Why learn Sinhala?
Sinhala (සිංහල, sinhala) is the native language of approximately 17 million people, primarily in Sri Lanka where it is one of the two official languages alongside Tamil. Learning Sinhala opens a door to one of the oldest civilisations in South Asia.
According to Ethnologue, Sinhala has approximately 17 million native speakers (ISO code sin), plus several million second-language speakers, bringing total users to over 19 million. It is classified in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family, making it a distant relative of Hindi and Bengali.
Explore our Sinhala vocabulary or start your Sinhala journey on Targumi.
A language at the crossroads of cultures
Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is an island nation located south of India. Its strategic position on Indian Ocean trade routes made it a unique cultural crossroads. Sinhala reflects this richness: it has borrowed from Pali (the language of Theravada Buddhism), Sanskrit, Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch and English — witnesses to successive waves of trade and colonisation.
Theravada Buddhism
Sri Lanka is one of the strongholds of Theravada Buddhism, the oldest form of Buddhism. About 70% of the population is Buddhist, and the Sinhala language is intimately linked to the sacred texts in Pali. Learning Sinhala allows you to understand the suttas, temple rituals and the philosophy of life that permeates Sri Lankan daily life.
Sinhalese diglossia
Sinhala exhibits a marked phenomenon of diglossia: there is a literary form (elu) used in writing, formal media and literature, and a spoken form (katha basa) used in everyday conversation. Beginners generally focus on the spoken form, which is more accessible and immediately useful.
Professional opportunities
Sri Lanka is experiencing economic growth in tourism, IT and textiles. Speaking Sinhala is a considerable asset for business and project development in the region.
The Sinhala alphabet
The Sinhala alphabet (සිංහල අක්ෂර මාලාව) is an abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script. It is one of the most rounded alphabets in the world — a characteristic due to the historical use of palm leaves as writing material (straight lines would have torn the leaves).
Vowels (ස්වර)
Sinhala has 18 vowels (short and long):
| Vowel | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| අ (a) | short "a" |
| ආ (ā) | long "a" |
| ඉ (i) | short "i" |
| ඊ (ī) | long "i" |
| උ (u) | short "oo" |
| ඌ (ū) | long "oo" |
| එ (e) | as in "bed" |
| ඒ (ē) | long "e" |
| ඔ (o) | as in "go" |
| ඕ (ō) | long "o" |
Consonants (ව්යංජන)
The alphabet has 41 consonants organised by place of articulation:
- Velars: ක (ka), ඛ (kha), ග (ga), ඝ (gha), ඞ (ṅa)
- Palatals: ච (ca), ඡ (cha), ජ (ja), ඣ (jha), ඤ (ña)
- Retroflexes: ට (ṭa), ඨ (ṭha), ඩ (ḍa), ඪ (ḍha), ණ (ṇa)
- Dentals: ත (ta), ථ (tha), ද (da), ධ (dha), න (na)
- Labials: ප (pa), ඵ (pha), බ (ba), භ (bha), ම (ma)
Each consonant carries the default vowel "a". To modify the vowel, a diacritical mark is added.
Learning tip
Start with the vowels and the most common consonants. Practice tracing the rounded letters — Sinhala calligraphy is an art in itself. Apps like Targumi offer interactive exercises to gradually master the script.
Basic grammar
Word order: SOV
Sinhala follows the Subject - Object - Verb (SOV) order:
- මම බත් කනවා (mama bath kanawā) = I rice eat → "I eat rice"
- ඔහු පොතක් කියවනවා (ohu pothak kiyawanawā) = He book reads → "He reads a book"
Declensions
Sinhala is a language with declensions. Nouns change form according to their function in the sentence (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, etc.).
| Case | Suffix | Example (book = පොත, potha) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | — | පොත (potha) |
| Accusative | -ව (-wa) | පොතව (pothawa) |
| Dative | -ට (-ṭa) | පොතට (pothaṭa) |
| Genitive | -ගේ (-gē) | පොතේ (pothē) |
The verb system
Verbs are conjugated according to tense and level of politeness:
- Present: කනවා (kanawā) — I eat / he eats
- Past: කෑවා (kǣwā) — I ate
- Future: කනවා + future indicator
Sinhala distinguishes formal and informal registers in verb endings. When speaking to an elder, honorific forms are used.
Greetings and polite expressions
| English | Sinhala | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | ආයුබෝවන් | āyubōwan |
| How are you? | කොහොමද? | kohomada? |
| Fine, thank you | හොඳයි, ස්තූතියි | hoňdayi, stūtiyi |
| Thank you | ස්තූතියි | stūtiyi |
| Please | කරුණාකර | karuṇākara |
| Excuse me | සමාවෙන්න | samāwenna |
| Goodbye | ගිහින් එන්නම් | gihin ennam |
| Yes | ඔව් | ow |
| No | නැහැ | nähä |
ආයුබෝවන් (āyubōwan) literally means "may you live long." It is the traditional greeting, accompanied by hands joined in front of the chest.
