මට ඔයාව මතක් වෙනවා
mata oyāva matak venavā
The English phrase "I miss you" is translated into Sinhala as මට ඔයාව මතක් වෙනවා (mata oyāva matak venavā).
Meaning: I miss you (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "to me you are remembered" or "you occur to me".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form මට ඔයාව මතක් වෙනවා is colloquial. It uses the word ඔයාව (oyāva), which is common in casual, spoken Sinhala.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the dative case මට (to me) to express the feeling of missing someone.
How do you pronounce it?
mata oyāva matak venavā
Did you know?
- Depending on the relationship, ඔයාව may be replaced by ඔබව in formal settings or තෝව in very aggressive or low-status contexts, which can completely change the tone from affectionate to insulting.
- The Sanskrit roots of the phrase's components link the way you express personal longing to ancient, formal liturgical languages.
- Sinhala uses the dative case මට ('to me') for this phrase because the feeling of missing someone is viewed as something that happens to the person, rather than an action the person performs.
Example conversation
Kasun and Sanduni are talking on the phone.
- කසුන් Kasunසඳුනි, මට ඔයාව මතක් වෙනවා.Sanduni, maṭa oyāva matak venavā.Sanduni, I miss you.
- සඳුනි Sanduniමටත් ඔයාව මතක් වෙනවා, කසුන්.maṭat oyāva matak venavā, Kasun.I miss you too, Kasun.
- කසුන් Kasunඅපි ඉක්මනින් හමුවෙමු.api ikmanin hamuvemu.Let's meet soon.
- සඳුනි Sanduniඔව්, අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම.ov, anivāryenma.Yes, definitely.
