ඉන්න
inna
The English phrase 'wait' is translated into Sinhala as ඉන්න (inna).
ඉන්න is used when you want someone to physically stay in a place or delay their movement. A common and natural way to say 'wait a moment' or 'wait a bit' is to say පොඩ්ඩක් ඉන්න.
Meaning: delay until some event (verb)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between physical waiting and mental expectation. Use ඉන්න when someone needs to stay in a location, but use පොරොත්තු වෙනවා if you mean to wait in the sense of 'expecting' something or someone.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form ඉන්න is informal and should be used when speaking to friends, children or people younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word ඉන්න is the root or imperative form. In standard sentences to express a continuous or habitual action, the form ඉන්නවා is used.
How do you pronounce it?
inna
Did you know?
- When used in a continuous sense as ඉන්නවා, the word also means 'to live'. Depending on the context, ඔහු මෙහි ඉන්නවා could mean 'he is waiting here' or 'he lives here'.
- The word ඉන්න is derived from the root for 'to be' or 'to exist'. In Sinhala, telling someone to 'wait' is conceptually closer to telling them to 'remain in existence' at that spot.
- The phrase පොඩ්ඩක් ඉන්න uses the word පොඩ්ඩක්, which literally means 'a tiny bit'. It is used so frequently that it functions as a polite softener to make the command 'wait' feel like a request.
Examples in context
- මම තව ටිකක් ඉන්නවා.mama thawa tikak innawa.I will wait a little longer.
- ඇය එනකම් ඉන්න.aya enakam inna.Wait until she comes.
- වැස්ස නතර වෙනකම් ඉන්න.vassa nathara venakam inna.Wait until the rain stops.
Example conversation
Tharindu and Ishani are waiting for a friend to arrive.
- තරිඳු Tharinduඉෂානි, මෙතන පොඩ්ඩක් ඉන්න.Ishani, methana poddak inna.Ishani, wait here for a bit.
- ඉෂානි Ishaniඇයි? ඔහු තවම ආවේ නැද්ද?ayi? ohu thavama ave nadda?Why? Has he not come yet?
- තරිඳු Tharinduනැහැ, ඔහු පමා වෙලා.naha, ohu pama vela.No, he is late.
- ඉෂානි Ishaniහරි, මම තව ටිකක් ඉන්නම්.hari, mama thava tikak innam.Okay, I will wait a little longer.
