a thing: a thin book, thin clothes. About a person it isn't said — there is a separate word, 'skinny'. A thick thing is gana
- ගැඹුරුgæmburudeepAbout water, a pit and sleep alike: 'deep sleep'. There is no word for 'shallow' — people say 'it has no depth'
- රවුම්ravumroundThe circle itself is ravuma; before a noun the word loses its last vowel: 'a round table'. From it comes 'to go around in a circle' too
- කොහාටදkohāṭadawhere to?Koheda asks 'where'; this one asks 'where to' — the difference is the ending -ṭa, the same as in maṭa, 'to me'. The answer takes -ṭa too: 'to the shop'
- හැම තැනමhæma tænamaeverywhereHæma, 'every', demands the tail -ma after it, and here the tail sits on tæna, 'place': 'in every place'. 'Every day' and 'every time' are built the same way
- කොහෙවත්kohevatnowhereThe same tail -vat as in 'nobody', and the same proviso: nǣ must follow. It also means 'to nowhere': 'I'm not going anywhere'
- දිගdigalongBefore a word — diga; as a separate phrase — digayi: 'the queue is long'
- කොටkoṭashortAbout the length of a thing. About a person of small height it isn't said — there is a different word
- පටුpaṭunarrowAbout clothes and about a street alike: 'a narrow road'
- පළල්paḷalwideThe pair to 'narrow'. About loose-fitting clothes people rather say the English 'loose'
- උසusatallAbout a person, a house and a mountain alike. As a separate phrase — usayi
- මිටිmiṭishort (height)About a person's height. About a low table it also works, but not about 'a low price' — that's a different word
- අවදානමavadānamariska-va-da-na-ma; a plain d, unlike the dh in 'attention'
- බැක්අප් ප්ලෑන් එකbækap plǣn ekathe backup planA young, city word. Everyday speech says the same thought differently — 'another way' — and it sounds more natural
- කරදරයkaradarayasetbackA workhorse word: trouble, hassle, bother. It usually goes with a verb: 'trouble happened', 'to pester someone'
- හේතුවhētuvacauseThe noun for writing and explaining: 'what is the reason?'. In ordinary speech the reason isn't named with a noun — the tag nisā hangs on it instead
- ප්රතිඵලයpratiphalayaresultpra-ti-pha-la-ya; the ph is a breathy p, not an f
- ඒක නිසාēka nisāthat's whyIt opens the second sentence, like 'therefore'. Inside one phrase nisā works differently — as a tag right after the cause: 'because of the rain'
- මොකදmokadaasThe only link that stands before the cause, as English 'because' does. The native order is the reverse — the cause first, then nisā. Start with nisā; keep mokada for spoken afterthoughts
- ඒක හින්දාēka hindābecause of thathindā is the colloquial twin of the bookish nisā and stands in the same place: after the cause. 'Because of that' sounds warmer and homier
- රඳා පවතිනවාrandā pavatinavāto depend onran-daa pa-va-ti-na-va; the nd is one sound
- හේතුව කියනවාhētuva kiyanavāto explain the reasonLiterally 'to say the reason': no separate 'explain' is needed. To whom takes the -ṭa form: 'tell me the reason'
- අරමුණaramuṇaobjectiveA purpose as an intent — of a trip, a law, a talk. A goal striven for over years is another word, and a football goal yet another
- තේරුමtērumameaningBoth a word's meaning and the point of an act: 'the meaning of this word', 'there's no meaning in it'. Kin to tērenavā, 'to understand'
- නිගමනයnigamanayaconclusionA bookish word, of reports and essays. In speech the conclusion is drawn with a verb: 'from this it follows that...'
