Dietary & Allergies

1. මම නිර්මාංශිකයෙක්.

   Mama nirmangshikayek.

   I am vegetarian.

   Usage

   Basic vegetarian declaration

   Grammar Note

   "nirmangsha" = no-meat, "-yek" = personifier

2. මම වීගන් කෙනෙක්, කිසිම සත්ව ආහාරයක් කන්නේ නෑ.

   Mama vigan kenek, kisim satva aharayak kanne na.

   I'm vegan; I don't eat any animal food.

   Usage

   Clarify avoidance of dairy/eggs

   Grammar Note

   "kisim" + negative = "any whatsoever"

3. මට නට්ස් වලට අසාත්මිකතාවක් තියෙනවා.

   Mata nuts valata asathmikathavak tiyenava.

   I have a nut allergy.

   Usage

   Declare nut allergy

   Grammar Note

   "Mata ... tiyenava" = "I have ~"

4. ඔයාලට ග්ලූටන් නැති මෙනුවක් තියෙනවද?

   Oyalata gluten nathi menuvak tiyenavada?

   Do you have a gluten-free menu?

   Usage

   For celiac/gluten intolerance

   Grammar Note

   "-da" is the interrogative particle

5. මම හලාල් කනවා, ඌරු මස් කන්නේ නෑ.

   Mama halal kanava, uru mas kanne na.

   I eat halal; I don't eat pork.

   Usage

   Explain Muslim dietary rules

   Grammar Note

   "uru + mas" = pig + meat

6. මට ලැක්ටෝස් දිරවන්නේ නෑ.

   Mata lactose diravanne na.

   I can't digest lactose.

   Usage

   Explain lactose intolerance

   Grammar Note

   "na" is the colloquial negative

7. මට මුහුදු ආහාර වලට අසාත්මිකතාවක් තියෙනවා.

   Mata muhudu ahara valata asathmikathavak tiyenava.

   I have a seafood allergy.

   Usage

   Declare seafood allergy

   Grammar Note

   "-valata" = plural dative

8. මේ කෑමේ මොකවද තියෙන්නේ?

   Me kaame mokavada tiyenne?

   What's in this dish?

   Usage

   Basic question to check ingredients

   Grammar Note

   "-e" = locative "in"

9. ලූනු නැතුව හදන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Lunu nathuva hadanna puluvanda?

   Can you make it without onion?

   Usage

   Ask to omit ingredient

   Grammar Note

   "puluvan" = "can"

10. මට බිත්තරවලට අසාත්මිකතාවක් තියෙනවා.

    Mata bittaravalata asathmikathavak tiyenava.

    I have an egg allergy.

    Usage

    Avoid egg-containing dishes

    Grammar Note

    "-valata" plural dative

11. ඔයාලට අසාත්මිකතා කරන දේවල් ලැයිස්තුවක් තියෙනවද?

    Oyalata asathmikatha karana deval laiisthuvak tiyenavada?

    Do you have an allergen list?

    Usage

    Request allergen list

    Grammar Note

    "asathmikatha karana" = relative "that causes allergy"

12. මේක ජීවිතයට අවදානම් අසාත්මිකතාවක්.

    Meka jivitayata avadanam asathmikathavak.

    This is a life-threatening allergy.

    Usage

    Warn of severity

    Grammar Note

    "-yata" = dative "to/for"

13. මේකේ තෙල් හරි කුළු බඩු තියෙනවද?

    Meke tel hari kulu badu tiyenavada?

    Does this contain oil or spices?

    Usage

    Check for oil/spices

    Grammar Note

    "hari" = colloquial "or"

14. වෙන කෑම එක්ක මිශ්‍ර වෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

    Vena kaama ekka mishra venna puluvanda?

    Could it mix with other food?

    Usage

    Ask about cross-contamination

    Grammar Note

    "ekka" = colloquial "with"

15. තේරුම් ගත්තාට ස්තූතියි.

    Therum gattata sthuthi.

    Thank you for understanding.

    Usage

    Thank for accommodating

    Grammar Note

    "-ta" = dative/purpose

16. මට මස් කන්න බෑ.

    Mata mas kanna ba.

    I can't eat meat.

    Usage

    State you can't eat meat

    Grammar Note

    "ba" is the colloquial "cannot"

17. ඌරු මස්

    ūru mas

    Pork

    Usage

    To check for or refuse pork; Muslim-run eateries do not serve it at all

18. හරක් මස්

    harak mas

    Beef

    Usage

    To check whether a dish contains beef; many Buddhist and Hindu establishments do not serve it

19. කුකුල් මස්

    kukul mas

    Chicken

    Usage

    To check for or order chicken — the most common meat in Sri Lanka

20. මාළු

    māḷu

    Fish

    Usage

    To check for fish. Dried fish (කරවල, karavala) is used as a background flavour in many curries, so ask about it too if fish is a problem

21. බිත්තර

    biththara

    Egg

    Usage

    To check for egg; roti and kottu both come in egg versions

22. කිරි ආහාර

    kiri āhāra

    Dairy products

    Usage

    Covers milk, butter, curd, and the rest. The bare word කිරි (kiri) also means coconut milk, so use this fuller form when you need to exclude dairy

23. රටකජු

    raṭakaju

    Peanuts

    Usage

    Peanut specifically. The bare කජු (kaju) means cashew, which Sri Lankan cooking uses heavily — do not mix the two up

24. ඇට වර්ග

    æṭa varga

    Nuts (in general)

    Usage

    Covers nuts and seeds as a group; for certainty name the specific one — cashew is කජු, peanut is රටකජු

25. ඉස්සන් සහ කකුළුවන්

    issan saha kakuḷuvan

    Shellfish (prawns and crabs)

    Usage

    Sinhala has no everyday cover term for "crustaceans", so the card names prawns and crabs together — essential to check at coastal eateries

26. තිරිඟු

    thiriṅgu

    Wheat

    Usage

    Wheat; the flour is තිරිඟු පිටි. Roti, kottu, and bread are all wheat, so choose rice-flour dishes if you avoid gluten

27. සෝයා

    sōyā

    Soy

    Usage

    Soy; textured soya meat (සෝයා මීට්) is a very common cheap side dish in Sri Lanka

28. තල

    thala

    Sesame

    Usage

    Sesame; the oil is තල තෙල් and the sweet is තල ගුලි. Show it in a context where food is clearly the subject

29. මත්පැන්

    mathpæn

    Alcohol

    Usage

    Covers alcoholic drinks generally, for refusing on religious or medical grounds. Note that alcohol sales stop nationwide on Poya (full-moon) days

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