ආයුබෝවන්
āyubōwan
The English phrase "hi" can be expressed in Sinhala using ආයුබෝවන් (āyubōwan).
ආයුබෝවන් is used as a standard greeting when meeting someone and also when departing.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The term ආයුබෝවන් literally means "may you live long".
Which one should you use?
While the English "hi" is an informal greeting, the standard Sinhala greeting ආයුබෝවන් is actually quite formal and respectful.
How do you pronounce it?
āyubōwan
Did you know?
- When using ආයුබෝවන්, it is customary to join your palms together in front of your chest, a gesture known as 'añjali mudrā', to show respect.
- The word ආයු within the greeting is a direct relative of the English word 'age', both stemming from roots related to time and duration.
- Depending on the social hierarchy, the tone and head tilt used when saying ආයුබෝවන් can change to signal different levels of deference to an elder.
Example conversation
Ishani and Kasun meet at a cafe.
- ඉෂානි Ishaniආයුබෝවන්, කසුන්!Ayubowan, Kasun!Hi, Kasun!
- කසුන් Kasunආයුබෝවන්, ඉෂානි! ඔයාට කොහොමද?Ayubowan, Ishani! oyata kohomada?Hello, Ishani! How are you doing?
- ඉෂානි Ishaniමට ගොඩක් හොඳයි, ස්තූතියි.mata godak hondayi, sthuthiyi.I am very well, thank you.
- කසුන් Kasunඒක ඇසීම සතුටක්.eka aseema sathutak.Glad to hear that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ආයුබෝවන්, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ආයුබෝවන්, CC BY-SA 4.0.
