ආයුබෝවන්
āyubōwan
The Sinhala phrase for goodbye is ආයුබෝවන් (āyubōwan). Wiktionary also lists ආයුබෝ (āyubō).
Meaning: farewell (intj)
Ways to say it
| Sinhala | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ආයුබෝවන් | āyubōwan |
| ආයුබෝ | āyubō |
ආයුබෝවන් is used to say farewell or to greet someone, and it carries the blessing "may you live long".
What does it mean word for word?
The word ආයුබෝවන් is a combination of āyu, meaning "life" or "years" and bōwan, meaning "may you have".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ආයුබෝවන් is the standard, polite and formal way to say goodbye or to greet someone. The shorter form ආයුබෝ is also available.
How do you pronounce it?
āyubōwan
Did you know?
- The root of ආයුබෝවන් connects it to the Sanskrit word āyu, which is also the ancestor of the English word 'aeon', referring to a vast period of time.
- Using ආයුබෝවන් is often accompanied by a gesture of joining your palms together, known as 'añjali mudrā', which adds a layer of respect to the farewell.
- Because it is a blessing for longevity, ආයුබෝවන් is frequently used by announcers in national radio and television broadcasts to address the public.
Examples in context
- ආයුබෝවන්, ඉක්මනින් හමුවෙමු.āyubōvan, ikmanin hamuvemu.Goodbye, let's meet soon.
- ඔබට ආයුබෝවන්!obata āyubōvan!Goodbye to you!
- මම දැන් යන්නම්, ආයුබෝවන්.mama dæn yannam, āyubōvan.I will go now, goodbye.
Example conversation
Nimalshi and Roshan are leaving a social gathering.
- නිමල්ෂි Nimalshiරොෂාන්, මම දැන් යන්නම්.roshān, mama dæn yannam.Roshan, I am leaving now.
- රොෂාන් Roshanහරි නිමල්ෂි, ආයුබෝවන්!hari nimalṣi, āyubōvan!Okay Nimalshi, goodbye!
- නිමල්ෂි Nimalshiආයුබෝවන්, පරිස්සමෙන් යන්න.āyubōvan, parissamen yanna.Goodbye, go safely.
- රොෂාන් Roshanස්තූතියි, ඔබටත් ආයුබෝවන්.stūti, obatatt āyubōvan.Thank you, goodbye to you too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “goodbye” translations and entries ආයුබෝවන්, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ආයුබෝවන්, CC BY-SA 4.0.
