LingoflyEveryday life and routine in Sinhala
11 words in Sinhala on the topic “everyday life and routine”: වැඩ (væḍa) — work, ඇහැරෙනවා (æhærenavā) — to wake up, නැගිටිනවා (nægiṭinavā) — to get up, මූණ හෝදනවා (mūṇa hōdanavā) — to wash one's face. 11 words can be played from recordings.
11 words on the topic
- වැඩvæḍaworkPlural in shape, 'tasks' in sense; one task is væḍak. A job as a position is another word, and 'to work' is 'do work'
- ඇහැරෙනවාæhærenavāto wake upTo wake someone else is æhæravanavā: the tail -va- means making someone else do it
- නැගිටිනවාnægiṭinavāto get upWaking and getting up are two different deeds and two different verbs, as in European languages
- මූණ හෝදනවාmūṇa hōdanavāto wash one's faceLiterally 'to wash the face' — Sinhala names what is being washed. Nānavā is washing the whole self
- හිසකෙස් පීරනවාhisakes pīranavāto comb one's hairLiterally 'to comb the hair'. Hisakes is 'hair'; the comb shares the same root
- රැවුල කපනවාrævula kapanavāto shaveLiterally 'to cut the beard' — the same image as 'to cut'. The languages landed on the same picture
- ඇඳුම් අඳිනවාændum andinavāto get dressedLiterally 'to put on clothes'. The nasal ňd sounds are separate Sinhala sounds
- ඇඳුම් ගලවනවාændum galavanavāto get undressedThe pair to 'get dressed': galavanavā is 'to take off'
- වාඩි වෙනවාvāḍi venavāto sit down'To sit down' is vāḍi venavā; 'to be sitting' is vāḍi velā innavā, through the lasting form
- නිදාගන්නවාnidāgannavāto go to bedBoth 'go to bed' and 'sleep'. A compound with gannavā — 'take for oneself'
- විවේක ගන්නවාvivēka gannavāto take a breakFrom vivēka, 'quiet, repose', a Sanskrit root, plus gannavā, 'take for oneself'
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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
වැඩ (væḍa) — work. Plural in shape, 'tasks' in sense; one task is væḍak. A job as a position is another word, and 'to work' is 'do work'.
ඇහැරෙනවා (æhærenavā) — to wake up. To wake someone else is æhæravanavā: the tail -va- means making someone else do it.
නැගිටිනවා (nægiṭinavā) — to get up. Waking and getting up are two different deeds and two different verbs, as in European languages.
මූණ හෝදනවා (mūṇa hōdanavā) — to wash one's face. Literally 'to wash the face' — Sinhala names what is being washed. Nānavā is washing the whole self.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is වැඩ (væḍa) — work.
- What is this word?
It is ඇඳුම් ගලවනවා (ændum galavanavā) — to get undressed.
- What is this word?
It is මූණ හෝදනවා (mūṇa hōdanavā) — to wash one's face.
- What is this word?
It is විවේක ගන්නවා (vivēka gannavā) — to take a break.
- What is this word?
It is ඇඳුම් අඳිනවා (ændum andinavā) — to get dressed.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “work” in Sinhala?
Plural in shape, 'tasks' in sense; one task is væḍak. A job as a position is another word, and 'to work' is 'do work'
- How do you say “to get undressed” in Sinhala?
The pair to 'get dressed': galavanavā is 'to take off'
- How do you say “to wash one's face” in Sinhala?
Literally 'to wash the face' — Sinhala names what is being washed. Nānavā is washing the whole self
- How do you say “to take a break” in Sinhala?
From vivēka, 'quiet, repose', a Sanskrit root, plus gannavā, 'take for oneself'
- How do you say “to get dressed” in Sinhala?
Literally 'to put on clothes'. The nasal ňd sounds are separate Sinhala sounds
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
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 “work” in Sinhala?
«වැඩ» (væḍa), read “væḍa”. Plural in shape, 'tasks' in sense; one task is væḍak. A job as a position is another word, and 'to work' is 'do work'. It is one of 11 words in the set “everyday life and routine” — the rest are in the table above.
How many everyday words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 11 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, 11 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.