ඉස්තුති
istuti
The English phrase "thank you" is expressed in Sinhala as ඉස්තුති (istuti). Wiktionary also lists ස්තුති (stuti).
Meaning: an expression of gratitude (intj)
Ways to say it
| Sinhala | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ඉස්තුති | istuti |
| ස්තුති | stuti |
These forms are used to express gratitude. While ඉස්තුති is a formal way to say thank you, the colloquial form ස්තුතියි is much more common in everyday spoken Sinhala.
Which one should you use?
The form ස්තුති (stuti) functions more as a noun meaning "thanks" or "gratitude" and often requires a particle or verb to function as a complete sentence like "thank you". In contrast, ඉස්තුති (istuti) is a common formal way to say thank you.
How do you pronounce it?
istuti
Did you know?
- In close friendships or family circles, Sri Lankans rarely use ඉස්තුති because formal gratitude can create a sense of emotional distance or imply a business-like transaction.
- The word ස්තුතියි shares a linguistic root with the Sanskrit word stuti, which historically referred to a hymn of praise directed toward a deity.
- It is a common cultural gesture to initially decline a gift or show modesty before saying ඉස්තුති to demonstrate humility.
Examples in context
- ඔබට බොහොම ඉස්තුති.obata bo'homa istuti.Thank you very much.
- උදව්වට ඉස්තුති.udawwata istuti.Thank you for the help.
Example conversation
Kavindya receives a gift from Roshan.
- කවින්ද්යා Kavindyaමේක මට ගොඩක් ලස්සනයි, ඉස්තුති!meka mata godak lassanayi, istuti!This is very beautiful for me, thank you!
- රොෂාන් Roshanඔයා ඒකට කැමති වුණාට මට සතුටුයි.oya ekata kamathi unata mata sathutuyi.I am happy that you liked it.
- කවින්ද්යා Kavindyaඔයාගේ කරුණාවට ගොඩක් ඉස්තුති, රොෂාන්.oyage karunavata godak istuti, roshan.Thank you very much for your kindness, Roshan.
- රොෂාන් Roshanඒක ප්රශ්නයක් නැහැ.eka prashnayak nahah.It is no problem.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thank you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
