Unit 3.2: Handling ambiguity
Dates, times, money and Sri Lankan words that mean one thing to you and another to an AI or a reader abroad.
In Unit 1.5 you named the thing instead of saying "it". Ambiguity is the bigger version of the same problem. Some words and numbers look perfectly clear to you, and the AI or the reader reads them another way. The answer looks fine, and it's wrong.
සමහර වචන, දින, ගණන් ඔයාට පැහැදිලියි, ඒත් AI එකට හෝ පිටරට කෙනෙකුට වෙන තේරුමක් දෙනවා. උදාහරණයක්: ලංකාවේ "hotel" කියන්නේ කෑම කඩේට. පිටරට "hotel" කියන්නේ නවාතැන් ගන්න තැනට. ඉතින් එක තේරුමක් විතරක් තියෙන වචනයක් පාවිච්චි කරන්න.
Dates and times
| Ambiguous | Why | Clear |
|---|---|---|
| 03/04/2025 | 3 April in Sri Lanka, 4 March in the USA | 3 April 2025 |
| next Friday | this coming Friday, or the one after? | Friday 13 June |
| this month end | the last day? the last week? | by 30 June |
| at 7 | morning or evening? | at 7 p.m. |
| in two days | from today, or from when they read it? | by Thursday 12 June |
AI tools are trained on a lot of American text, so they may read 03/04 as March 4. Write the month as a word.
Money and numbers
| Ambiguous | Why | Clear |
|---|---|---|
| 5 lakhs | readers abroad don't use lakhs | Rs. 500,000 |
| 2 crores | same | Rs. 20,000,000 (20 million) |
| $500 | US, Australian, Singapore dollars? | USD 500 |
| the price | which one: with or without delivery? | Rs. 2,400 including delivery |
For an AI in Sri Lanka, "lakh" is usually understood. For an email to an employer in Canada, it isn't. Use the international form when the reader is abroad.
Sri Lankan words with another meaning abroad
These are good Sri Lankan English. They only cause trouble when the reader, or the AI's answer, is for someone outside Sri Lanka.
Same word, two meanings
- I had lunch at a hotel → I had lunch at a restaurant.hotel
- I have a doubt → I have a question.doubt
- Please revert → Please reply.revert
- I'll cut the call → I'll end the call / hang up.cut
Words that hide two tasks
Some instructions are ambiguous too.
| Ambiguous | Two meanings | Clear |
|---|---|---|
| Translate this to Sinhala | word for word, or natural Sinhala? | Translate this into natural, everyday Sinhala. |
| Make it professional | formal? shorter? fewer emojis? | Make it formal, with no emojis. |
| Send the details | which details? | Send the price, size and delivery date. |
Before and after
In your world
Quick check
Tap an answer. Nothing is saved.
Which date can mean only one thing?
You are writing to an employer in Australia. Which is clearer?
The reader is in Canada. Write the amount.
Which time is clear?
Your turn
Your turn
Saved on this device only.
Write a request that includes a date, a time and an amount of money. Make every one of them impossible to misread, even for a reader abroad.
Score it: 0, 1 or 2 for each.
Clarity
AI එකට කරන්න ඕන දේ පැහැදිලිද?
Completeness
අවශ්ය විස්තර ඔක්කොම තියෙනවද?
Structure
කොටස් හරි පිළිවෙළටද?
Internationally clear
ලංකාවෙන් පිට කෙනෙක්ටත් තේරෙනවද?
Total: 0 / 8
Side quest
Ask an AI to find ambiguity for you:
Next: Unit 3.3: Ask the AI to ask you
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