- හැකියාවhækiyāvaopportunityEnglish 'possibility' fuses two words. Hækiyāva is 'being able': 'I have the ability to do it'. A convenient opening is avasthāva, and the two mustn't be swapped
- වෙන්න පුළුවන්venna puḷuvanpossiblyven-na pu-lu-van; the ḷ is the palate-curled l
- වෙන්න බැහැvenna bæhænot possibleAlso at the end of the phrase. Keep the two negations apart: bhæ is 'cannot be, by circumstances', while ēpā is 'don't'. 'Impossible' is always bhæ
- අවශ්යතාවයavaśyatāvayanecessityA written noun. In speech necessity is always verbal — 'I need' or 'one will have to'; the noun turns up in applications and reports
- අනිවාර්යයෙන්මanivāryayenmawithout failIt stands before the verb and braces it: 'come without fail'. The young trim it to anivāva, and it's the commonest word of assent in messages
- මට කරන්නම වෙනවාmaṭa karannama venavāI will have toThe build: the verb in the -nna form, the booster -ma, then venavā, 'it becomes'. The person stands in the -ṭa form. Swap in any verb: 'one will have to go'
- අවසරයිavasarayiallowedThe -yi shape turns the noun avasara, permission, into a predicate. Signs write 'permission is'; in talk, permission more often goes through puluvan, 'it's possible'
- තහනම්tahanamforbiddenThe word of every prohibition sign: 'smoking forbidden'. It comes last, and what's forbidden goes first in the -nna form or as a noun
- තේරීමtērīmachoiceThe act of choosing itself: 'that's your choice'. What you choose from is another word, 'alternatives', and 'I have no choice' is said as 'there's nothing else to do'
- විකල්පයvikalpayaoptionOne of several paths: 'there are two options'. An option of a translation or an answer isn't called this — that's 'another way'
- සැකයsækayadoubtOne word for doubt and for suspicion — hence 'the suspect'. It goes with the -ṭa form: 'I have a doubt'
- සැක කරනවාsæka karanavāto doubtCareful: most often it means 'to suspect someone', not 'to doubt yourself'. 'I doubt he'll come' is safer as 'I don't think he'll come'
- විශ්වාසයිviśvāsayisureThe phrase is impersonal: not 'I am sure' but 'to me it is sure', with the person in the -ṭa form, as with 'need' and 'possible'
- වෙන එකක් නෑvena ekak nǣI doubt itLiterally 'there is no its happening'. It stands at the end, after the unlikely thing; the verb inside changes with the sense: come, do
- වෙන්න ඇතිvenna ætiprobablyIt goes at the very end and softens everything said. A single æti after the noun does the same: 'he is home, probably'
- හරියටමhariyaṭamadefinitelyAbout exact measure and time: 'at ten exactly'. For 'exactly, I'm sure' take another word — 'without fail' or 'I am sure'
- මට හිතෙනවාmaṭa hitenavāit seems to meImpersonal: the thought arrives by itself, so the person is in the -ṭa form. The thought goes first and closes with kiyalā: 'it seems to me that he is ill'
- ඇත්තටමættaṭamaactuallyFrom ætta, 'truth', with the -ṭa form and the booster -ma. It opens the phrase and corrects what was said before
- අනුමාන කරනවාanumāna karanavāto supposeA bookish word, of reports and news. In speech a supposition is made with 'to think' plus kiyalā: 'I think it will probably happen so'
- මට හරියට විශ්වාස නෑmaṭa hariyaṭa viśvāsa nǣI am not sureThe negation is built not with a prefix but with nǣ at the end. hariyaṭa, 'properly', softens the refusal: without it you get a blunt 'I don't believe it'
- අත්දැකීමatdækīmaexperienceLiterally 'what the hand has seen' — experience of the lived, not seniority. Work experience is named differently, through work: 'work experience'
- අවස්ථාවavasthāvacaseA case in life, a convenient moment, an occasion: 'the occasion came'. A mishap with trouble in it isn't called this — that's siddhiya
- උදාහරණයudāharaṇayaexampleu-daa-ha-ra-na-ya; a long aa in the second syllable and the curled-tongue n
- උදාහරණයකටudāharaṇayakaṭafor exampleThe -ṭa form of 'example', working as an adverb. It stands before what's instanced and is set off by voice, as in English
- වෙනසvenasadifferenceBetween what and what — both things go with the tag atara: 'the difference between these two'. 'What's the difference?' meaning 'I don't care' is said differently
- සැසඳීමsæsandīmacomparisonsæ-san-dii-ma; the nd is one sound and the ii is long
- වෙනස් වෙනවාvenas venavāto differOne phrase for two senses: 'to differ from' and 'to change'. The tag tells them: 'different than that' differs, while 'changed with the times' has changed
