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Alphabet Sinhala
Sinhala Script
The Sinhala script is an abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script. Used for Sinhala, the primary language of Sri Lanka, it has 60 letters: 18 vowels, 41 consonants, and 1 special character. It is known for its rounded, ornate shapes and is classified as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Vowels
| Caractère | Nom | Romanisation | Prononciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| අ | A | a | like 'a' in 'apple' |
| ආ | Aa | ā | like 'a' in 'father' |
| ඇ | Ae | æ | like 'a' in 'cat' |
| ඈ | Aee | ǣ | like 'a' in 'cat' (long) |
| ඉ | I | i | like 'i' in 'sit' |
| ඊ | Ii | ī | like 'ee' in 'meet' |
| උ | U | u | like 'u' in 'put' |
| ඌ | Uu | ū | like 'oo' in 'moon' |
| එ | E | e | like 'e' in 'they' |
| ඒ | Ee | ē | like 'a' in 'cake' |
| ඓ | Ai | ai | like 'i' in 'site' |
| ඔ | O | o | like 'o' in 'on' |
| ඕ | Oo | ō | like 'o' in 'go' |
| ඖ | Au | au | like 'ow' in 'how' |
Consonants
| Caractère | Nom | Romanisation | Prononciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ක | Ka | k | like 'k' in 'key' |
| ඛ | Kha | kh | like 'k' (aspirated) |
| ග | Ga | g | like 'g' in 'go' |
| ඝ | Gha | gh | like 'g' (breathy) |
| ඞ | Nga | ṅ | like 'ng' in 'sing' |
| ච | Ca | c | like 'ch' in 'cheese' |
| ඡ | Cha | ch | like 'ch' (aspirated) |
| ජ | Ja | j | like 'j' in 'jam' |
| ඣ | Jha | jh | like 'j' (breathy) |
| ඤ | Nya | ñ | like 'ny' in 'canyon' |
| ට | Ta (retroflex) | ṭ | a retroflex 't' |
| ඨ | Tha (retroflex) | ṭh | a retroflex 'th' (aspirated) |
| ඩ | Da (retroflex) | ḍ | a retroflex 'd' |
| ඪ | Dha (retroflex) | ḍh | a retroflex 'dh' |
| ණ | Na (retroflex) | ṇ | a retroflex 'n' |
| ත | Ta | t | like 't' in 'top' |
| ථ | Tha | th | like 't' (aspirated) |
| ද | Da | d | like 'd' in 'dog' |
| ධ | Dha | dh | like 'd' (breathy) |
| න | Na | n | like 'n' in 'night' |
| ප | Pa | p | like 'p' in 'pen' |
| ඵ | Pha | ph | like 'p' (aspirated) |
| බ | Ba | b | like 'b' in 'book' |
| භ | Bha | bh | like 'b' (breathy) |
| ම | Ma | m | like 'm' in 'moon' |
| ය | Ya | y | like 'y' in 'yes' |
| ර | Ra | r | a flap 'r' |
| ල | La | l | like 'l' in 'lamp' |
| ව | Va | v / w | like 'v' or 'w' |
| ශ | Sha (palatal) | ś | like 'sh' in 'shoe' |
| ෂ | Sha (retroflex) | ṣ | a retroflex 'sh' |
| ස | Sa | s | like 's' in 'sun' |
| හ | Ha | h | like 'h' in 'house' |
| ළ | Lla (retroflex) | ḷ | a retroflex 'l' |
| ෆ | Fa | f | like 'f' in 'fan' |