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Sinhala for free
Why learn Sinhala?
Sinhala is one of the 67 languages you can learn on Lingocard with frequency-ranked flashcards, spaced repetition, and live speaking partners. Build vocabulary and pronunciation at your own pace, on web and mobile.
In the US Foreign Service Institute ranking, Sinhala is a Category III language - about 1100 class hours to professional working proficiency for English speakers. Sinhala belongs to the Indo-European (Indo-Aryan) family - if you enjoy it, a natural next step is Bengali or Hindi.
50 essential Sinhala words
Start with the words you will actually meet: learn these and you will recognize something in almost every Sinhala sentence.
| # | Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | මම | MAH-mah | I |
| 2 | ඔබ | OH-bah | you |
| 3 | ඔහු | OH-hoo | he |
| 4 | ඇය | A-yah | she |
| 5 | අපි | AH-pee | we |
| 6 | ඔවුන් | OH-voon | they |
| 7 | මේ | meh | this |
| 8 | ඒ | eh | that |
| 9 | කුමක් | KOO-mahk | what |
| 10 | කවුද | KOW-dah | who |
| 11 | නැහැ | NA-ha | no |
| 12 | සහ | SAH-hah | and |
| 13 | හෝ | hoh | or |
| 14 | නමුත් | nah-MOOT | but |
| 15 | තුළ | TOO-lah | in |
| 16 | සමඟ | SAH-mah-gah | with |
| 17 | එක | EH-kah | one |
| 18 | දෙක | DEH-kah | two |
| 19 | ලොකු | LOH-koo | big |
| 20 | පොඩි | POH-dee | small |
| 21 | හොඳ | HOHN-dah | good |
| 22 | අලුත් | ah-LOOT | new |
| 23 | මිනිසා | mee-nee-SAH | person |
| 24 | වතුර | WAH-too-rah | water |
| 25 | දවස | DAH-vah-sah | day |
| 26 | අවුරුද්ද | ah-voo-ROOD-dah | year |
| 27 | වෙලාව | veh-LAH-vah | time |
| 28 | ගෙදර | GEH-dah-rah | house |
| 29 | වැඩ | WA-dah | work |
| 30 | ජීවිතය | JEE-vee-tah-yah | life |
| 31 | වචනය | WAH-chah-nah-yah | word |
| 32 | වෙනවා | veh-nah-WAH | to become |
| 33 | තියෙනවා | tee-yeh-nah-WAH | have |
| 34 | කරනවා | kah-rah-nah-WAH | do |
| 35 | කියනවා | kee-yah-nah-WAH | say |
| 36 | දන්නවා | dahn-nah-WAH | know |
| 37 | බලනවා | bah-lah-nah-WAH | see |
| 38 | යනවා | yah-nah-WAH | go |
| 39 | එනවා | eh-nah-WAH | come |
| 40 | දෙනවා | deh-nah-WAH | give |
| 41 | ගන්නවා | gahn-nah-WAH | take |
| 42 | ඕනෑ | OH-na | want |
| 43 | කනවා | kah-nah-WAH | eat |
| 44 | බොනවා | boh-nah-WAH | to drink |
| 45 | දැන් | dan | now |
| 46 | මෙතන | MEH-tah-nah | here |
| 47 | එතන | EH-tah-nah | there |
| 48 | කොහෙද | KOH-heh-dah | where |
| 49 | ඇයි | A-yee | why |
| 50 | ඔක්කොම | OHK-koh-mah | all |
Useful phrases in Sinhala
- ආයුබෝවන් · aa-yu-BO-wan · Hello / Good day
- කොහොමද? · ko-HO-ma-da · How are you?
- ස්තූතියි · s-TOO-ti-yi · Thank you
- කරුණාකර · ka-ru-NA-ka-ra · Please
- මගේ නම... · ma-GE na-ma · My name is...
- ... කොහෙද? · KO-he-da · Where is...?
- ආයුබෝවන් · AH-yu-BOH-wan · Goodbye
- සමාවෙන්න · sa-MAH-wen-na · Excuse me
- මට තේරෙන්නේ නැහැ · MA-ta TEH-ren-ne NAE-hae · I don't understand
- ඔයාට මට උදව් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? · O-yah-ta MA-ta u-DOW ka-RAN-na pu-lu-WAN-da · Can you help me?
- මේක කීයද? · MEH-ka KEE-ya-da · How much is it?
- හෙට හම්බවෙමු! · HE-ta HAM-ba-we-mu · See you tomorrow!
Learn Sinhala with comprehensive language resources
- Pronunciation
- Numbers
- Verbs and adjectives
- Frequency dictionaries
- Basic sentences
- Thematic dictionaries
- Politeness
- Idioms
Learn Sinhala, wherever you are
- AI-powered spaced repetition learning system on the go
- Audio processing for pronunciation
- Creation of visual language flash cards with images
- Search for speaking practice partners
- Frequency and thematic dictionaries for any language
- Alert system with exercise reminders
- Live video and messaging to facilitate learning
Join our global Sinhala learning community
Collaborate with native Sinhala speakers and fellow learners: exchange messages, correct each other's cards, and practice real conversation.
Send friend requests to the speakers you click with and build your own friends list - many practice partners become real friends.
Are you an educator? Teach Sinhala online · Create an online Sinhala school · Build a Sinhala curriculum
Frequently asked questions about learning Sinhala
How difficult is it to learn Sinhala?
How difficult Sinhala is depends on your background, but every language becomes manageable with consistent daily practice. Focusing on the most frequent words first means you can understand and say a lot early on. In the US Foreign Service Institute ranking, Sinhala is a Category III language - about 1100 class hours to professional working proficiency for English speakers.
What should I learn first to reach a basic level in Sinhala?
Start with the 100-500 most frequent words (free in our apps) and the thematic dictionaries most relevant to your daily life. Set clear goals and practise a few minutes every day - consistency is what produces results. Then connect with other learners to build confidence at your new basic level.
How long does it take to learn Sinhala?
Most learners reach a comfortable conversational level in Sinhala within 8-18 months of consistent daily study. Practising vocabulary with spaced repetition and speaking regularly speeds this up considerably. About 17 million people across 1 countries speak Sinhala, so you will never run short of practice partners.
How do I improve my Sinhala vocabulary?
Use the spaced-repetition and flashcard systems in the app. You can set daily, weekly, or yearly goals in our mobile apps and steadily reach the vocabulary size you’re aiming for.
Is Sinhala pronunciation hard?
Every language has a few sounds that take practice, but Sinhala pronunciation becomes consistent with regular listening and speaking. Hearing the language often matters more than memorising rules.
How do I get Free Sinhala speaking practice?
Open the Practice or Friends page in the app, send practice requests, and start real conversations with other learners - don’t be shy! You can also mention that you want speaking practice when you create your account, and the platform will help match you with suitable partners.
Do I need to learn the Sinhala alphabet first?
If Sinhala uses a different script, learning it early unlocks reading - and it's usually faster than people expect. On Lingocard you'll find every alphabet, with example words, free.