Sinhala, also known as Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in Sri Lanka. It serves as one of the official and national languages of the country. Learning Sinhala can enhance your experience in Sri Lanka, allowing for deeper cultural connections and understanding. This lesson covers essential conversational phrases and questions in Sinhala, including transliterations for pronunciation help, to navigate various social interactions.

Greetings

• Hello/Hi – “හෙලෝ / හායි” (Helō / Hāyi)
• Good morning – “සුභ උදෑසනක්” (Subha udāsanak)
• Good afternoon – “සුභ දවලක්” (Subha davalak)
• Good evening – “සුභ සවසක්” (Subha savasak)
• Goodbye – “ආයුබෝවන්” (Āyubōvan – used for both greeting and goodbye)

Introducing Yourself or Others

• My name is [name]. – “මගේ නම [name].” (Magē nama [name].)
• This is [name]. – “මේ [name].” (Mē [name].)
• I am from [country]. – “මම [country] වලින් ආවා.” (Mama [country] valin āvā.)
• I live in [city/place]. – “මම [city/place] හි ජීවත් වෙනවා.” (Mama [city/place] hi jīvath vēnawā.)

Asking for Directions or People

• Where is the [place]? – “[Place] කොහේද?” ([Place] kohēda?)
• How do I get to [place]? – “මට [place] යන්න කොහොමද?” (Maṭa [place] yanna kohomada?)
• Is this the way to [place]? – “මේක [place] යන මාර්ගයද?” (Mēka [place] yana mārgayada?)
• Can you show me on the map? – “ඔබට මට සිතියමේ පෙන්විය හැකිද?” (Obaṭa maṭa sithiyamē pēnviya hækida?)

Solving a Misunderstanding

• Sorry, I don’t understand. – “සමාවෙන්න, මම තේරුම් ගන්නේ නැහැ.” (Samāvenna, mama thērum gannē næhæ.)
• Can you please repeat that? – “කරුණාකර ඒක නැවත කියනවාද?” (Karuṇākara ēka nævatha kiyannawāda?)
• I mean… – “මම අදහස් කරන්නේ…” (Mama adaḥas karannē…)
• What does [word] mean? – “[Word] කියන්නේ කුමක්ද?” ([Word] kiyannē kumakda?)

Farewell Expressions

• See you later – “පසුව හමුවෙමු” (Pasuva hamuvemu)
• Take care – “ඔබ සැලකිය යුතුය” (Oba sǣlakiya yutuya)
• Have a good day – “සුභ දවසක් වේවා” (Subha dawasak vēvā)

Travel and Dining

• I would like to book a room. – “මම කාමරයක් වෙන්කර ගන්න කැමතියි.” (Mama kāmarayak vēnkara ganna kæmatiyi.)
• Can I see the menu, please? – “කරුණාකර මෙනුව බලන්න පුළුවන්ද?” (Karuṇākara menuva balanna puḷuvanda?)
• I am vegetarian. – “මම ශාකාහාරීය.” (Mama śākāhārīya.)
• The bill, please. – “බිල්පත කරුණාකර.” (Billpatha karuṇākara.)

Shopping

• How much does this cost? – “මේක කීයද?” (Mēka kīyada?)
• Do you have this in another size? – “මේකේ වෙනත් ප්‍රමාණයක් තියෙනවාද?” (Mēkē venatḥ pramāṇayak tiyenawāda?)
• I’m just looking, thanks. – “මම බලනවා විතරයි, ස්තුතියි.” (Mama balanawā vitarayi, sthutiyi.)
• Can I pay by card? – “මට කාඩ්පතින් ගෙවන්න පුළුවන්ද?” (Maṭa kāḍpatin gēvanna puḷuvanda?)

Dating and Love

• You look beautiful. (to a woman) / You look handsome. (to a man) – “ඔයා ලස්සනයි.” (Oyā lassanayi.)
• I miss you. – “මට ඔයා ගැන හිතෙනවා.” (Maṭa oyā gæna hitenawā.)
• I love you. – “මම ඔයාට ආදරෙයි.” (Mama oyāṭa ādareyi.)
• Would you like to go out with me? – “ඔයා මට එක්ක යන්න කැමතිද?” (Oyā maṭa ekka yanna kæmatida?)

Emergencies

• Help! – “උදව්!” (Udavv!)
• Call the police! – “පොලිසියට කතා කරන්න!” (Polisiyata kathā karanna!)
• I need a doctor. – “මට වෛද්‍යවරයෙක් ඕනේ.” (Maṭa vaidyavaryek onē.)
• Where is the nearest hospital? – “ලගම රෝහල කොහේද?” (Lagama rōhala kohēda?)

These phrases offer a solid foundation for basic communication in Sinhala. Practice speaking and listening regularly, engage with Sinhala media, and don’t hesitate to converse with native speakers. Remember, language learning is a journey—embrace mistakes as learning opportunities and continue to explore the rich linguistic and cultural nuances of the Sinhala language.