සමාවෙන්න
samāvenna
The Sinhala word for sorry is සමාවෙන්න (samāvenna).
සමාවෙන්න is an expression of regret or sorrow used to apologize or ask for forgiveness.
Meaning: expression of regret or sorrow (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a combination of the noun සමාව (samāva), meaning forgiveness and the verb වෙන්න (venna), meaning to become or be. Literally, it means 'be forgiven'.
Which one should you use?
සමාවෙන්න is the standard polite way to express regret, but depending on the context, it can also function as a command meaning 'Forgive me'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form සමාවෙන්න is polite and suitable for use with strangers, elders or in formal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
To state 'I am sorry' or 'I apologize' within a complete sentence, you would use the non-imperative verb form සමාවෙන්නවා.
How do you pronounce it?
samāvenna
Did you know?
- The phrase සමාවෙන්න is an imperative form, meaning you are effectively commanding the state of forgiveness to happen.
- When apologizing, a slight side-to-side tilt of the head is a common non-verbal cue used alongside සමාවෙන්න to signal humility and soften the tone.
- While සමාවෙන්න is used for mistakes, Sri Lankans may use different phrases for 'sorry' when expressing condolences, as the concepts of regret and sympathy are distinct.
Examples in context
- සමාවෙන්න.Sorry.This example shows how to use the form සමාවෙන්න to say sorry.Tatoeba #10119280 by valestanov, translation #3378159 by Jesse
- මම පරක්කු වෙච්ච එකට සමාවෙන්න.mama parakku vechcha ekata samavenna.I am sorry for being late.
Example conversation
Ishani accidentally steps on Roshan's foot.
- ඉෂානි Ishaniඅයියෝ, සමාවෙන්න රොෂාන්!ayyo, samawenna Roshan!Oh, sorry Roshan!
- රොෂාන් Roshanඒකට කමක් නැහැ, ඉෂානි.ekata kamak naha, Ishani.It's okay, Ishani.
- ඉෂානි Ishaniඔයාට ගොඩක් රිදුණද?oyata godak ridunada?Did it hurt a lot?
- රොෂාන් Roshanනැහැ, ප්රශ්නයක් නැහැ.naha, prashnayak naha.No, it's no problem.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