- සමානයිsamānayisimilarA predicate: 'these two are similar'. About resemblance between things it goes so, while 'like his father' takes the tag vagē
- සමානකමsamānakamaresemblanceThe -kama tail makes a noun of a quality: 'goodness', 'bigness'. The trick works with almost any adjective
- වෙනස්කමvenaskamaa changeThe same -kama tail, but from venas, other. Careful: venasa is 'difference' while venaskama is 'change' — the two are one letter apart
- පළමුවෙන්මpaḷamuvenmafirst of allpa-la-mu-ven-ma; the ḷ is the palate-curled l
- දෙවනුවdevanuvasecondlyAlso at the start of the phrase, and only paired with 'first of all' — it isn't said alone. In a spoken list people fall back on counting: one, two
- මුලින්මmulinmaabove allIt stands first and speaks of importance, not of the order of steps. Don't confuse it with 'to begin with': one booster -ma apart, and the sense diverges
- ඒ විතරක් නෙවෙයිē vitarak neveyibesidesLiterally 'not only that'. It opens a new sentence and adds an argument. Plain 'except' in a list is another word, hæra
- ඒ කියද්දීē kiyaddīby the wayLiterally 'when this is being said': the -ddī form gives 'while'. There's no single word, and many just slip in the English by the way
- කොහොම හරිkohoma harion the wholeLiterally 'some way or other'. It opens the phrase and steers the talk to the point. Don't confuse it with 'no matter what' — that one objects, this one sums up
- කෙටියෙන් කිව්වොත්keṭiyen kivvotin shortLiterally 'if said briefly': the -oth tail on the verb is the 'if'. The link stands first, and no condition follows it — a frozen phrase
- වෙන විදියකට කිව්වොත්vena vidiyakaṭa kivvotin other wordsThe same -oth tail, 'if': literally 'if said in another way'. It stands before the retelling
- ප්රධාන දේpradhāna dēthe main thingA noun: 'the main thing is to come on time'. The word dē, 'thing, affair', stands in for the English substantivized adjective
- අන්තිමටantimaṭaafter allThe -ṭa form of 'last'. It opens the phrase and wraps up a long story. Don't confuse it with 'finally' — that one is about the moment, this about the outcome
- උනත්unatalthoughNot a word but a tail on the verb of the clause, and the clause comes first: 'although it rained, we went'. After a noun it's vunaṭ: 'although big'
- ඒ වුණාටē vuṇāṭabut thenThere's no exact word for it. 'That being so' opens the second sentence and brings the consoling argument: 'it's expensive. But then the quality is good'
- අනිත් විදියටanit vidiyaṭaon the contraryLiterally 'in the other way'. It opens a correction: 'no, the other way around'. About an upside-down state of affairs there's another phrase
- නොතකාnotakāin spite ofIt stands after what is disregarded — 'not heeding the rain'. The phrase is bookish; aloud the same thought hangs the tail unat on the verb
- හැබැයිhæbæyihoweverIt opens the second sentence, like 'however', and it's the commonest spoken link of objection. The bookish twin lives in the newspaper and the essay
- එක පැත්තකින්eka pættakinon the one handLiterally 'from one side': the -en form gives 'from where'. It opens the first of two considerations and obliges you to say the second
- අනිත් පැත්තෙන්anit pættenon the other handThe pair to 'on the one hand', also opening the sentence. Note the definiteness: there 'from some one side', here 'from that other side' — hence the bare -en
- එහෙම වුණත්ehema vuṇatneverthelessLiterally 'although so': the same unat tail, but on the pronoun 'so', not on a verb. It opens the phrase and points back at the previous one
- ඒ වෙනුවටē venuvaṭainsteadvenuvaṭa means 'instead', and what's replaced stands before it: 'coffee instead of tea'. With 'that' it becomes a link opening the phrase
- කොහොම වුණත්kohoma vuṇatanywayLiterally 'however it may be'. It opens the phrase and says the decision won't change. 'I don't care' is a different thing altogether
- අහම්බෙන්ahambenby chanceAbout meetings and finds: 'we met by chance'. About an unintentional mistake there's another word — 'having erred'
- උවමනාවෙන්මuvamanāvenmaon purposeIt stands before the verb and almost always in reproach: 'he did it on purpose'. 'Specially for you' is said differently
- අසාර්ථකත්වයasārthakatvayafailureSārthakatvaya, 'success', negated with the a- prefix. In speech it's said simpler: 'the job didn't go right'
- පියවරෙන් පියවරpiyavaren piyavarastep by stepLiterally 'from step to step', piyavara is a step. Ṭiken ṭika, 'little by little', is about smoothness, not order
