ඔව්
ow
The Sinhala word for "yes" is ඔව් (ow).
ඔව් is a particle used to indicate agreement or acceptance. While it is the standard way to say "yes", in many spoken contexts, speakers may simply nod or use a polite affirmative particle instead of the full word.
Meaning: word used to indicate agreement or acceptance (particle)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is ow.
Did you know?
- In Sri Lanka, a common non-verbal 'yes' involves a side-to-side tilting of the head. This gesture can be confusing to English speakers who might mistake it for a 'no' or a shrug.
- If you want to say 'yes' to confirm a fact or a question, you might use ඇත්ත (ætta), which literally means 'truth'. Using 'truth' as a way to say 'yes' highlights the speaker's intention to be honest.
- If someone asks if you 'want' something, instead of saying ඔව්, you might use ඕනෑ (ōṇæ), which means 'want'. In Sinhala, the affirmative response often changes based on the verb being addressed.
Examples in context
- ඔව්.Yes.This example shows the use of ඔව්.Tatoeba #10119244 by valestanov, translation #477086 by soweli_Elepanto
- ඔව්, මට එය මතකයි.ov, mata eya mathakai.Yes, I remember it.
Example conversation
A man asks a woman if she wants to go to the store.
- රොෂාන් Roshanනිමල්ෂි, ඔයාට කඩේට යන්න ඕනද?Nimalshi, oyata kadeta yanna onada?Nimalshi, do you want to go to the store?
- නිමල්ෂි Nimalshiඔව්, රොෂාන්, මට යන්න ඕන.ov, Roshan, mata yanna ona.Yes, Roshan, I want to go.
- රොෂාන් Roshanඑහෙනම් අපි දැන් යමුද?Ehenam api den yamuda?Then shall we go now?
- නිමල්ෂි Nimalshiඔව්, අපි යමු.ov, api yamu.Yes, let's go.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
