LingoflyPolite words in Sinhala
11 words in Sinhala on the topic “polite words”: ස්තූතියි (stūtiyi) — thank you, සමාවෙන්න (samāvenna) — excuse me, කරුණාකර (karuṇākara) — please, ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? (ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda) — can you make it cheaper? 11 words can be played from recordings.
11 words on the topic
- ස්තූතියිstūtiyithank youstūtiyi — stoo-tee-yee, from the Sanskrit word for praise. It's often boosted: bohoma stūtiyi, 'many thanks', is the everyday strong version
- සමාවෙන්නsamāvennaexcuse meLiterally 'forgive me' — an imperative by shape, but it lives as a ready-made exclamation. To hail a stranger people more often just say ov or a polite title
- කරුණාකරkaruṇākarapleasekaruṇākara opens a request: 'kindly…'. It is never said in reply to 'thank you' — that slot belongs to other words
- ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda?can you make it cheaper?Literally 'can you reduce it a little?'. Puḷuvanda is 'can you' — the universal polite wrapper for any request
- කමක් නෑkamak nǣno problemLiterally 'there is no matter', that is, 'nothing terrible'. It answers both an apology and a thank-you
- තව එක පාරක් කියලා දෙන්නtava eka pārak kiyalā dennaexplain it againLiterally 'once more, having said, give'. 'To explain' is itself built from 'say' and 'give'
- පාස්පෝට් එක පෙන්නන්නpāspōṭ eka pennannashow your passport'To show' plus the -nna request, which is polite already. This is what you'll hear at the counter
- ආචාරශීලීācāraśīlīpoliteaa-cha-ra-shii-lii: three long vowels in a row
- පරක්කු වුණාට සමාවෙන්නparakku vuṇāṭa samāvennasorry for being lateThe ending -ṭa on the past means 'for the fact that': 'for what has happened'
- කිසිවක් නෑkisivak nǣyou're welcomeLiterally 'there is nothing' — nothing to thank for. People also answer with satuṭin, 'gladly', or kāmak nǣ, 'no problem'
- හම්බවෙලා සතුටුයිhambavelā satuṭuyinice to meet youThe same turn as in 'it was pleasant to talk': a participle plus satuṭuyi, 'glad'. The full polite version is oba hamuvīmaṭa satuṭuyi
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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
ස්තූතියි (stūtiyi) — thank you. Stūtiyi — stoo-tee-yee, from the Sanskrit word for praise. It's often boosted: bohoma stūtiyi, 'many thanks', is the everyday strong version.
සමාවෙන්න (samāvenna) — excuse me. Literally 'forgive me' — an imperative by shape, but it lives as a ready-made exclamation. To hail a stranger people more often just say ov or a polite title.
කරුණාකර (karuṇākara) — please. Karuṇākara opens a request: 'kindly…'. It is never said in reply to 'thank you' — that slot belongs to other words.
ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? (ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda?) — can you make it cheaper? Literally 'can you reduce it a little?'. Puḷuvanda is 'can you' — the universal polite wrapper for any request.
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 ස්තූතියි (stūtiyi) — thank you.
- What is this word?
It is ආචාරශීලී (ācāraśīlī) — polite.
- What is this word?
It is ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? (ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda?) — can you make it cheaper?
- What is this word?
It is හම්බවෙලා සතුටුයි (hambavelā satuṭuyi) — nice to meet you.
- What is this word?
It is පාස්පෝට් එක පෙන්නන්න (pāspōṭ eka pennanna) — show your passport.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “thank you” in Sinhala?
stūtiyi — stoo-tee-yee, from the Sanskrit word for praise. It's often boosted: bohoma stūtiyi, 'many thanks', is the everyday strong version
- How do you say “polite” in Sinhala?
A word off certificates and references. In speech people describe the deed: 'someone who speaks nicely'
- How do you say “can you make it cheaper?” in Sinhala?
Literally 'can you reduce it a little?'. Puḷuvanda is 'can you' — the universal polite wrapper for any request
- How do you say “nice to meet you” in Sinhala?
The same turn as in 'it was pleasant to talk': a participle plus satuṭuyi, 'glad'. The full polite version is oba hamuvīmaṭa satuṭuyi
- How do you say “show your passport” in Sinhala?
'To show' plus the -nna request, which is polite already. This is what you'll hear at the counter
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
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 “thank you” in Sinhala?
«ස්තූතියි» (stūtiyi), read “stūtiyi”. Stūtiyi — stoo-tee-yee, from the Sanskrit word for praise. It's often boosted: bohoma stūtiyi, 'many thanks', is the everyday strong version. It is one of 11 words in the set “polite words” — the rest are in the table above.
How many polite 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.