- කරන පිළිවෙළkarana piḷiveḷaorder of stepska-ra-na pi-li-ve-la; both ḷ sounds are the curled-tongue l
- විස්තරාත්මකවvistarātmakavain detailFrom 'details'. In speech people more often unfold it: 'tell everything there is'
- ඔයාගේම වචන වලින්oyāgēma vacana valinin my own wordsThe -ma tail on 'your' means 'your very own'. valin is 'by means of', the plural tail
- සරලව කිව්වොත්saralava kivvotsimply putThe same scheme as keṭiyen kivvot, 'to put it briefly': 'if said simply'
- උදාහරණයක් දෙන්නudāharaṇayak dennagive an exampleu-daa-ha-ra-na-yak den-na; the ṇ is the curled-tongue n
- කරන්නේ කොහොමද කියලා පෙන්නන්නkarannē kohomada kiyalā pennannashow me how it's doneLiterally 'show, having said how it's done': kiyalā stitches the question to the main verb
- තේරුණාද?tēruṇāda?is that clear?tæ-ru-naa-da; the ṇ is the curled-tongue n
- දැන් තේරුණාdæn tēruṇānow I get itThe answer to tēruṇāda?, 'is that clear?'. People also say 'ah, so that's how'
- මම අවුල් වුණාmama avul vuṇāI got confusedavula is a tangle, a snarled knot. 'There's a tangle here' is said with it
- මතක් වෙනවාmatak venavāto recallImpersonal: the memory comes by itself — 'to me it came to mind'. Deliberate recall is 'to make oneself remember'
- අමතක වෙනවාamataka venavāto fail to rememberAlso impersonal: 'it forgot itself to me'. Sinhala assigns no culprit here
- අදහසadahasaintentionOne word for thought and intent: 'I have an intention to go'. Magē adahasa nam, 'in my view', is built on it too
- හිත වෙනස් කරගන්නවාhita venas karagannavāto change your mindLiterally 'to swap the thought for oneself'. hita is heart and mind at once, there are no separate words
- හැම දේම ප්ලෑන් එකටhæma dēma plǣn ekaṭaeverything is going as plannedEnglish plan with the Sinhala -ṭa 'unto'. 'The backup plan eka' is built the same way
- පුළුවන් වුණොත්puḷuvan vuṇotif it works outpu-lu-van vu-not; the ḷ is the curled-tongue l
- තාම තීරණය කරලා නෑtāma tīraṇaya karalā nǣI haven't decided yettaa-ma tii-ra-na-ya ka-ra-laa næ; the ṇ is the curled-tongue n
- හැම දේම වෙනස් වුණාhæma dēma venas vuṇāeverything has changedA pair of verbs: venas venavā is 'to change by itself', venas karanavā 'to change something'
- හොඳකටhondakaṭafor the betterhon-da-ka-ta; the ṭa is a retroflex t
- නරකටnarakaṭafor the worseThe pair to hondakaṭa, 'for the better', from naraka, 'bad'. The same -ṭa tail 'unto'
- අයිතියිayitiyito belongMarked as a verb on the English side; in Sinhala it's a predicate-quality with the -yi ending: 'this to me is owned'. The same root as 'to have the right'
- අනුන්ගේanungēsomeone else'sLiterally 'of other people', with the same -gē ending as in 'mine'. About a stranger you wouldn't say this — that's 'an unknown person'
- පොදුpoducommonIt stands before the noun and never changes: a common kitchen, a common expense. Mahajana, 'public', is also 'common', but only about what's for all townsfolk
- තල්ලු කරනවාtallu karanavāto pushThe pair to 'to pull'; doors in Colombo carry push and pull in English, but people say the Sinhala words
- අදිනවාadinavāto pullPull a rope, a drawer, time. The same verb pulls a hand and drags out time
- ගහනවාgahanavāto hitThe broadest verb in the language: it strikes a ball, plays the guitar, stamps a seal, and even 'the rain strikes' — it pours
- මීටරයmīṭarayameter (unit)Careful: the same word names the meter on the wall, the same as on the electricity bills. Next to a number the measure drops its tail: 'three meters'
- සෙන්ටිමීටරයsenṭimīṭarayacentimeterEnglish centimetre whole. In speech it's trimmed to 'centi': 'ten centi'
- කිලෝමීටරයkilōmīṭarayakilometerThe first half is kilō, but the kilogram has nothing to do with it. On the road post stands the abbreviation
- ලීටරයlīṭarayaliterAt the pump and at the shop they simply say 'liter': 'two liters'. The same word measures a bottle of water and gasoline
- ග්රෑම් එකgrǣm ekagramgræm e-ka; the æ is a long broad vowel, it stretches
- බරbaraweightOne word for the weight and for 'heavy': 'a weighty box' and 'the weight of the box' share it. Mahat venavā, 'to gain weight', doesn't use this word at all
- දිගdigalengthThe same word as diga, 'long': quality and measure aren't split here. The sentence sorts them: 'a long road' versus 'the length of the road'
- පළලpaḷalawidthpa-la-la; the ḷ is the curled-tongue l, not the plain one
- උසusaheightAgain one word for quality and measure: usa is 'tall' and a person's height too. Of a building, a wall, a tree — the same
