සිංහල

Sinhala

Indo-Aryan

FamilyIndo-Aryan Speakers~17M ScriptSinhala CountriesSri Lanka Official inSri Lanka Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3sin

Sinhala (සිංහල) is the predominant language of Sri Lanka, with ~17M speakers (~75% of the population), an Insular Indo-Aryan language that developed in isolation from the mainland for over two millennia after the legendary 5th-c. BCE migration of Prince Vijaya. Long-standing influence from Pali (the canonical language of Theravada Buddhism) and Sanskrit, with substantial Dravidian (Tamil, Malayalam) loanwords from prolonged contact. The 2300+ year literary tradition begins with the Sigiriya graffiti (8th-10th c. CE) and continues through medieval Buddhist commentary literature. Uses the distinctive rounded Sinhala abugida derived from Brahmi via Grantha, with vowel diacritics arranged around consonant glyphs. Co-official with Tamil since the 1987 13th Amendment.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Sinhala

Water

වතුර

/ʋatuɾə/

Fire

ගින්න

/ɡɪnːə/

Sun

ඉර

/ɪɾə/

Moon

හඳ

/handə/

Star

තරුව

/t̪aruʋə/

Mother

අම්මා

/əmːaː/

Father

තාත්තා

/taːtːaː/

I

මම

/mamə/

You

ඔයා

/oja/

Name

නම

/namə/

Eye

ඇස

/æsə/

Hand

අත

/ətə/

Heart

හදවත

/ɦədəʋətə/

Love

ආදරය

/aːdəɾəjə/

Tree

ගස

/ɡəsə/

House

ගෙදර

/ɡedəɾə/

Dog

බල්ලා

/bəlːaː/

Cat

පූසා

/puːsaː/

Eat

කනවා

/kənəʋaː/

Drink

බොනවා

/bonəʋaː/

One

එක

/ekə/

Two

දෙක

/d̪ekə/

Hello

ආයුබෝවන්

/aːjuboːʋən/

Thank you

ස්තූතියි

/stuːtɪjɪ/

Good

හොඳ

/ɦondə/

Cuckoo

කොහා

/kohaː/

Woof

බුඃ බුඃ

/buh buh/

Computer

පරිගණකය

/pɐɾiɡɐɳɐkɐjɐ/

Sushi

සුෂි

/suʃi/

Dopamine

ඩොපමීන්

/ɖopamiːn/

At sign (@)

ඇට්

/æʈ/

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-Aryan languages

Meaning SinhalaOdiaGujaratiMarathiMalayalamDhivehiNepali
Water වතුර /ʋatuɾə/ ପାଣି /paːɳi/ પાણી /paːɳiː/ पाणी /paːɳiː/ വെള്ളം /ʋeɭːəm/ ފެން /fen/ पानी /paːniː/
Fire ගින්න /ɡɪnːə/ ନିଆଁ /niãː/ આગ /aːɡ/ अग्नी /əɡniː/ തീ /tiː/ އަލިފާން /alifaːn/ आगो /aːɡo/
Sun ඉර /ɪɾə/ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ /suːɾjɔ/ સૂર્ય /suːɾjə/ सूर्य /suːɾjə/ സൂര്യൻ /suːɾjən/ އިރު /iru/ सूर्य /suːɾjə/
Moon හඳ /handə/ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର /tʃɔndɾɔ/ ચંદ્ર /tʃəndɾə/ चंद्र /tʃəndɾə/ ചന്ദ്രൻ /tʃəndɾən/ ހަނދު /handu/ चन्द्रमा /tʃəndɾəmaː/
Star තරුව /t̪aruʋə/ ତାରା /taɾa/ તારો /t̪aːɾo/ तारा /t̪aːɾaː/ നക്ഷത്രം /nakʂat̪ram/ ތަރި /t̪ari/ तारा /t̪aːraː/
Mother අම්මා /əmːaː/ ମା /maː/ મા /maː/ आई /aːiː/ അമ്മ /əmːə/ މަންމަ /mamma/ आमा /aːmaː/
Father තාත්තා /taːtːaː/ ବାପା /baːpaː/ પિતા /pɪtaː/ वडील /ʋəɖiːl/ അച്ഛൻ /ətʃːʰən/ ބައްޕަ /bappa/ बुबा /bubaː/
I මම /mamə/ ମୁଁ /mũ/ હું /ɦũ/ मी /miː/ ഞാൻ /ɲaːn/ އަހަރެން /aharen/ /ma/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
Sinhala
මම හෝටලයට මුහුණලා සාප්පුවක දුටු සූට් එක ඇඳ බැලීමට කැමතියි
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

আমি হোটেলের উল্টোদিকের দোকানে দেখা স্যুট পরে দেখতে চাই
હું હોટલની સામેની દુકાનમાં જોયેલો સૂટ પહેરી જોવા માગું છું
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
ମୁଁ ହୋଟେଲ ସାମନାରେ ଦୋକାନରେ ଦେଖିଥିବା ସୁଟ୍ ପିନ୍ଧିବାକୁ ଚାହୁଁଛି
Sinhala
මම හෝටලයට මුහුණලා සාප්පුවක දුටු සූට් එක ඇඳ බැලීමට කැමතියි

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