LingoflyTransport in Sinhala
15 words in Sinhala on the topic “transport”: බස් එක (bas eka) — bus, දුම්රිය (dumriya) — train, ටුක් ටුක් (ṭuk ṭuk) — tuk-tuk, ටැක්සි (ṭæksi) — taxi. 15 words can be played from recordings.
15 words on the topic
- බස් එකbas ekabusEnglish bus plus eka, 'a piece' — that is how the island naturalizes loans
- දුම්රියdumriyatrainLiterally 'a smoke carriage': dum is smoke, riya is a carriage. The railways came with the word
- ටුක් ටුක්ṭuk ṭuktuk-tukThe three-wheeler, the main city transport. The price is agreed before the ride, never after
- ටැක්සිṭæksitaxiEnglish taxi with a retroflex t at the start. On the island you order a taxi by app; what you hail in the street is a tuk-tuk
- ඩ්රයිවර්ḍrayivardriverThe English driver: that's how one addresses a tuk-tuk and a bus driver. The licence says the native word
- නැවතුමnævatumastop (any)Bare nævatuma is any stop on the route; the bus stop is 'the bus halt eka'
- මගියාmagiyāpassengerFrom maga, 'the way'. In announcements it sounds as the polite plural — 'dear passengers'
- ආසනයāsanayaseatThe bookish word from the plate; on the bus people say 'the seat eka', as in 'the seat by the window'
- අත්වැලatvælahandrailata is 'hand', væla is 'a vine': the thing one holds onto. In a local bus it's a rope with loops, not a tube
- ටිකට් චෙක් කරන කෙනාṭikaṭ cek karana kenāticket inspectorOn the island one person sells and checks the ticket — the conductor; a separate inspector is rare and is named by description
- බස් ගාස්තුවbas gāstuvabus faregāstuva is 'a fee, a charge for a service' in general, as in 'to pay the fare'
- පිරිලාpirilājammed fullA participle of 'to fill up' that works as a quality: 'the bus stands packed'
- හිස් ආසනයhis āsanayafree seathis is 'empty', as in 'an empty room': occupancy is named by emptiness, not by freedom
- ටිකට් යන්ත්රයṭikaṭ yantrayaticket machineyanthraya is 'a machine, a mechanism'. On the island the conductor gives the ticket; a machine stands mostly at the airport
- ප්රමාදයpramādayadelayFlayiṭ ekē pramādaya is 'flight delay'; the bare word fits a bus and a paper alike
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
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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
බස් එක (bas eka) — bus. English bus plus eka, 'a piece' — that is how the island naturalizes loans.
දුම්රිය (dumriya) — train. Literally 'a smoke carriage': dum is smoke, riya is a carriage. The railways came with the word.
ටුක් ටුක් (ṭuk ṭuk) — tuk-tuk. The three-wheeler, the main city transport. The price is agreed before the ride, never after.
ටැක්සි (ṭæksi) — taxi. English taxi with a retroflex t at the start. On the island you order a taxi by app; what you hail in the street is a tuk-tuk.
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 බස් එක (bas eka) — bus.
- What is this word?
It is ආසනය (āsanaya) — seat.
- What is this word?
It is ප්රමාදය (pramādaya) — delay.
- What is this word?
It is මගියා (magiyā) — passenger.
- What is this word?
It is ටිකට් යන්ත්රය (ṭikaṭ yantraya) — ticket machine.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “bus” in Sinhala?
English bus plus eka, 'a piece' — that is how the island naturalizes loans
- How do you say “seat” in Sinhala?
The bookish word from the plate; on the bus people say 'the seat eka', as in 'the seat by the window'
- How do you say “delay” in Sinhala?
Flayiṭ ekē pramādaya is 'flight delay'; the bare word fits a bus and a paper alike
- How do you say “passenger” in Sinhala?
From maga, 'the way'. In announcements it sounds as the polite plural — 'dear passengers'
- How do you say “ticket machine” in Sinhala?
yanthraya is 'a machine, a mechanism'. On the island the conductor gives the ticket; a machine stands mostly at the airport
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
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 “bus” in Sinhala?
«බස් එක» (bas eka), read “bas eka”. English bus plus eka, 'a piece' — that is how the island naturalizes loans. It is one of 15 words in the set “transport” — the rest are in the table above.
How many transport words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 15 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, 15 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.