- ගැඹුරgæmburadepthgæm-bu-ra; a broad vowel and the mb in one motion
- විතරvitaraapproximatelyIt stands AFTER the number, not before it: 'rupees a thousand approximately'. The English order here is a mistake
- පාහේpāhēalmostIt also stands after the word it qualifies: 'all almost' — almost everyone. About an unfinished job they say it differently — 'nearly finished'
- හරියටමhariyaṭamaexactlyThe same word as hariyaṭama, 'exactly': beside a number it means 'precisely, no more no less'. The direct opposite of vitara, 'approximately'
- සාමාන්යයෙන්sāmānyayenon averageThe same word as sāmānyayen, 'usually': Sinhala doesn't split habit from average. A number nearby sorts it out — 'on average two liters'
- දෙගුණයක්deguṇayaktwice as muchLiterally 'a double'. Thrice as much is built the same way; half as much goes through bāgaya, 'half'
- ඉලක්කමilakkamafigureThe sign a number is written with: 'three figures'. The quantity itself is one word, the number another — this is about the written sign
- හතරෙන් එකhataren ekaquarterLiterally 'one of four', on the model of bāgaya, 'half'. At the shop it's shorter, kālak; the financial quarter is another word, kārtuva
- කිරනවාkiranavāto weighThe device for it is tarādiya, 'scales'. About oneself they put it differently: 'checked how much my weight is'
- වැඩිපුරvæḍipuraleftoverFrom væḍi, 'more'. It means both 'spare' and 'extra': 'a spare key', 'leftover money'
- හිස්hisemptyBefore a noun as is — 'an empty bottle'; in a predicate with -yi. The colloquial 'finished' means run out, not empty
- මග හරිනවාmaga harinavāto avoidLiterally 'to bypass by road'. About food and about a person alike: 'to avoid him'
- කරුණkaruṇafactka-ru-na; the ṇ is the palate-curled n
- ප්රශ්නයpraśnayaquestionpra-shna-ya; the sh is soft before the n
- වැදගත්vædagatimportantBefore a noun as is — 'an important thing'; in a predicate with -yi. About a person the same word means 'respected'
- ධනාත්මකdhanātmakapositivedha-naat-ma-ka; the dh is a breathy d
- ඍණාත්මකṛṇātmakanegativeri-naat-ma-ka; the ru-sign is a rare letter, read 'ru'
- එක්ක බලනකොටekka balanakoṭacompared toLiterally 'when looked at together with'. It stands after what's compared. Vaḍā, 'than', compares shorter but demands the -ṭa tail
- ඒ වගේමē vagēmathe same asVagē, 'like', with the booster -ma: 'exactly such'. About a match down to the last detail: 'exactly the same'
- වාසියvāsiyaan advantageBoth a gain and an advantage: 'we have an advantage'. Its pair is avāsiya, 'a disadvantage'
- අවාසියavāsiyaa drawbackThe a- prefix flips the advantage word. It's about the weak side of a matter; a flaw in a thing is 'a defect'
- ප්රතිවිපාකprativipākaconsequencesAlways plural, as in English, and almost always about the bad. Pratiphalaya, 'result', is more neutral
- සැලකිල්ලට ගන්නවාsælakillaṭa gannavāto keep in mindLiterally 'to take into attention'. In speech it's shorter — 'that too must be thought'
- බොහෝ දුරටbohō duraṭamost likelyLiterally 'in great measure'. Venna æti, 'probably', is weaker: this is 'almost sure'
- නිසැකවමnisækavamafor sureLiterally 'without doubt', from sækaya, 'doubt'. Anivāryayen, 'without fail', is about obligation; this is about confidence
- සම්භාවිතාවsambhāvitāvaprobabilitysam-bhaa-vi-taa-va; the bh is a breathy b
- අනුමානයanumānayaan assumptionWhat was guessed, not checked. 'He said it as a guess' is said with it
- වගේ පේනවාvagē pēnavāit looks likeLiterally 'is seen as'. It stands at the end of the sentence, not at the start as English 'it looks like'. Vagē is the same 'like, as' here
- ඇතිætimust bee-ti; the opening vowel is the broad one, as in 'truth'
- වෙන්න බෑvenna bǣit can't beBǣ, 'can't', with the -nna infinitive. As a reaction to news it's said stretched out: 'it simply can't be!'
- අඩුම තරමේaḍuma taramēat leastLiterally 'in the least measure', from aḍu, 'less', with the superlative -ma. It opens the thought
- මොකක් වුණත්mokak vuṇatin any caseLiterally 'whatever happens'. Kohoma vuṇat, 'anyway', stands nearby but speaks of indifference; this of a decision that won't change
- ඕන වුණොත් කියලාōna vuṇot kiyalājust in caseLiterally 'in case it's needed', with the conditional -oth tail. In Colombo they also say it in English — 'on the safe side'
- නම්namif onlyOne particle for 'if' and 'if would'; the verb before it carries the difference: 'if he goes' versus 'if he went'. It stands after the verb, not before
