Hotel

1. කාමරයක් ඕනේ

   Kā-ma-ra-yak ō-nē

   I need a room

   Usage

   Basic phrase for checking in at a hotel or guesthouse

   Grammar Note

   "Kāmaraya" (room) + "k" (indefinite suffix) = "a room". Sinhala indefinite nouns take the suffix "ka/k".

2. රාත්‍රියකට ගාන කීයද?

   Rāth-ri-ya-ka-ta gā-na kī-ya-da?

   How much per night?

   Usage

   Checking the nightly rate at a hotel or guesthouse

   Grammar Note

   "Rāthriyakaṭa" (per night) + "gāna" (price) + "kīyada" (how much) forms the "per night" price question. Accommodation ranges from budget to luxury.

3. උණු වතුර ඇතිද?

   U-ṇu va-thu-ra æ-thi-da?

   Is there hot water?

   Usage

   Budget guesthouses may only have cold water. Check before booking

   Grammar Note

   "Uṇu vathura" = hot water (uṇu is used for hot food, drink and water; hot weather is rasneyi). "Æti" = exist/have, and "da" makes it a question. Budget guesthouses in Sri Lanka often have cold showers only.

4. වයිෆයි කේතය කීයද?

   Wai-fai kē-tha-ya kī-ya-da?

   What is the WiFi password?

   Usage

   Asking for the WiFi password after check-in

   Grammar Note

   "Kēthaya" = code/password. English loanwords are common; "password" will usually be understood too.

5. කාමරේ හොඳ නෑ

   Kā-ma-rē hon-da næ

   The room is not good / There is a problem with the room

   Usage

   Telling the front desk that there is an issue with the room

   Grammar Note

   "Honda næ" = not good (colloquial). Add specific issues: "ē.sī. kriyā nokarayi" (the AC is not working).

6. මම රාත්‍රි දෙකක් නවතිනවා

   Ma-ma rāth-ri de-kak na-va-ti-na-vā

   I will stay for two nights

   Usage

   Informing the hotel of the length of your stay

   Grammar Note

   "Rāthri" (night) + "dekak" (two of, indefinite). "Navatinavā" is the present/near-future verb form.

7. ෆෑන් එකක් ඕනේ

   Fæn e-kak ō-nē

   I need a fan

   Usage

   In tropical Sri Lanka, a fan or air conditioning is essential

   Grammar Note

   "Fæn" is borrowed from English. Sinhala borrows extensively from English for modern concepts. AC = "ē.sī.".

8. කාමරේ පිරිසිදු කරන්න

   Kā-ma-rē pi-ri-si-du ka-ran-na

   Please clean the room

   Usage

   Requesting housekeeping to clean the room

   Grammar Note

   "Pirisidu karanna" (clean + do) = please clean. Hotel staff in Sri Lanka usually speak some English.

9. හෙට උදේ චෙක් අවුට් කරන්නේ කීයටද?

   He-ta u-dē chek aut ka-ran-nē kī-ya-ta-da?

   What time is check-out tomorrow morning?

   Usage

   Confirming the check-out time

   Grammar Note

   "Chek aut karanavā" is a loan verb from English "check out". "Kīyaṭada" = at what time. Time adverbs like "heta" (tomorrow) typically appear at the beginning of the sentence.

10. ගෙවීම කාඩ් පතෙන් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?

    Ge-vī-ma kāḍ pa-then ka-ran-na pu-lu-van-da?

    Can I pay by card?

    Usage

    Checking if credit card payment is accepted

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-en" marks the instrumental case (by means of). "Karanna puluvan" = can do = be able to.

11. ලගේජ් ගෙනෙල්ලා දෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

    La-gēj ge-nel-lā den-na pu-lu-van-da?

    Can someone bring my luggage?

    Usage

    Requesting a porter to bring your luggage

    Grammar Note

    "Lagēj" is borrowed from English "luggage". "Genellā denna puluvanda" = will you bring it? A polite request form.

12. තුවාය

    thuvāya

    Towel

    Usage

    For asking for a towel; budget guesthouses often do not provide one

13. කොට්ටය

    koṭṭaya

    Pillow

    Usage

    For asking for an extra pillow or a replacement

14. බ්ලැන්කට්

    blænkaṭ

    Blanket

    Usage

    Spoken word for a blanket (the literary form is පොරෝණය); unnecessary on the coast but essential in hill-country guesthouses like Nuwara Eliya

15. සබන්

    saban

    Soap

    Usage

    For asking for soap; the same word covers laundry bar soap

16. ෂැම්පු

    ṣæmpu

    Shampoo

    Usage

    For asking for shampoo; shops sell it in single-use sachets

17. දත් බුරුසුව

    dath burusuva

    Toothbrush

    Usage

    Toothbrush; Sri Lankan guesthouses rarely provide amenities, so you buy one at a shop

18. ටොයිලට් පේපර්

    ṭoyilaṭ pēpar

    Toilet paper

    Usage

    For asking for toilet paper; Sri Lankan toilets are washed with a water spray and often have no paper at all

19. හෙයාර් ඩ්‍රයර්

    heyār ḍrayar

    Hair dryer

    Usage

    For borrowing a hair dryer; only mid-range hotels and above tend to have one

20. හැංගරය

    hængaraya

    Clothes hanger

    Usage

    For asking for extra hangers — also used for drying washing

21. නිශ්ශබ්ද කාමරයක්

    niśśabda kāmarayak

    A quiet room

    Usage

    Show it to avoid a room facing the road or a building site; guesthouses on Sri Lankan main roads get horn noise late into the night

22. ගොඩක් ශබ්දයි

    goḍak śabdayi

    It is very noisy

    Usage

    Spoken wording for complaining about noise and asking to change rooms

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