Laundry

1. ඇඳුම් සෝදා දෙනවාද?

   Æn-dum sō-dā de-na-vā-da?

   Can you do the laundry?

   Usage

   Used to request laundry service at a hotel or guesthouse

   Grammar Note

   "Sōdā denaā" is a benefactive compound verb meaning "wash and give (for me)". The addition of "denaā" (to give) makes it "do for someone".

2. ලොන්ඩ්‍රිය කොහේද?

   Lon-ḍri-ya ko-hē-da?

   Where is the laundry?

   Usage

   Used to ask for the location of a laundry facility

   Grammar Note

   "Londriya" is a loanword derived from English "laundry". Many Sri Lankan hotels offer laundry services.

3. ඇඳුම් ආපස්සු කවදාද?

   Æn-dum ā-pas-su ka-va-dā-da?

   When will the clothes be returned?

   Usage

   Used to ask when laundry will be ready for pickup

   Grammar Note

   "Āpassu" means "return/back". "Kavadā" is the interrogative for "when", made into a question with "da".

4. මේ ඇඳුම ප්‍රෑස් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Mē æn-du-ma prǣs ka-ran-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Can you iron this clothes?

   Usage

   Used to request ironing service for a garment

   Grammar Note

   "Præs" is borrowed from English "press" (to iron). Sri Lankan laundry services typically include pressing/ironing.

5. මෙ ඇඳුම් ඩ්‍රයි ක්ලීන් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Me æn-dum ḍra-yi klīn ka-ran-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Can you dry clean these clothes?

   Usage

   Used to request dry cleaning for delicate garments

   Grammar Note

   "Dry clean karanavā" — English compound + Sinhala "karanavā" (to do). This pattern productively forms verbs from English loanwords.

6. ඇඳුම් හැකිළිලා ගියා

   Æn-dum hæ-ki-li-lā gi-yā

   The clothes have shrunk

   Usage

   Used to report that clothes have shrunk after washing

   Grammar Note

   "Hækiḷenavā" means "to shrink"; "gilihenavā" means "to slip off", not to shrink. The pattern "verb-lā giyā" emphasizes a completed action with finality.

7. ඩිටර්ජන්ට් කොහේ ගන්නද?

   Ḍi-tar-jant ko-hē gan-na-da?

   Where can I buy detergent?

   Usage

   Used to ask where to buy laundry detergent

   Grammar Note

   "Diṭarjanṭ" is an English loanword. In Sri Lanka, specific brand names like "Sunlight" (a popular soap) are often used directly.

8. ඇඳුම් ශීඝ්‍ර කරන්න ඕනෑ

   Æn-dum shīgh-ra ka-ran-na ō-nǣ

   I need the laundry done quickly

   Usage

   Used to request expedited laundry service

   Grammar Note

   "Śīghra" is Sanskrit-derived meaning "swift/quick". In speech, the colloquial "ikmanin" (quickly) is more common.

9. මේ සුදු රෙදි එකට සෝදන්න එපා

   Mē su-du re-di e-ka-ta sō-dan-na e-pā

   Please don't wash these white clothes together

   Usage

   Used to ask that whites and colors be washed separately

   Grammar Note

   "Sudu" is white ("koḷa" is green and cannot mean white clothes). "Sōdanavā" = to wash; prohibition is the -න්න verb form + "epā".

10. ඇඳුම් වේලෙනවාද?

    Æn-dum vē-le-na-vā-da?

    Are the clothes dry?

    Usage

    Used to ask if laundry has dried

    Grammar Note

    "Vēlenaā" means "to dry (clothes)". In Sri Lanka's tropical climate, laundry hung outdoors dries very quickly.

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