Numbers and quantities
❃ Numbers and quantities
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මට වතුර බෝතල් දෙකක් ඕනේ
[ maṭa vatura bōtal dekak ōnē ] -
I need two bottles of water
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මට ටිකට් තුනක් දෙන්න
[ maṭa ṭikaṭ tunak denna ] -
Give me three tickets
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මේක රුපියල් පන්සීයක් වෙනවා
[ mēka rupiyal pansīyak venavā ] -
This costs five hundred rupees
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මා ළඟ තියෙන්නේ රුපියල් දාහක් විතරයි
[ mā ḷan̆ga tiyennē rupiyal dāhak vitarayi ] -
I only have one thousand rupees
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හතර දෙනෙක් ඉන්නවද?
[ hatara denek innavada? ] -
Are there four people?
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මට තව බත් ටිකක් ඕනේ
[ maṭa tava bat ṭikak ōnē ] -
I want a little more rice
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කරුණාකරලා සීනි අඩුවෙන් දාන්න
[ karuṇākaralā sīni aḍuven dānna ] -
Put less sugar, please
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ඒක ගොඩක් වැඩියි
[ ēka goḍak væḍiyi ] -
That is too much
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මට මේකෙන් භාගයක් ඕනේ
[ maṭa mēken bhāgayak ōnē ] -
I need half of this
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ඔයා ළඟ බෑග් ගොඩක් තියෙනවද?
[ oyā ḷan̆ga bǣg goḍak tiyenavada? ] -
Do you have a lot of bags?
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ගාණ ටිකක් අඩු කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?
[ gāṇa ṭikak aḍu karanna puḷuvanda? ] -
Can you give me a discount?
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තව කෑලි කීපයක් දාන්න
[ tava kǣli kīpayak dānna ] -
Add a few more pieces
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එයා විනාඩි දහයකින් එයි
[ eyā vināḍi dahayakin eyi ] -
He will come in ten minutes
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මම අඹ පහක් ගත්තා
[ mama am̆ba pahak gattā ] -
I bought five mangoes
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ඒකට පැයක් විතර යනවා
[ ēkaṭa pæyak vitara yanavā ] -
It takes about an hour
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මේක ඇතිද?
[ mēka ætida? ] -
Is this enough?
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මේක මදි
[ mēka madi ] -
This is not enough
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මට මාරු කාසි ටිකක් ඕනේ
[ maṭa māru kāsi ṭikak ōnē ] -
I need some small change
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ඔයා ළඟ රුපියල් පනහක් තියෙනවද?
[ oyā ḷan̆ga rupiyal panahak tiyenavada? ] -
Do you have fifty rupees?
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අපි දවස් තුනක් ඉන්නවා
[ api davas tunak innavā ] -
We will stay for three days
In Sri Lanka, numbers and quantities are not just cold facts; they are the starting point for lively social interactions, especially when bargaining at a bustling "Pola" (local market) or negotiating with a tuk-tuk driver. While fixed prices exist in supermarkets, almost everything else is negotiable. Therefore, knowing basic quantities is incredibly useful. The currency is the Sri Lankan Rupee (රුපියල් - rupiyal). When shopping or ordering food, you will frequently use the words "Godak" (ගොඩක් - goɖak), meaning "A lot" or "Many," and "Tikak" (ටිකක් - ṭikak), meaning "A little." For instance, Sri Lankan food is notoriously fiery! If you are not accustomed to high spice levels, asking for "Miris tikak" (A little chili) will save your palate. If a vendor quotes a price that seems too high, you can smile and say "Gaana godak wadiyi" (ගාණ ගොඩක් වැඩියි - gaːɳa goɖak wæɖiji), which means "The price is too much/too high." Bargaining here is not an aggressive confrontation; it is a friendly, theatrical dance. Always keep a smile on your face and treat the negotiation like a game. Furthermore, when taking a bus or buying small items from a "Kade" (small shop), having "Maru kaasi" (මාරු කාසි - maːru kaːsi), meaning "small change," is vital. Drivers and small vendors rarely have change for large 5000-rupee notes. Expressing quantities clearly in Sinhala will earn you the vendor's respect and almost certainly a better local price.
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