- කොන්දේසියක් යටතේkondēsiyak yaṭatēas long asKondēsiya, 'condition', with yaṭatē, 'under'. Literally 'under a condition' — that's how it's said: 'under one condition'
- වුණත්vuṇateven ifThe -th tail on the verb gives concession: 'I'll go, even if rain'. As a separate word it stands after a noun
- එහෙම නම්ehema namin that caseEhema, 'so', plus the if-particle nam. It opens the reply to what the other person said
- නැත්නම්nætnamotherwiseNǣ, 'no', plus the if-particle nam: 'if not'. It means both 'otherwise' and 'or': 'tea, otherwise coffee'
- එතකොටetakoṭaat that momentBoth 'then, at that moment' and 'then, in that case'. Ē kālē, 'at that time', looks only back; this one looks forward too
- කරන්න කියලාkaranna kiyalāso thatThe pattern: any -nna verb plus the saying tag makes a purpose — 'having got up early so as to catch the bus'. On its own the phrase means 'in order to do'
- හරියට වගේhariyaṭa vagēas ifA frame of two parts: the 'exactly' word goes before what's compared, vagē, 'like', after. 'Exactly like a child' — as if a child
- වෙනුවටvenuvaṭainstead ofIt stands after a noun or after the 'the doing' form: 'instead of the going'. With a noun it's simpler: 'coffee instead of tea'
- වැඩිපුරමvæḍipuramamainlyFrom 'excess, mostly' with the booster -ma: 'for the most part'. The bookish phrase is from a report
- බොහෝ විටbohō viṭaas a ruleLiterally 'in most cases'. Sāmānyayen, 'usually', leans to habit, this to observation
- ඔක්කොම පාහේokkoma pāhēalmost everyoneOkkoma, 'all', plus pāhē, 'almost', which always follows. About things the same: 'almost all sold'
- ව්යතිරේකයvyatirēkayaan exceptionA bookish word of rules and notices. In speech it's described: 'a special case'
- එහෙම එහෙමehema ehemaand so onEhema, 'so, like that', twice — that's how a list is cut off in speech. In writing they put the bookish 'and the like'
- වගේ නෙවෙයිvagē neveyiunlikeLiterally 'not like'. It stands after what's compared. Vagē, 'like', and neveyi, 'isn't', together
- හැරhæraexceptIt stands AFTER the name, not before: 'I excepted' — except me. Ē vitarak neveyi, 'not only that', is quite different: it adds, this subtracts
- හරියටම එහෙම නෙවෙයිhariyaṭama ehema neveyinot quiteLiterally 'exactly so — no'. A polite disagreement: it doesn't argue head-on, yet doesn't agree either
- වැඩි අඩු වශයෙන්væḍi aḍu vaśayenmore or lessLiterally 'in the more-less form', from væḍi, 'more', and aḍu, 'less'. In speech the same thought is shorter — 'so-so'
- අමාරුවෙන්amāruvenbarelyFrom amāru, 'hard', with the -en tail, the very one meaning 'by what'. The same cut makes lēsiyen, 'easily'
- උත්සාහ කරලා බලන්න වටිනවාutsāha karalā balanna vaṭinavāit's worth a tryVaṭinavā, 'to cost', here isn't about price but about 'worth'. The '-lā and see' tail means 'do and look', that is, try
- කරන්න තිබුණාkaranna tibuṇāwas neededThe -nna infinitive plus 'was there': it was needed, and it wasn't done. The reproach is always about the past — 'should have said earlier'
- හොඳම දේhondama dēthe best thingHonda, 'good', with the superlative -ma plus dē, 'thing': literally 'the best thing to do'
- නරකම දේnarakama dēthe worst thingThe mirror of hondama dē, 'the best thing', with naraka, 'bad'. The same -ma tail as in lokuma, 'biggest'
- පුළුවන් තරම් ඉක්මනටpuḷuvan taram ikmanaṭaas soon as possiblePuḷuvan, 'possible', and ikmanaṭa, 'quickly', with taram, 'as far as'. By the same pattern: 'as easy as possible'
- නිකරුණේnikaruṇēin vainLiterally 'without cause' — from the same word as 'fact'. About a wasted spend they also say 'just so'
- කරගන්නවාkaragannavāto copeKaranavā, 'to do', with the -gannavā tail meaning 'for oneself, by one's own forces'. 'I coped with it myself'
- උත්සාහයutsāhayaan attemptFrom utsāha karanavā, 'to try hard'. 'A second attempt'; at an exam they say 'the second try'
- කියන්නේkiyannēthat isLiterally 'it is said'. That's how one corrects oneself mid-sentence. Vena vidiyakaṭa kivvot, 'to put it another way', is longer and bookish
- පස්සේ තේරුණාpassē tēruṇāit turned outLiterally 'later it got understood', from passē, 'later', and tērenavā, 'to understand'. Sinhala names the one who understood, while English keeps it impersonal
- ප්රතිඵලයක් විදිහටpratiphalayak vidihaṭaas a resultpra-ti-pha-la-yak; the ph is a breathy p
- හේතු වෙනවාhētu venavāleads toLiterally 'becomes the cause', from hētuva, 'cause'. What it leads to takes the -ṭa tail
- උදව්වෙන්udavventhanks toFrom udav, 'help', with the -en tail: 'by your help'. The neutral 'because of', nisā, serves the bad as well
