Weather & Climate

1. අද ගොඩාක් රස්නෙයි, නේද?

   Ada godaak rasnei, neda?

   It's hot today, isn't it?

   Usage

   Weather conversation in Sri Lanka

   Grammar Note

   Sinhala is an Indo-Aryan language. "Neda" is a tag question particle seeking confirmation

2. වැස්ස වෙයි වගේ

   Vaessa veyi vage

   It looks like it will rain

   Usage

   When rain seems likely

   Grammar Note

   "Vage" = "like/seems". Placed at the end of a sentence to indicate conjecture

3. සුළි සුළඟ ළඟ එනවා

   Suli sulanga langa enava

   A cyclone is approaching

   Usage

   Warning about an approaching cyclone

   Grammar Note

   "Langa" = near/close, "enava" = coming (present continuous)

4. අද කාලෙ හොඳටම සිහිල්, නේද?

   Ada kaale hodatama sihil, neda?

   It's quite cool today, isn't it?

   Usage

   Sharing appreciation for cool weather

   Grammar Note

   "Sihil" describes pleasant coolness. "-ma" is an emphatic suffix

5. කාලගුණ අනාවැකිය කියලා දෙන්න

   Kalaguna anavakiya kiyala denna

   Please tell me the weather forecast

   Usage

   Asking for a weather forecast

   Grammar Note

   "Kalaguna" is a Sinhala compound word meaning weather/climate

6. හිරු ආවරණ ක්‍රීම් ගාන්න ඕනද?

   Hiru aavaruna cream gaanna onade?

   Do I need to apply sunscreen?

   Usage

   Ask on sunny days

   Grammar Note

   "Hiru" = sun, "aavaruna" = protection/cover. Together: sunscreen

7. කුඩේ අරන් යන්න ඕනද?

   Kude aran yanna onade?

   Should I bring an umbrella?

   Usage

   Before going out in uncertain weather

   Grammar Note

   "Onade" = do I need? The "-da" suffix marks questions

8. වියළි සෘතුව කවදාද?

   Viyali rutuwa kavadaada?

   When is the dry season?

   Usage

   Travel planning question

   Grammar Note

   Sri Lanka has two monsoons; dry season varies by region. "Ritu" derives from Sanskrit "ṛtu" (season)

9. වර්ෂා සෘතුව කවදාද?

   Varsha rutuwa kavadaada?

   When is the rainy season?

   Usage

   Ask about the monsoon season

   Grammar Note

   "Varsha" from Sanskrit "varṣā" (rain). Sri Lanka: NE monsoon Nov–Jan, SW monsoon May–Sep

10. හිරු රශ්මිය ගොඩාක් තද

    Hiru rashmiya godaak thada

    The sun is really strong

    Usage

    Exclamation about intense sunlight

    Grammar Note

    "Rashmiya" from Sanskrit "raśmi" (ray). "Thada" = strong/intense

11. වැස්ස

    Væssa

    Rain

    Usage

    Rain; Sri Lankan rain tends to come as short violent downpours, so this is what you point at when asking whether a plan still stands

12. සුළඟ

    suḷaṅga

    Wind

    Usage

    Wind — for asking whether boats are going out or what the surf conditions are

13. අව්ව

    avva

    Sunshine

    Usage

    The sun's glare as much as fair weather — it carries the sense of "the sun is strong"

14. වළාකුළු

    vaḷākuḷu

    Clouds

    Usage

    Cloud cover — for asking whether the view from Adam's Peak or Ella will be clouded out

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