Language/Sinhala/Vocabulary/Animals

Sinhala Vocabulary - Animals

Hi Sinhala learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn Sinhala vocabulary related to animals. Learning vocabulary related to animals can be really fun and it can also teach us a lot about the culture of a language. For example, did you know that elephants have a special place in the hearts of Sri Lankans? There are even annual elephant festivals in Sri Lanka to celebrate this majestic animal!

Let's get started with our Sinhala vocabulary lesson on animals. Don't forget to use Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Land Animals

Wild Animals

Here are some Sinhala words for wild animals:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
අලියා	aliyaa	elephant
දිවියා	dhiwiyaa	leopard
මුවා	muwaa	deer
වලහා	walahaa	bear
හරකා	harakaa	buffalo

Let's practice using these words in a dialogue:

• Person 1: මම අලියන් බලන්න කැමතියි(Mama aliyan balanna kaemathiy) (I like to see elephants.)
• Person 2: මටත් කැලේදි දිවියෙක් බලන්න ඕන.(Matath kaeleedhi dhiwiyek balanna oona.) (I also want to see a leopard in the wild.)

Domesticated Animals

Now let's look at some Sinhala words for domesticated animals:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
එළදෙන	eladena	cow
ගවයා	gawayaa	ox
එළුවා	eluwaa	goat
බැටළුවා	baetaluwaa	sheep
ඌරා	uuraa	pig

Now let's use some of these words in a dialogue:

• Person 1: එළදෙනුන් කන්නේ මොනවාද? (Eladenun kannee monawaada?) (What do cows eat?)
• Person 2: එළදෙනුන් හා බැටළුවන් සාමාන්‍යයෙන් මඩුවල තබනවා.(eladenun haa baetaluwan saamanyayen maduwala thabanawaa.) (Cows and sheep are usually kept in a barn.)

Water Animals

Water animals are really important to Sri Lanka as it is an island nation. Here are some Sinhala words for water animals:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මාළුවා	maaluwaa	fish
ආඳා	aandha	eel
කකුළුවා	kakuluwaa	crab
පොකිරිස්සා	pokirissaa	lobster
ඉස්සා	issaa	shrimps

Now let's practice using these words in a dialogue:

• Person 1: අපි ඊයේ මුහුදෙන් මාළු ඇල්ලුවා ද? (Api iiyee muhuden maalu aelluwada?) (Did we catch any fish when we went fishing in the ocean yesterday?)
• Person 2: අද අපි මාළුන් වැඩි ගානකට වික්කා. (Ada api maalun waedi gaanakata wikkaa.) (Today, we were able to sell fish at a higher price.)

Birds

Birds are important to many cultures including Sri Lankan culture. Here are some Sinhala words for birds:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
කිකිළි	kikili	Hen
කාක්කා	kaakkaa	crow
හංසයා	kokaa	crane
ගිරවා	giravaa	parrot
හංසයා	hansayaa	swan

• The buffaloes and cranes are considered as best friends by sri lankan children.Cranes are always seen in rice fields.

Insects

Insects are interesting creatures with unique traits. Here are some Sinhala words for insects:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
සමනලයා	samanalayaa	butterfly
කූඹියා	kuumbiyaa	ant
මී මැස්සා	mii maessaa	bee
තණකොල පෙත්තා	thanakola peththaa	grasshopper
මදුරුවා	madhuruwaa	mosquito

Now let's use these words in a dialogue:

• Person 1: සමනලයාගෙන් සංකේතවත් කරන්නේ මොකක්ද?(samanalayaagen sangkeethawath karannee mokadhdha?) (What do butterflies symbolize?)
• Person 2: සමනලුන් දිව්‍ය ලෝකයට පණිවිඩ ගෙනයන බව විශ්වාස කරනවා.(Samanalun diwya lookayata paniwida genayana bawa wishwasa karanawa.) (Butterflies are believed to carry messages to heaven.)

Now that we've learned some Sinhala vocabulary related to animals, let's go out and explore the world around us with this new knowledge. Keep learning and don't forget to practice with native speakers to improve your Sinhala.

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Days of the Week
• Resources
• Languages
• How to Say Hello and Greetings
• Count to 10
• Time
• Food
• Weather
• Useful phrases

Sources

• Names of Animals in Sinhala | The Lazy But Smart Sinhala Blog
• English-Sinhala Bilingual Children's Picture Dictionary of Animals ...
• Level 16 - Animals - Basic Sinhala (in English Charactors) - Memrise