- පළවෙනි වතාවෙන්මpaḷaveni vatāvenmaon the first tryPaḷaveni, 'first', and vatāva, 'try', with the -en tail and the booster -ma. 'On the second try' is built the same way
- දෙසීයdesīyatwo hundredSīya, 'hundred', with the number in front. Counting things adds -k: desīyak; naming a sum adds -yi: desīyayi. The bookish desiya stays on banknotes and notices
- තුන්සීයtunsīyathree hundredtuna takes the form tun- before the hundred, the same one as in tunveni, 'third'. The bookish form is tunsīya
- හාරසීයhārasīyafour hundredhatara, 'four', turns into hāra- before the hundred — the only number in the row that changes this much. Neither 'hatara-sīya' nor 'hata-sīya' will be understood
- පන්සීයpansīyafive hundredpaha, 'five', squeezes to pan-, exactly as in pandāha, 'five thousand'. The five-hundred-rupee note is simply called the pansīyē nottuva
- හයසීයhayasīyasix hundredhaya doesn't change at all: hayasīya. In bookish spelling the six looks different — saya — and the hundred there is sayasīya
- හත්සීයhatsīyaseven hundredhata, 'seven', drops its last vowel: hatsīya. Its neighbour hārasīya, 'four hundred', sounds close, and sellers pronounce both carefully
- අටසීයaṭasīyaeight hundredaṭa stays as it is: aṭasīya. The retroflex ṭ is said with the tongue at the roof of the mouth — that's exactly what keeps it apart from atasīya
- නවසීයnavasīyanine hundrednavaya, 'nine', drops the tail -ya: navasīya. After this the hundreds end and dāha, the thousand, begins
- හතරවෙනිhataravenifourthFrom the fourth on the row becomes even: the whole number plus -veni, with no contractions. The bookish hataravana stands on plates and in headlines
- පහවෙනිpahavenififthThe spoken form takes the full paha, the bookish one the old stem pas-: pasvana. On signs and in timetables you'll meet exactly that one
- හයවෙනිhayavenisixthhaya plus -veni, with no change in the stem. The bookish hayavana is the same word in different clothes
- හත්වෙනිhatveniseventhhata loses its vowel the same way as before the hundred: hatveni. From hataraveni, 'fourth', it differs by just two syllables, and people mix them up constantly
- අටවෙනිaṭavenieighthaṭa plus -veni. A school class is named exactly so: aṭaveni paṁtiya, 'grade eight'
- නවවෙනිnavavenininthnavaya drops its -ya, leaving two va sounds in a row: navaveni is read 'nava-veni', both syllables separate
- දහවෙනිdahavenitenthdahaya drops its -ya, just as navaya does. For the day of the month add -dā: dahavenidā, 'on the tenth'
- සියවෙනිsiyavenihundredthIn the ordinal the hundred takes the bookish stem siya-, not the spoken sī: siyaveni, not 'see-veni'. Beside it lives the similar siyavasa, 'a century' — the same siya-, a different word
- නැත්නම්nætnamorLiterally 'if not'. Sinhala builds 'or' out of a condition instead of a conjunction of its own
- ත්ttoo, as wellNot a word but a tail: it sticks to whoever is 'also' — mamat, 'me too'. One letter does the work of a whole word
- විතරක්vitarakonlyFrom vithara, 'this much'. It stands after the thing it limits, not before it
- දැනටමත්dænaṭamatalreadyFrom dæn, 'now', plus the same -t tail as in 'too, as well'. Literally 'already and now'
- තාමtāmastill, yettāma is about something continuing; thavak ekak is 'one more'. English splits 'still' and 'yet' — this word does both jobs
- වැඩියිvæḍiyitoo, overlyFrom vædi, 'more'. It follows the quality: gaṇan væḍiyi, 'too expensive'
- එකටekaṭatogetherFrom eka, 'one', with the 'to whom' tail -ṭa: literally 'to one'. Togetherness as becoming one
- බැහැbæhænot allowedOne of Sinhala's four 'no's. Bæhæ is 'not allowed, can't'; nǣ is 'no, there isn't'. You choose by what you're refusing
- ඕනේōnēneed toThe same word as 'I want': Sinhala doesn't split need and want. It comes after the verb: yanna ōnē, 'need to go'
- ජීවිතේjīvitēlifeThe spoken shape of the bookish jīvitaya. This is the form you actually hear on the street
- ඕන කරනවාōna karanavāto wantFrom the same ōnē as 'need to'. To want to do something, put the -nna infinitive in front of it
- පුළුවන්puḷuvancan, to be ableFormally not a verb but a quality. The doer stands in the 'to whom' form: maṭa puḷuvan, 'it is doable for me'
- වචනයvacanayawordA Sanskrit root, like half of the bookish vocabulary. The spoken shape is vachana
- දේdēmatterShort and heavily loaded: 'a matter', 'a thing', 'the stuff'. Mokakda dē? — 'what's the matter?'
