Language Learning

1. ඔබ සිංහල ඉගෙන ගන්නවාද?

   O-ba sin-ha-la i-ge-na gan-na-vā-da?

   Are you learning Sinhala?

   Usage

   Used to ask if someone is studying Sinhala

   Grammar Note

   "Igena gannavā" means "to learn". Adding "da" makes a question. Sinhala has significant diglossia between spoken and written/formal registers.

2. සිංහල ලියන්නත් ඉගෙන ගන්නවා

   Sin-ha-la li-yan-nath i-ge-na gan-na-vā

   I'm also learning to write in Sinhala script

   Usage

   Used to mention that you are studying the Sinhala writing system

   Grammar Note

   Sinhala script belongs to the Brahmic script family (an abugida). The suffix "ta" is an additive/focus particle meaning "also/too".

3. මෙය කෙසේ කියනවාද?

   Me-ya ke-sē ki-ya-na-vā-da?

   How do you say this?

   Usage

   Used to ask how to express something in Sinhala

   Grammar Note

   "Kesēda" = "kesē" (how) + "da". The Sinhala script (an abugida) is more complex than an alphabet, combining consonant letters with vowel diacritics.

4. සිංහල ඉගෙනීමට හොඳ ක්‍රමය කුමක්ද?

   Sin-ha-la i-ge-nī-ma-ta hon-da kra-ma-ya ku-mak-da?

   What is a good way to learn Sinhala?

   Usage

   Used to ask for advice on learning Sinhala

   Grammar Note

   "Igenīmaṭa" means "for the purpose of learning". Movies, music, and conversations with locals are recommended for learning colloquial Sinhala.

5. සිංහලෙන් කොහොමද කියන්නේ?

   Sin-ha-len ko-ho-ma-da ki-yan-nē?

   How do you say this in Sinhala?

   Usage

   Used to ask how to express something in Sinhala

   Grammar Note

   "Sinhalen" is the instrumental form of "Sinhala" meaning "in/by means of Sinhala". The suffix "-en" marks the instrumental case.

6. ඔබ ළඟ සිංහල ශබ්ද කෝෂයක් ඇතිද?

   O-ba la-ṅa sin-ha-la shab-da kō-sha-yak æ-thi-da?

   Do you have a Sinhala dictionary?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a Sinhala dictionary is available

   Grammar Note

   "Śabda kōṣa" is Sanskrit-derived meaning "treasure of words = dictionary". "Langa æti" literally means "near/with you" expressing possession.

7. හෙමින් කතා කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   He-min ka-thā ka-ran-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Could you speak more slowly?

   Usage

   Used to ask a native speaker to slow down

   Grammar Note

   "Hemin" is an adverb meaning "slowly/quietly". "Kathā karanavā" means "to speak/talk". This is one of the most useful phrases for Sinhala learners.

8. නැවත කියන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Næ-va-tha ki-yan-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Could you repeat that?

   Usage

   Used to ask someone to repeat what they just said

   Grammar Note

   "Nævaṭa" means "again/once more". This is one of the most essential phrases when learning any language.

9. ගුරුවරයෙකු හඳුන්වා දෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Gu-ru-va-ra-ye-ku han-dun-vā den-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Can you introduce me to a teacher?

   Usage

   Used to request a referral to a Sinhala language teacher

   Grammar Note

   "Handunvā denaā" is a benefactive compound meaning "to introduce (for someone)". "Guru" is Sanskrit-derived meaning "teacher/guide".

10. ඔබේ සිංහල ඉතා හොඳයි!

    O-bē sin-ha-la i-tā hon-da-yi!

    Your Sinhala is wonderful!

    Usage

    Used to compliment a foreigner's Sinhala language ability

    Grammar Note

    "Itā" means "very" and "honda" means "good". Adding "yi" creates the predicate form. Sri Lankans are very pleased when foreigners speak Sinhala.

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