LingoflyPhrases that save you in Sinhala
17 words in Sinhala on the topic “phrases that save you”: මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ (maṭa tērennē nǣ) — I don't understand, හෙමින් (hemin) — slowly, නැවත කියන්න (nævata kiyanna) — say it again, please, උදව් (udav) — help. 17 words can be played from recordings.
17 words on the topic
- මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa tērennē nǣI don't understandLiterally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence
- හෙමින්heminslowlyIn speech it's usually doubled: hemin hemin, 'gently, no rush'. Add ṭikak and the request gets softer: ṭikak hemin kiyanna — 'a bit slower, please'
- නැවත කියන්නnævata kiyannasay it again, pleaseLiterally 'say anew'. The ending -nna is itself the polite request — no separate 'please' needed. In speech people more often say āyeth kiyanna with the everyday word for 'again'
- උදව්udavhelpBarely stands on its own: udav karanna, 'to give help'; udavvak ōnē, 'I need help'. The street cry for help is simply udav karanna!
- කාර්මිකයෙක්ට කතා කරන්නkārmikayekṭa katā karannacall a technicianLiterally 'talk with a technician': phoning and talking are the same verb. The ending -ṭa marks the one you turn to
- විනාඩියක් ඉන්නvināḍiyak innawait a minuteLiterally 'stay a minute': no separate verb 'to wait' is needed for such a request
- මට අරින්න බෑmaṭa arinna bǣI can't open itbǣ is 'I can't', the pair to puḷuvan, 'I can'. The scheme maṭa + verb-nna + bǣ works with any action
- ඇම්බියුලන්ස් එකæmbiyulans ekaambulanceThe bookish name is 'the sick man's carriage'; in speech, the English word. The number is 1990
- මට දොස්තර කෙනෙක් ඕනේmaṭa dostara kenek ōnēI need a doctorkenek is 'one person', the counter word for people: without it the phrase sounds like 'I need medicine'
- පරිස්සමින්!parissamin!careful!Literally 'with carefulness'. Parting, people wish the same word: 'go carefully'
- භයානකයිbhayānakayidangerousbha-ya-na-kayi: the bh is an aspirated b, the puff of air right after the consonant
- පොලීසියට කතා කරන්නpolīsiyaṭa katā karannacall the policeThe ending -ṭa marks the one being called. The island's emergency number is 119
- මගේ පාස්පෝට් එක නැති වුණාmagē pāspōṭ eka næti vuṇāI've lost my passportLiterally 'my passport has become absent': a loss in Sinhala is described with no guilty party
- මට හොඳ නෑmaṭa honda nǣI feel badLiterally 'to me it is not good'. What is negated is the same honda as in hondayi
- අත ගාන්න එපාata gānna epādon't touchLiterally 'don't run the hand over'. The prohibition is built so: the -nna verb plus epā
- මම අතරමං වුණාmama ataramaṁ vuṇāI'm lostAtaramaṁ venavā is 'to get lost'. Ataramaṁ is literally 'mid-roads': a person isn't lost, they're stuck between the ways. The past tail says it has already happened
- ඉංගිරිසි කතා කරනවද?iṁgirisi katā karanavada?do you speak English?Assembled from iṁgirisi, 'English', and katā karanavā, 'to talk'. The tail -da is the whole question — no extra marker needed
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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
මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ (maṭa tērennē nǣ) — I don't understand. Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence.
හෙමින් (hemin) — slowly. In speech it's usually doubled: hemin hemin, 'gently, no rush'. Add ṭikak and the request gets softer: ṭikak hemin kiyanna — 'a bit slower, please'.
නැවත කියන්න (nævata kiyanna) — say it again, please. Literally 'say anew'. The ending -nna is itself the polite request — no separate 'please' needed. In speech people more often say āyeth kiyanna with the everyday word for 'again'.
උදව් (udav) — help. Barely stands on its own: udav karanna, 'to give help'; udavvak ōnē, 'I need help'. The street cry for help is simply udav karanna!
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 මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ (maṭa tērennē nǣ) — I don't understand.
- What is this word?
It is ඇම්බියුලන්ස් එක (æmbiyulans eka) — ambulance.
- What is this word?
It is අත ගාන්න එපා (ata gānna epā) — don't touch.
- What is this word?
It is කාර්මිකයෙක්ට කතා කරන්න (kārmikayekṭa katā karanna) — call a technician.
- What is this word?
It is පොලීසියට කතා කරන්න (polīsiyaṭa katā karanna) — call the police.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I don't understand” in Sinhala?
Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence
- How do you say “ambulance” in Sinhala?
The bookish name is 'the sick man's carriage'; in speech, the English word. The number is 1990
- How do you say “don't touch” in Sinhala?
Literally 'don't run the hand over'. The prohibition is built so: the -nna verb plus epā
- How do you say “call a technician” in Sinhala?
Literally 'talk with a technician': phoning and talking are the same verb. The ending -ṭa marks the one you turn to
- How do you say “call the police” in Sinhala?
The ending -ṭa marks the one being called. The island's emergency number is 119
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
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 “I don't understand” in Sinhala?
«මට තේරෙන්නේ නෑ» (maṭa tērennē nǣ), read “maṭa tērennē nǣ”. Literally 'it is not understood to me' — understanding happens to you, with no subject of its own. The negative nǣ, as always, closes the sentence. It is one of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” — the rest are in the table above.
How many emergency phrases do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 17 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, 17 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.