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Monthly Archives: July 2017

A few useful phrases in Sinhala for travellers

Sinhala, also known as Sinhalese is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese people, who make up the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also spoken, as a second language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 3 million. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka. Sinhala, along with Pali, played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature.

Sinhala has its own writing system, the Sinhala alphabet, which is a member of the Brahmic family of scripts, and a descendant of the ancient Indian Brahmi script.

The oldest Sinhala inscriptions found are from the 6th century BCE, on pottery;the oldest existing literary works date from the 9th century CE.

The closest relative of Sinhala is the language of the Maldives and Minicoy Island (India), Dhivehi.

It’s good to learn a few words if you’re planning to come to Sri Lanka.  Here are a few that will help you on your trip.

English

Sinhala

Welcome
Sadarayen Piligannawa, Ayubowan

Hello
Halo

How are you?

Good, thank you
Kohomadha?

Hondhin innavā
Istuti mama hodin innava

What’s your name?

My name is …
Oyaagee nama mokakda?

Magee nama …

Where are you from?
I’m from …
Oba kohedha?

Mama ….. vella

Pleased to meet you
Oba dhana ganima sathutak

Good morning
Subha udhaasanak

Good afternoon
Subha sandhavak

Goodbye
Gihillaa ennam
Hari, gihin enna – ok goodbye
Mama yanawaaa = ‘I’m going’

Good luck
Vāsanā vēvvā!

All the best
Mama obata suba pathami

Have a nice day
Subha davasak

Do you understand?
Tērenavā da?

I understand
Mata teerenavaaa

I don’t understand
Mata obava therum ganna baahaa

Do you speak English?
Oba ingreesi kathaa karanavadha?

Do you speak Sinhala?

 

Yes, a little
Oba sinhala kathā karanavadha?

Maṭa eya kiyanna pūl̠ūvan

Excuse me
Samāvena

How much is this?
Kiyeda?Kiyeda meka?

Sorry
Mata samāvenna

Please
Karunakarala

Thank you

 

Response
Istuti

ehkata kamak na

Where’s the toilet?
Wasikiliya koheda thiyenne?

I’m lost
Mata pāra waradilla

Go away! Or Go This Way
Metanin yana!

Help!
Fire!
Stop!
Mata udaw wena
Gini gannawa!
Navatinna!

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By |July 19th, 2017|Blog|Comments Off on A few useful phrases in Sinhala for travellers|
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Things to do in August: Madhu Church Festival, Mannar

If you’re in Sri Lanka in August, there are a couple of things worth seeing.  The closest to our heart is the Elephant Gathering in Minneriya National Park – we LOVE elephants when they’re roaming free in protected areas 🙂
On the other side of the island in early August is the Madhu Church festival, which is a huge draw for Sri Lankan catholics and very interesting to see. Thousands of Catholic devotees flock from all over the island to the Church premises to celebrate the day of assumption of the hallowed Virgin Mary.

Festivities begin after a ceremonial hoisting of the flag and religious observances. Sermons held in both Sinhala and Tamil, and the same with high masses, usher offer praise. The shrine of the Virgin Mary is carried on the shoulders of her followers in and around the Church premises in an immense procession. Throughout the duration of this procession, crowds can be heard reciting the Rosary and singing hymns. Time and time again “Hail Marys” and “Amens’ rise harmoniously into the air, in admiration of their idol.
The celebrations continue for up to ten days, with food, garment, cutlery and many more vendors entertaining the crowds that linger on for as long as the festivities last. This is probably a day visit as places to stay in Mannar are few and far between.  Mind you, just a 2.5 hours from Jaffna and a couple of hours from Anuradhapura, you can combine some very interesting sight seeing and Mannar itself gives you access to a lesser developed Sri Lanka.

By |July 13th, 2017|Blog, Things to To In Sri Lanka|Comments Off on Things to do in August: Madhu Church Festival, Mannar|
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    Health Screening at Nawaloka Hospital for Less than $200 USD

Health Screening at Nawaloka Hospital for Less than $200 USD

If it’s been a while since you had a full health check up, you might want to consider getting a once over in Sri Lanka.  It’s professional, it’s significantly cheaper than Europe and Australia and after a 3-day stay in the Negombo area and just a couple of visits to the hospital you can have a comprehensive health check up and gain peace of mind for the rest of the year.

Nawaloka Hospital in Negombo town offers a wide range of Out Patient Heath Check Packages ranging in price from a basic diabetes check up for less than $10USD to a comprehensive full body check up for about $195USD +VAT for women and $160USD+ VAT for men.  You don’t even need to make an appointment, although it’s good to arrange it in advance as many of the blood tests require a 12-hour fast.

It’s simple, fast (often just 4-5 hours of tests) and then you wait for the results to come back before you have a full consultation with each of the relevant medical specialists.

So, if you’ve had a nagging health issue that you want to investigate, or you’re due for an annual check up, perhaps you can incorporate it into your holiday and go home with happy memories and a bill of clean health.

Nawaloka also offers the same services in Colombo.

CLICK HERE find out more information for a Negombo check up or contact them
By Phone : +94(0) 31 5 777 777   or   Fax: +94(0) 31 2 222 955
By Email : info.neg@nawaloka.com
If you’d like to arrange a health check up or vaccination while you’re staying with us please email us at info@firedragonhideawaynegombo.com for help with any arrangements.

By |July 8th, 2017|Blog, Things to To In Sri Lanka, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Health Screening at Nawaloka Hospital for Less than $200 USD|
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