බල්ලා
ballā/bəllaː/
The English word dog is translated into Sinhala as බල්ලා (ballā). Wiktionary also lists සුනඛයා (sunakhayā) and බැල්ලී (bællī).
Meaning: animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Sinhala | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| බල්ලා | ballā | /bəllaː/ | |
| සුනඛයා | sunakhayā | ||
| බැල්ලී | bællī | feminine |
The word refers to the animal known as a dog.
Which one should you use?
බල්ලා is the common everyday word used in standard conversation, while සුනඛයා is a formal or scientific term for a dog.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate the plural of the common word බල්ලා, use බල්ලෝ. If you wish to express the indefinite form 'a dog', you add the suffix -ක් to the word to form බල්ලෙක්.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of බල්ලා is ballā (/bəllaː/).
Did you know?
- The common word බල්ලා is believed to be rooted in the Sanskrit word for 'barking', meaning the name itself is an onomatopoeia for the sound a dog makes.
- In Sinhala, the word බල්ලා can be used as a harsh insult when directed at a person. Calling someone a 'dog' in this context implies they are shameless or low-born.
- If you are talking about a female dog specifically, you use බැල්ලී, but in many casual household settings, people often use the masculine බල්ලා as a generic term for any dog regardless of gender.
Examples in context
- ඒ බල්ලා හරිම හුරුබුහුටි.ē ballā harima hurubuhati.That dog is very cute.
- මගේ බල්ලා නිදාගෙන ඉන්නවා.magē ballā nidāgena innavā.My dog is sleeping.
Example conversation
Sanduni and Nupun are looking at a dog in the garden.
- සඳුනි Sanduniනුපුන්, අර බල්ලා බලන්න!Nupun, ara ballā balanna!Nupun, look at that dog!
- නුපුන් Nupunඔව්, ඒක හරිම කුඩායි.ov, ēka harima kuḍāyi.Yes, it is very small.
- සඳුනි Sanduniඅපි බල්ලාට කෑම දෙමුද?api ballāṭa kæma demuda?Shall we give the dog some food?
- නුපුන් Nupunඔව්, අපි දැන් දෙමු.ov, api dæn demu.Yes, let's give it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dog” translations and entries බල්ලා, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries බල්ලා, CC BY-SA 4.0.
