Public Transport

1. බස් නැවතුම කොහේද?

   Bas næ-va-thu-ma ko-hē-da?

   Where is the bus stop?

   Usage

   Used to ask for the location of a bus stop

   Grammar Note

   "Kohēda" = "kohē" (where) + "da" (question marker). Questions in Sinhala are formed by adding "da" at the end.

2. කොළඹ යන බස් එකේ ගාස්තුව කීයද?

   Ko-ḷam-ba ya-na bas e-kē gā-stu-va kī-ya-da?

   How much is the bus to Colombo?

   Usage

   Used to ask the fare for a bus to a specific destination

   Grammar Note

   "Gāstuva" means "fare / fee" and "kīyada" means "how much?". "Bas ekē" is "of the bus", so the sentence asks the fare of the Colombo-bound bus. Buses in Sri Lanka are very affordable.

3. මෙය … හරහා යනවාද?

   Me-ya … ha-ra-hā ya-na-vā-da?

   Does this go through …?

   Usage

   Used to confirm if the vehicle passes through a specific place

   Grammar Note

   "Harahā" is a postposition meaning "through/via". Sinhala uses postpositions rather than prepositions.

4. ට්‍රේන් එකේ ටිකට් එකක් දෙන්න

   Trēn e-kē ti-kat e-kak den-na

   Give me one train ticket please

   Usage

   Used at the ticket counter to purchase a train ticket

   Grammar Note

   Many English loanwords are used in everyday Sinhala. "Train" and "ticket" are fully integrated borrowings.

5. ඊළඟ ස්ථානය කුමක්ද?

   Ī-ḷaṅ-ga sthā-na-ya ku-mak-da?

   What is the next station?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the next stop on a train or bus

   Grammar Note

   "Sthānaya" is Sanskrit-derived meaning "place/station". The suffix "ya" marks a definite noun.

6. මෙ ආසනය හිස් ද?

   Me ā-sa-na-ya his da?

   Is this seat free?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a seat is vacant on a bus or train

   Grammar Note

   "His" means "empty/vacant". Adjectives precede nouns in Sinhala.

7. … ට යන්න කොහොමද?

   … ta yan-na ko-ho-ma-da?

   How do I get to …?

   Usage

   Used to ask for directions to a destination

   Grammar Note

   "Kohomada" = "kohoma" (how) + "da". Sinhala infinitives end in "-nna" (e.g. yanna "to go", karanna "to do").

8. ටැක්සි එකක් ගෙනන්න

   Tæk-si e-kak ge-nan-na

   Please call a taxi

   Usage

   Used at a hotel or reception to ask someone to arrange a taxi

   Grammar Note

   "Genanna" is the imperative of "to bring/fetch". Three-wheeled tuk-tuks are also very common in Sri Lanka.

9. කොළඹ කොටුව දුම්රිය ස්ථානය කොහේද?

   Ko-ḷam-ba ko-ṭu-va dum-ri-ya sthā-na-ya ko-hē-da?

   Where is Colombo Fort railway station?

   Usage

   Used to ask for directions to the main railway station in Colombo

   Grammar Note

   "Dumriya" literally means "smoke-vehicle" — the native Sinhala word for train; the loanword "train" is also used. Ask for a location with "kohēda"; "kothekada", which stood here before, asks how much something costs.

10. මෙ බස් එකෙ ඉඩ තියෙනවාද?

    Me bas e-ke i-ḍa thi-ye-na-vā-da?

    Is there space on this bus?

    Usage

    Used to check if there is room on a crowded bus

    Grammar Note

    "Tiyenavā" is a colloquial verb meaning "there is/are". Adding "da" forms the question. Sri Lankan buses can be extremely crowded.

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