- ක්රමයkramayamethodThe bookish word. In speech you'll hear vidiya, 'manner, way', more often: anik vidiyaṭa, 'the other way'
- ලේසියෙන්lēsiyeneasilyFrom lēsi, 'easy', with the instrumental -in. That is how adverbs are built from qualities
- අමාරුවෙන්amāruvenwith difficultyFrom amāru, 'difficult', with the same tail. The pair to 'easily'
- කියලාkiyalāso as toSpoken Sinhala has no separate 'in order to'. With one doer the bare -nna form carries the purpose; with two people the clause is closed by kiyala, 'having said', which does the work of 'so that'
- නම්namifIt stands not before the condition but after it, at the very end of the clause
- ගමන්gamanwhileStands after the -na verb form: væḍa karana gaman, 'while I work'. The same word means 'a journey', and only its place in the sentence tells the two apart
- එහෙනම්ehenamwell thenEhema nam is 'if so'. Speech squeezes it to ehenam, and it picks up the sense of 'well then, since it turned out this way'
- නම් ඇතිnam ætijust so long asLiterally 'if — and that's enough': æti means 'enough'. It closes the sentence instead of opening it: 'oyā āvā nam æti' — as long as you came
- ඒ නිසාē nisāsoNisā is 'because'. ē points back at what was just said, and together they mean 'and so, that's why'. It opens the second half of the sentence
- අතරatarabetweenStands after both nouns, not between them: kaḍē saha gedara atara. Ē atarē, 'meanwhile', is the same word about time
- අසලasalanext toThe spoken ḷanga is 'close', and asalvæsiyā is 'neighbour'. Asala is the same 'next to' in written form — signs and addresses use it. It follows the noun
- වෙනුවටvenuvaṭain place ofThe same word builds 'instead of doing' and ē venuvaṭa, 'instead of that'. It follows the noun: tē venuvaṭa kōpi — coffee instead of tea
- විරුද්ධවviruddhavaagainstViruddhayi is 'to be against'. With a noun people use -ṭa viruddhava, and the -ṭa clings to the first word: huḷangaṭa viruddhava — against the wind
- නැතුවnætuvawithoutSīni nætuva is 'without sugar'. Literally 'not having': Sinhala builds 'without' by negating the verb 'to have'. It stands after the noun
- සඳහාsandahāforA written word: announcements and packaging use it. In speech 'for' is not said as a separate word at all — the ending -ṭa is enough: maṭa, 'for me'
- ගැනgænaaboutStands after the noun: ē gæna, 'about that'; oyā gæna, 'about you'. It covers 'about' and 'concerning' alike, in letters and in speech
- පස්සේpassēafterThe same word means 'later': the language never built a separate preposition. The difference is what stands before it: -ṭa passē, 'after something'
- අතරේදීatarēdīduringAtaratura, 'in the meantime', is about an action. With a noun people take atarēdī: pantiya atarēdī, 'during the lesson'. The tail -dī means 'at the moment of'
- නිසාnisābecause ofThe same word means 'because': Sinhala keeps one word for cause, whether conjunction or preposition. It stands after the cause: væssa nisā — because of the rain
- වටේvaṭēaroundVaṭēṭa yanavā is 'to go around'. Vaṭē follows the noun: gedara vaṭē — around the house. The same word says 'on all sides'
- අස්සෙන්assenacrossThe bookish harahā is 'straight through'. In speech one passes through something assen, from assa, 'the inside, the gap'. About time it says nothing: 'in an hour' is a single ending, pæyakin
- ඇතුළෙන්ætuḷenfrom the insideThe pair to ætuḷē, 'inside': the ending -en turns 'where' into 'from where'. A door locked from the inside is described exactly so
- අහල පහළahala pahaḷanearbyA pair of words that don't live alone: 'the nearer-lower', that is, the surrounding area. This is how people ask whether there's a pharmacy or an ATM around
- හැකියිhækiyito know how toThe language never built a verb for skill: the spoken puḷuvan, 'can', also means 'I know how'. Hækivi is the same but bookish — job ads are written with it
- තියෙනවාtiyenavāthere is, there areAbout things and places: kaḍē tiyenavā, 'there is a shop'. The living take a different verb, innavā — people and animals are counted apart from things. Both share the same negative, nǣ
- උත්තරයuttarayaanswerUttara denavā is 'to answer', literally 'to give an answer'. Bare uttaraya is the answer as a thing: in a notebook, in an exam, in a letter
- නරකයිnarakayibadThe pair to hondayi, 'good', with the same tail -yi. Without the tail naraka is the plain quality 'bad'
- සහsahaandIn speech people more often join words with the tail -yi on both: mamayi oyāyi, 'me and you'. Separate saha is more bookish and lives on paper
- ඒත්ētbutThe spoken form; in writing the same job is done by namut. It opens the second part of the sentence rather than standing between the words
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
හොඳයි (hondayi) — fine, well. The 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.
හොඳ (honda) — good. The bare stem of hondayi: before a noun it stands without the tail — honda tē, 'good tea'. As a statement it takes the tail back.
ඔව් (ov) — yes. Very often the answer isn't 'yes' but a repeat of the verb: 'Are you going?' — 'Going'. The word is that economical.
නෑ (nǣ) — no. Nǣ 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.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “fine, well” in Sinhala?
The 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
- How do you say “half” in Sinhala?
At the shop it sounds as bāgayak, 'a half of it': kilō bāgayak, 'half a kilo'
- How do you say “heavy” in Sinhala?
The stem bara is both 'weight' and 'heavy'. With -yi it becomes a ready phrase: 'it is heavy'
- How do you say “person” in Sinhala?
The plural is minissu, 'people', not a form built from this word. About a particular person in speech people rather say miniha, and 'someone, a certain one' is kenek
- How do you say “seventeen” in Sinhala?
Like fourteen, it starts with a long dā-: dāhata, not dahahata
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “fine, well” in Sinhala?
«හොඳයි» (hondayi), read “hondayi”. The 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. It is one of 312 words in the set “basic words” — the rest are in the table above.
How many basic words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 312 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 312 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.