Dating Apps

1. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඩේටිං ඇප් භාවිත කරනවාද?

   Shrī lan-kā-vē ḍē-ting æp bhā-vi-tha ka-ra-na-vā-da?

   Are dating apps used in Sri Lanka?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the use of dating apps in Sri Lanka

   Grammar Note

   "Dēṭing æp" are English loanwords. Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble are used in Sri Lanka, though social conservatism shapes how they are used.

2. ඔබේ ෆෝටෝ ලස්සනයි

   O-bē fō-tō las-sa-na-yi

   Your profile photo is beautiful

   Usage

   Used to compliment a match's photo

   Grammar Note

   "Fōṭō" is from English "photo". Young Sri Lankans often mix English and Sinhala in casual speech, sometimes called "Singlish".

3. ඔබේ ෆේස්බුක් ඇකවුන්ට් එක කුමක්ද?

   O-bē fēs-buk æ-ka-vunt e-ka ku-mak-da?

   What is your Facebook account?

   Usage

   Used to ask for someone's social media account

   Grammar Note

   Facebook is the most widely used social media platform in Sri Lanka. Both "fēsbuk" and "ækaunt" are English loanwords.

4. මට ඔබව හම්බ වෙන්න ගොඩක් ආසයි

   Ma-ṭa o-ba-va ham-ba ven-na go-ḍak ā-sa-yi

   I can't wait to meet you in person

   Usage

   Used to express eagerness to meet an online connection in real life

   Grammar Note

   Colloquial Sinhala expresses wishes with a dative subject: "මට ... -nna āsayi" = "I would love to ...". Inserting "ගොඩක්" (a lot) raises it to "I can't wait to ...". "හම්බ වෙනවා" is the spoken word for "to meet"; the written form is "හමු වෙනවා".

5. ඔබ ජීවත් වෙන්නේ කොයි ප්‍රදේශයේද?

   O-ba jī-vath ven-nē ko-yi pra-dē-sha-yē-da?

   Which area do you live in?

   Usage

   Used to ask where a match lives

   Grammar Note

   "Jīvat venaā" means "to live/reside". "Koi" is a colloquial interrogative adjective meaning "which". Formal equivalent is "kuma".

6. ඔබ ඒ පණිවිඩය ලිව්වාද?

   O-ba ē pa-ṇi-vi-ḍa-ya liv-vā-da?

   Did you write that message?

   Usage

   Used to ask about a message or profile text

   Grammar Note

   "Livvā" is the past tense of "to write". Adding "da" makes a question. Sinhala verbs do not conjugate for person or gender.

7. ඔය ෆේක් ෆෝටෝ නෙවෙයිද?

   O-ya fēk fō-tō ne-ve-yi-da?

   That's not a fake photo, is it?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a profile photo is genuine

   Grammar Note

   "Neveyida" = "nevei" (is not) + "da" (question marker). This forms a tag question seeking confirmation. "Fēk" is from English "fake".

8. ඔබේ ජීවිතයේ ඉලක්කය මොකක්ද?

   O-bē jī-vi-tha-yē i-lak-ka-ya mo-kak-da?

   What goals are you working toward in life?

   Usage

   Used to ask a match about their life goals and ambitions

   Grammar Note

   "Jīvithaya" (life) is Sanskrit-derived. "Ilakka" means "goals/targets". Life goals are a common topic in dating profile conversations.

9. ඔය ඡායාරූපය කොයි කාලෙ ගත්ත?

   O-ya chā-yā-rū-pa-ya ko-yi kā-le gath-tha?

   When was that photo taken?

   Usage

   Used to ask when a photo was taken

   Grammar Note

   "Gatta" is the past tense of "to take". "Koi kāle" is the colloquial equivalent of "when" (at what time). Diglossia is evident in these colloquial forms.

10. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආදරය ගැන ඔබේ හිතෙන් කුමක්ද?

    Shrī lan-kā-vē ā-da-ra-ya gæ-na o-bē hi-then ku-mak-da?

    What do you think about love in Sri Lanka?

    Usage

    Used to open a conversation about love and relationships

    Grammar Note

    "Hiten" = "hitha" (mind/heart) + instrumental "-en". "Ādaraya" is Sanskrit-derived meaning "love/affection".

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