Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language, is predominantly spoken by the Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka. The Sinhala script, also known as Sinhalese, is derived from the ancient Brahmi script. Learning the Sinhala alphabet is crucial for reading, writing, and proper pronunciation in Sinhala.

Overview of the Sinhala Alphabet

• Script Type: Abugida, where consonant-vowel sequences are written as a unit.
• Number of Letters: 51 (36 consonants and 15 vowels)
• Unique Features: The script is characterized by rounded letters and includes unique symbols for numerals.

Detailed Breakdown of the Sinhala Alphabet

Consonants

Sinhala has 36 pure consonants, known as “ස්වරභාවිත” (swarabawitha).

1. ක (Ka)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘k’ in “kite.”
   • Example Word: “කමලා” (Kamalā) – meaning “Lotus”

2. ඛ (Kha)

   • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘k’, similar to ‘k’ in “ink-horn.”
   • Example Word: “ඛේදය” (Khēdaya) – meaning “Sorrow”

3. ග (Ga)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘g’ in “go.”
   • Example Word: “ගමන්” (Gaman) – meaning “Travel”

4. ඝ (Gha)

   • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘g’, similar to ‘g’ in “big-hat.”
   • Example Word: “ඝණත්වය” (Ghaṇatvaya) – meaning “Density”

5. ඞ (Ṅa)

   • Pronunciation: Nasal sound, like ‘ng’ in “sing.”
   • Example Word: “ඞාන” (Ṅāna) – meaning “Knowledge”

6. ච (Ca)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘ch’ in “chair.”
   • Example Word: “චන්ද්‍රයා” (Candrayā) – meaning “Moon”

7. ඡ (Cha)

   • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘ch’, similar to ‘ch’ in “church-hat.”
   • Example Word: “ඡායා” (Chāyā) – meaning “Shadow”

8. ජ (Ja)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘j’ in “jump.”
   • Example Word: “ජලය” (Jalaya) – meaning “Water”

9. ඣ (Jha)

   • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘j’, similar to ‘dg’ in “hedgehog.”
   • Example Word: “ඣානපද” (Jhānapada) – meaning “Metropolis”

10. ඤ (Ña)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘ny’ in “canyon.”
    • Example Word: “ඤාණය” (Ñāṇaya) – meaning “Wisdom”

11. ට (Ṭa)

    • Pronunciation: Retroflex ‘t’, like ‘t’ in “stick” (tongue curled back).
    • Example Word: “ටැක්සි” (Ṭækṣi) – meaning “Taxi”

12. ඨ (Ṭha)

    • Pronunciation: Retroflex and aspirated ‘t’, like ‘th’ in “hot-hat.”
    • Example Word: “ඨාන” (Ṭhāna) – meaning “Station”

13. ඩ (Ḍa)

    • Pronunciation: Retroflex ‘d’, like ‘d’ in “adore” (tongue curled back).
    • Example Word: “ඩයිනෝසර්” (Ḍayinosar) – meaning “Dinosaur”

14. ඪ (Ḍha)

    • Pronunciation: Retroflex and aspirated ‘d’, similar to ‘d’ in “mad-hat.”
    • Example Word: “ඪාතකය” (Ḍhāthakaya) – meaning “Killer”

15. ණ (Ṇa)

    • Pronunciation: Retroflex nasal, similar to ‘n’ in “canyon.”
    • Example Word: “ණය” (Ṇaya) – meaning “Debt”

16. ඬ (Ṇa)

    • Pronunciation: Alveolar nasal, like ‘n’ in “can.”
    • Example Word: “ඬේය” (Ṇēya) – meaning “Body”

17. ත (Ta)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘t’ in “top.”
    • Example Word: “තලා” (Talā) – meaning “Palm”

18. ථ (Tha)

    • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘t’, like ‘th’ in “ant-hill.”
    • Example Word: “ථෙරවාද” (Theravāda) – meaning “Doctrine of the Elders”

19. ද (Da)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘d’ in “dog.”
    • Example Word: “දරුවා” (Daruwā) – meaning “Child”

20. ධ (Dha)

    • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘d’, like ‘dh’ in “red-hat.”
    • Example Word: “ධාන්‍යය” (Dhānyaya) – meaning “Grain”

21. න (Na)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘n’ in “nice.”
    • Example Word: “නිවහන” (Nivahana) – meaning “Home”

22. ප (Pa)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘p’ in “pot.”
    • Example Word: “පලා” (Palā) – meaning “Fruit”

23. ඵ (Pha)

    • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘p’, like ‘ph’ in “uphill.”
    • Example Word: “ඵලය” (Phalaya) – meaning “Result”

24. බ (Ba)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘b’ in “bat.”
    • Example Word: “බල්ලා” (Ballā) – meaning “Dog”

25. භ (Bha)

    • Pronunciation: Aspirated ‘b’, like ‘bh’ in “abhor.”
    • Example Word: “භාෂා” (Bhāṣhā) – meaning “Language”

