Directions

1. දළදා මාළිගාව කොහෙද?

   Da-la-dā mā-li-gā-wa ko-he-da?

   Where is the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Dalada Maligawa)?

   Usage

   Used to ask for the location of the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy

   Grammar Note

   "Kohe" (where) + "da" (question marker). Dalada Maligawa is the most sacred Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, in central Kandy.

2. ගාල්ල කොටුව කොතෙන්ද?

   Gā-lla ko-tu-wa ko-then-da?

   Which way is Galle Fort?

   Usage

   Used to ask directions to the UNESCO World Heritage Galle Fort

   Grammar Note

   "Kothen" asks about direction/side, while "kohe" asks about location. Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Sri Lanka.

3. වමට හෝ දකුණට?

   Wa-ma-ta hō da-ku-ṇa-ta?

   To the left or to the right?

   Usage

   Used to confirm direction when receiving instructions

   Grammar Note

   "-ta" is the dative/directional case suffix. "Wama" (left) and "dakunna" (right) are essential directional vocabulary.

4. ත්‍රී රෝද රථයකින් යන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Thrī-rō-da ra-tha-ya-kin yan-na pu-lu-wan-da?

   Can we go by tuk-tuk?

   Usage

   Used to confirm whether a destination is reachable by tuk-tuk, the iconic Sri Lankan three-wheeled taxi

   Grammar Note

   "Three-wheeled vehicle" in Sinhala. "Three-wheeler" in English is universally understood. Tuk-tuks are the most common short-distance transport.

5. කෙළින්ම යන්න

   Ke-lin-ma yan-na

   Go straight ahead

   Usage

   Used to instruct someone to go straight ahead

   Grammar Note

   The "-nna" suffix marks polite imperative. "Kelinma" — the "ma" adds emphasis meaning "straight and only straight".

6. දුර කොච්චරද?

   Du-ra koc-ca-ra-da?

   How far is it?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the distance to a destination

   Grammar Note

   "Koccara" asks about quantity/degree. More specific: "Kilometre keeyakda?" (How many kilometres?).

7. මෙය සිතියමේ කොහෙද?

   Me-ya si-thi-ya-mē ko-he-da?

   Where is this on the map?

   Usage

   Used while showing a map to confirm current location

   Grammar Note

   The question word for a place is කොහෙද ("where"). මොනවාද means "what" and cannot be used to ask where something is. Most effective when pointing at a map app on your phone. Sinhala follows SOV word order; question words appear at end or beginning.

8. ළඟ බස් නැවතුම කොහෙද?

   La-ṅa bas næ-we-tu-ma ko-he-da?

   Where is the nearest bus stop?

   Usage

   Used to find a bus stop. Buses are the most common public transport in Sri Lanka

   Grammar Note

   "Bas" borrowed from English "bus". "Næwatuma" means stopping place. Sri Lankan buses are inexpensive and widely used.

9. සිගිරිය ළඟ රාත්‍රී නවාතැනක් නිර්දේශ කළ හැකිද?

   Si-gi-ri-ya la-ṅa rāth-rī na-wā-thæ-nak nir-dē-sha ka-la hæ-ki-da?

   Can you recommend accommodation near Sigiriya?

   Usage

   Used to ask for accommodation recommendations near the Sigiriya Rock Fortress World Heritage Site

   Grammar Note

   "Hæki" is the ability modal (can). Sigiriya is a 5th-century rock fortress in central Sri Lanka, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

10. මෙතෙන් ගාල්ල කොච්චර දුරද?

    Me-then gā-lla koc-ca-ra du-ra-da?

    How far is it from here to Galle?

    Usage

    Used to ask about the distance between current location and a destination

    Grammar Note

    "Methen" is the ablative form meaning "from here". Galle is about 120km from Colombo, roughly 3 hours by express train.

11. වමට

    vamaṭa

    To the left

    Usage

    Tells a tuk-tuk or car which way to turn — one word stays readable while moving

12. දකුණට

    dakuṇaṭa

    To the right

    Usage

    Which way to turn. The stem දකුණ means both "right" and "south", so gesture to make clear you mean the turn, not the compass direction

13. කෙළින්ම

    keḷinma

    Straight ahead

    Usage

    Show this to say "keep going straight"

14. ආපහු

    āpahu

    Go back

    Usage

    For when you have overshot and want the driver to turn back

15. නවත්තන්න

    navaththanna

    Stop here

    Usage

    Tells a car or tuk-tuk to pull up; also works for getting off a bus

16. උතුර

    uthura

    North

    Usage

    Compass direction, also used in bus routes and place names such as the Northern Province

17. දකුණ

    dakuṇa

    South

    Usage

    The same word also means "right". Only use it where the compass reading is obvious — with a map in hand or when asking about directions

18. නැගෙනහිර

    nægenahira

    East

    Usage

    Compass direction; also used when talking about the east coast, e.g. Arugam Bay

19. බටහිර

    baṭahira

    West

    Usage

    Compass direction; also the name of the Western Province where Colombo lies

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