Essential vocabulary — 50 words
| English | Sinhala | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Water | වතුර | watura |
| Food | කෑම | kǣma |
| House | ගෙදර | gedara |
| Family | පවුල | pawula |
| Mother | අම්මා | ammā |
| Father | තාත්තා | tāttā |
| Child | ලමයා | lamayā |
| Friend | යාළුවා | yāḷuwā |
| Love | ආදරය | ādaraya |
| Money | සල්ලි | salli |
| Work | වැඩ | waḍa |
| School | පාසල | pāsala |
| Market | පොළ | poḷa |
| Road | පාර | pāra |
| Car | කාරය | kāraya |
| Book | පොත | potha |
| Day | දවස | dawasa |
| Night | රැය | räya |
| Sun | හිරු | hiru |
| Moon | සඳ | saňda |
| Rain | වැස්ස | wässa |
| Big | ලොකු | loku |
| Small | පොඩි | poḍi |
| Good | හොඳ | hoňda |
| Bad | නරක | naraka |
| Beautiful | ලස්සන | lassana |
| Hot | උණුසුම් | uṇusum |
| Cold | සීතල | sītala |
| Eat | කනවා | kanawā |
| Drink | බොනවා | bonawā |
| Sleep | නිදාගන්නවා | nidāgannawā |
| Go | යනවා | yanawā |
| Come | එනවා | enawā |
| Speak | කතා කරනවා | katā karanawā |
| See | බලනවා | balanawā |
| Hear | අහනවා | ahanawā |
| Know | දන්නවා | dannawā |
| Want | ඕනේ | ōnē |
| Can | පුළුවන් | puḷuwan |
| Love (verb) | ආදරෙයි | ādareyi |
| Rice | බත් | bath |
| Tea | තේ | tē |
| Fish | මාළු | māḷu |
| Elephant | අලියා | aliyā |
| Temple | පන්සල | pansala |
| Sea | මුහුද | muhuda |
| Island | දිවයින | divayina |
| Country | රට | raṭa |
| Man | මිනිහා | minihā |
| Woman | ගැහැනු | gähänu |
Numbers
| Number | Sinhala | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | එක | eka |
| 2 | දෙක | deka |
| 3 | තුන | tuna |
| 4 | හතර | hatara |
| 5 | පහ | paha |
| 6 | හය | haya |
| 7 | හත | hata |
| 8 | අට | aṭa |
| 9 | නවය | nawaya |
| 10 | දහය | dahaya |
| 20 | විස්ස | wissa |
| 50 | පනහ | panaha |
| 100 | සියය | siyaya |
| 1000 | දහස | dahasa |
The number system is decimal. Compound numbers follow a logical pattern: 11 = එකොළහ (ekoḷaha), 25 = විසිපහ (wisipaha).
Useful everyday phrases
| English | Sinhala | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| What is your name? | ඔබේ නම මොකද්ද? | obē nama mokadda? |
| My name is... | මගේ නම... | magē nama... |
| I don't understand | මට තේරෙන්නේ නැහැ | maṭa tērennē nähä |
| Speak slowly | සෙමින් කතා කරන්න | semin katā karanna |
| How much does it cost? | මේකේ ගාන කීයද? | mēkē gāna kīyada? |
| Where are the toilets? | වැසිකිළිය කොහෙද? | wäsikiḷiya koheda? |
| I'm learning Sinhala | මම සිංහල ඉගෙන ගන්නවා | mama sinhala igena gannawā |
| It's delicious! | රසයි! | rasayi! |
| Help me please | කරුණාකර මට උදව් කරන්න | karuṇākara maṭa udaw karanna |
| I come from England | මම එංගලන්තයෙන් ආවා | mama engalantayen āwā |
Sri Lankan culture and traditions
Buddhism in daily life
Theravada Buddhism shapes life in Sri Lanka. Every poya (full moon) day is a public holiday. Sri Lankans visit the temple (pansala), offer lotus flowers and listen to the monk's teachings. The concept of pin (merit) is central: every good deed accumulates karmic merit.
Major festivals
- Sinhala and Tamil New Year (April): the most important festival, marking the Sinhalese and Tamil new year
- Vesak (May): celebration of the birth, enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha
- Kandy Perahera (July-August): spectacular procession with decorated elephants
- Deepavali: festival of lights celebrated by the Tamil community
Sri Lankan cuisine
Rice and curry is the national dish: rice accompanied by multiple curries (vegetables, fish, meat). Pol sambol (spiced grated coconut), dhal (lentils) and hoppers (bowl-shaped pancakes) are essential. Ceylon tea is world-famous.
Ayurveda
Sri Lanka is a centre of Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient healing tradition. Many Ayurvedic terms in Sinhala are essential for understanding this practice.
The Sinhalese diaspora
In the United Kingdom
The UK is home to the largest Sri Lankan diaspora in Europe, with significant communities in London (particularly in Tooting and Harrow). Cultural associations and Buddhist temples keep the language and traditions alive.
In Canada
Canada, particularly Toronto, is home to a Sri Lankan community of over 200,000 people. Scarborough is sometimes called "Little Jaffna," though the Sinhalese community there is also significant.
In Australia
Melbourne and Sydney have vibrant Sinhalese communities. Australia has become a major destination for Sri Lankan students and professionals.
In France
The Sri Lankan community in France, mainly in Paris (La Chapelle area, near Gare du Nord), is predominantly Tamil but also includes Sinhalese. Sri Lankan grocery shops and restaurants offer a taste of the culture.
Learn Sinhala with Targumi
On Targumi, we offer a complete method to learn Sinhala:
- Thematic vocabulary with native audio
- Interactive exercises adapted to your level
- Cultural context: Buddhism, traditions, Sinhalese proverbs
- Community of learners and native speakers
- Adaptive progression from beginner to advanced level
Sinhala is a fascinating language that connects you to 2,500 years of Buddhist history and civilisation. Every word you learn brings you closer to this magnificent island and its warm-hearted people.
ආයුබෝවන්! (Welcome!)
Article written by Priya Jayawardena, certified Sinhala teacher and Targumi collaborator. At Targumi, we make learning Sinhala accessible to everyone.
Sources and References
- Targumi — Learn Sinhalais: courses with certified native teachers.
- Wikipedia — Sinhalais: encyclopedic information on the language.
Further Reading
- All languages on Targumi — 106 languages taught