Markets & Souvenirs

1. මෙය කීයද?

   Me-ya kee-ya-da?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Used to ask the price in markets or shops

   Grammar Note

   කීයද = how much is it. da is the question particle

2. ටිකක් ගණන් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?

   Ti-kak ga-nan a-du ka-ran-na pu-lu-van-da?

   Can you give a small discount?

   Usage

   Used when bargaining for a lower price

   Grammar Note

   ටිකක් = a little. ගණන් = price. අඩු කරන්න = reduce/lower

3. මෙය ආපසු ලබා දිය හැකිද?

   Me-ya ā-pa-su la-bā di-ya hæ-ki-da?

   Can I return this?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the return policy

   Grammar Note

   ආපසු ලබා දෙනවා = to give back / return. හැකිද = is it possible/can (ability question marker)

4. මට හොඳ ගනුදෙනුවක් ලැබුණා.

   Ma-ta hon-da ga-nu-de-nu-vak læ-bu-ṇā.

   I got a great deal.

   Usage

   Used to express satisfaction with a purchase

   Grammar Note

   මට = to me (dative). ලැබුණා = past of ලැබෙනවා (to be obtained); Sinhala says "a good deal was obtained to me". Do not use ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ here — it means "supreme/exalted" and is reserved for people and places, not English "great".

5. කිරි නිෂ්පාදන කොතැනද?

   Ki-ri niṣ-pā-da-na ko-tæ-na-da?

   Where is the dairy section?

   Usage

   Used to find the dairy section in a market

   Grammar Note

   කිරි = milk + නිෂ්පාදන = products, i.e. dairy products. කොතැනද = where is it? (කොතැන = where + da = question marker). Do not use the similar-looking කිරිගරුඬ — it means "marble".

6. මෙයින් කිලෝ දෙකක් දෙන්න.

   Me-yin ki-lō de-kak den-na.

   Please give me two kilos of this.

   Usage

   Used to order a specific amount at a market

   Grammar Note

   දෙන්න = please give (polite imperative). කිලෝ borrowed from English "kilo"

7. මේක ගාන වැඩියි. මිල අඩු එකක් තියෙනවද?

   Mē-ka gā-na væ-di-yi. Mi-la a-du e-kak ti-ye-na-va-da?

   This is expensive. Is there something cheaper?

   Usage

   Used to request a cheaper alternative

   Grammar Note

   ගාන = price (colloquial; the written word is මිල). වැඩියි = is too much/high. මිල අඩු = low-priced; එකක් = one/an item. Note that ලේ means "blood" — it never means "expensive".

8. තත්ත්වය කොහොමද?

   Tat-tva-ya ko-ho-ma-da?

   What is the quality like?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the quality of an item

   Grammar Note

   තත්ත්වය = quality/condition of goods. කොහොමද = how is it? (colloquial). Do not use ඝනත්වය (= density) or ශෛලීය (= stylistic) for "quality".

9. ලොකු ප්ලාස්ටික් බෑගයක් ලබා ගත හැකිද?

   Lo-ku plās-tik bæ-ga-yak la-bā ga-ta hæ-ki-da?

   Can I get a large plastic bag?

   Usage

   Used to request a shopping bag

   Grammar Note

   ප්ලාස්ටික් from English "plastic". ලබා ගත හැකිද = can I receive/get?

10. මෙය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නිෂ්පාදනයක්ද?

    Me-ya Shrī Lan-kā-vē niṣ-pā-da-na-yak-da?

    Is this made in Sri Lanka?

    Usage

    Used to verify the origin of a product

    Grammar Note

    ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ = of/in Sri Lanka (genitive). නිෂ්පාදනය = product/manufacture; -ක් marks the indefinite and the final ද marks the question.

11. මෙය ඇසුරුම් කර දෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

    Me-ya æ-su-rum ka-ra den-na pu-lu-van-da?

    Can you wrap this for me?

    Usage

    Used to request gift wrapping or packaging

    Grammar Note

    ඇසුරුම් = wrapping/packaging. කර = doing (verbal connector). දෙන්න පුළුවන්ද = can you give (me)?

12. රිසිට්පත් දෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

    Ri-sit-pat den-na pu-lu-van-da?

    Please give me a receipt.

    Usage

    Used to request a receipt after purchase

    Grammar Note

    රිසිට්පත් = receipt (from English "receipt" + Sinhala patha = paper)

13. මේකේ තත්ත්වය හොඳයි.

    Mē-kē tat-tva-ya hon-da-yi.

    This is of great quality.

    Usage

    Used to compliment the quality of an item

    Grammar Note

    මේකේ = of this (genitive of මේක). හොඳයි = "is good" (adjective හොඳ + predicative -යි). ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ means "supreme/exalted" and is used of people and places, not of merchandise quality.

14. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජනප්‍රිය සිහිවටන කුමක්ද?

    Shrī lan-kā-vē ja-na-pri-ya si-hi-va-ta-na ku-mak-da?

    What are popular souvenirs from Sri Lanka?

    Usage

    Used to ask about popular local souvenirs

    Grammar Note

    සිහිවටන = souvenir (thing that makes you remember). ජනප්‍රිය = popular

15. හොඳ තේ ලබා ගත හැකිද?

    Hon-da tē la-bā ga-ta hæ-ki-da?

    Can I get good quality tea here?

    Usage

    Used to find good quality Ceylon tea

    Grammar Note

    තේ is a loanword (not borrowed directly from English). Sri Lanka is famous for Ceylon tea. ලබා ගත හැකිද = can it be obtained? (from ලබා ගන්නවා = to obtain). Use හොඳ for a good product; ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ ("supreme/exalted") is for people and places.

16. කාඩ් එකෙන් ගෙවිය හැකිද?

    Kāḍ e-ke-n ge-vi-ya hæ-ki-da?

    Can I pay by card?

    Usage

    Used to ask if card payment is accepted

    Grammar Note

    කාඩ් from English "card". ගෙවිය හැකිද = can I pay? (potential question form)

17. ලූනු

    lūnu

    Onion

    Usage

    Onion. Only the vowel length separates it from ලුණු (luṇu, salt), so show the spelling as written. The small red ones are රතු ලූනු

18. කොත්තමල්ලි කොළ

    koththamalli koḷa

    Coriander leaves

    Usage

    Fresh coriander leaf. The bare කොත්තමල්ලි means the seed — and also the herbal brew drunk for a cold — so keep කොළ ("leaf") on the end when you want the herb

19. එළවළු

    eḷavaḷu

    Vegetables

    Usage

    Vegetables in general — for finding the vegetable section of a market

20. හාල්

    hāl

    Rice (uncooked)

    Usage

    Uncooked rice; cooked rice is a different word, බත් (bath). Red rice is රතු හාල්

21. පොල්

    pol

    Coconut

    Usage

    The mature coconut used in cooking; the orange drinking one is a different fruit, තැඹිලි (thambili)

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