26. ම (Ma)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘m’ in “man.”
    • Example Word: “මිහිරි” (Mihiri) – meaning “Sweet”

27. ය (Ya)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘y’ in “yes.”
    • Example Word: “යාය” (Yāya) – meaning “Garden”

28. ර (Ra)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘r’ in “run.”
    • Example Word: “රතු” (Rathu) – meaning “Red”

29. ල (La)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘l’ in “love.”
    • Example Word: “ලස්සන” (Lassana) – meaning “Beautiful”

30. ව (Va)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘w’ in “win.”
    • Example Word: “වැස්ස” (Væssa) – meaning “Rain”

31. ශ (Sha)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘sh’ in “shun.”
    • Example Word: “ශාන්ති” (Shānthi) – meaning “Peace”

32. ෂ (Sha)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘sh’ in “shun.”
    • Example Word: “ෂණික” (Shanika) – A personal name

33. ස (Sa)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘s’ in “sun.”
    • Example Word: “සුන්දර” (Sundara) – meaning “Beautiful”

34. හ (Ha)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘h’ in “hat.”
    • Example Word: “හදවත” (Hadawatha) – meaning “Heart”

35. ළ (ḷa)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘l’ in “ball.”
    • Example Word: “ළමයා” (Ḷamayā) – meaning “Child”

36. ෆ (Fa)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘f’ in “fish.”
    • Example Word: “ෆනය” (Fanaya) – meaning “Fan”

Vowels

Sinhala has 15 vowel sounds, known as “ස්වර” (swara).

1. අ (A)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘a’ in “about.”
   • Example Word: “අම්මා” (Ammā) – meaning “Mother”

2. ආ (Ā)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘a’ in “father.”
   • Example Word: “ආප්ප” (Āppa) – meaning “Appam” (a type of pancake)

3. ඇ (Æ)

   • Pronunciation: Short vowel, similar to ‘a’ in “cat.”
   • Example Word: “ඇත්ත” (Ættha) – meaning “Truth”

4. ඈ (Ǎ)

   • Pronunciation: Long version of “ඇ.”
   • Example Word: “ඈත” (Ǎtha) – meaning “There”

5. ඉ (I)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘i’ in “India.”
   • Example Word: “ඉතා” (Ithā) – meaning “Very”

6. ඊ (Ī)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘ee’ in “see.”
   • Example Word: “ඊයේ” (Īyē) – meaning “Yesterday”

7. උ (U)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘u’ in “put.”
   • Example Word: “උඹ” (Umba) – meaning “You” (informal)

8. ඌ (Ū)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘oo’ in “food.”
   • Example Word: “ඌරු” (Ūru) – meaning “Camel”

9. එ (E)

   • Pronunciation: Like ‘e’ in “bed.”
   • Example Word: “එක” (Eka) – meaning “One”

10. ඒ (Ē)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘ay’ in “bay.”
    • Example Word: “ඒකා” (Ēkā) – meaning “Solo”

11. ඔ (O)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘o’ in “more.”
    • Example Word: “ඔයා” (Oyā) – meaning “You” (formal)

12. ඕ (Ō)

    • Pronunciation: Like ‘o’ in “go.”
    • Example Word: “ඕනෑම” (Ōṇæma) – meaning “Any”

13. ඖ (Au)

    • Pronunciation: Similar to the ‘ow’ in “cow.”
    • Example Word: “ඖෂධ” (Auṣadha) – meaning “Medicine”

14. අං (An)

    • Pronunciation: Nasal sound, similar to ‘an’ in “bang.”
    • Example Word: “අංගනය” (Aṅganaya) – meaning “Courtyard”

15. අඃ (Aḥ)

    • Pronunciation: Similar to ‘uh’ as an exclamation.
    • Example Word: “අඃකාර” (Aḥkāra) – meaning “Shape” or “Form”

Special Letters and Conjunct Consonants

Sinhala script includes special letters and conjunct consonants, which are combinations of two or more consonants.

1. ර්‍ය (Rya)

   • Example: Combination of “ර” and “ය.”

2. ක්‍ෂ (Ksha)

   • Example: Combination of “ක” and “ෂ.”

Pronunciation Tips

• Aspiration: Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a strong breath.
• Nasalization: Some consonants are nasalized.
• Consonant Clusters: Consonant clusters are common and can be complex.

Practice Exercises

• Listening and Speaking: Practice with audio resources to get familiar with pronunciation.
• Writing Practice: Write down each letter and practice forming words.
• Reading Practice: Start with simple texts, like children’s books or short stories, to familiarize yourself with the script.

Additional Resources

• Language Learning Apps: Look for apps that offer Sinhala language courses.
• Online Tutorials: Websites and YouTube channels may provide lessons in Sinhala.
• Language Exchange: Practice with native speakers for practical experience.

Conclusion

Understanding the Sinhala alphabet is crucial for effective communication in Sinhala. Regular practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing will lead to proficiency and a deeper appreciation of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Sinhalese people.