Vowel Pairs

Usually people guess the right word from the sentence. But I walk every day and I work every day are both good sentences, so the listener can't guess. Practise these pairs out loud until your mouth feels the difference.

Short /ɪ/ and long /iː/

/ɪ/ is a short, relaxed ඉ. /iː/ is a long ඊ: smile a little and hold it.

Short or long?

සිංහලෙන්

• sit /sɪt/ · seat /siːt//ɪ/ · /iː/
• fill /fɪl/ · feel /fiːl//ɪ/ · /iː/
• live /lɪv/ · leave /liːv//ɪ/ · /iː/
• I live in Kandy, but I leave tomorrow.

/e/ and /æ/

/e/ is එ. /æ/ is ඇ: open your mouth wider, as if you are surprised. Sinhala has both sounds, so this one is easier than it looks: just know which word takes which.

E or A?

සිංහලෙන්

• bed /bed/ · bad /bæd//e/ · /æ/
• pen /pen/ · pan /pæn//e/ · /æ/
• men /men/ · man /mæn//e/ · /æ/

/ʌ/ and /æ/

/ʌ/ is a short අ, as in cup, bus, sun, money. /æ/ is ඇ, as in cap, bat, man. Many words spelt with u or o have /ʌ/: love, son, mother, money, come, one.

U or A?

සිංහලෙන්

• cup /kʌp/ · cap /kæp//ʌ/ · /æ/
• sun /sʌn/ · sad /sæd//ʌ/ · /æ/
• My son saves money. /sʌn/, /ˈmʌni/

Walk and work

This is the pair I hear mixed up most. walk is /wɔːk/: round your lips for a long ඕ, and the l is silent. work is /wɜːk/: lips relaxed, a long lazy .අ:, like the ir in bird.

Walk or work?

සිංහලෙන්

• walk /wɔːk/ · work /wɜːk//ɔː/ · /ɜː/
• ward /wɔːd/ · word /wɜːd//ɔː/ · /ɜː/
• I walk to work every morning.

Practise with a tongue twister

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

• /ɪ/
• /iː/

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Quick check

Tap an answer. Nothing is saved.

1. The bus will at six. (long ඊ)

   liveleave

2. Which vowel is in money?

   /ʌ/, like අ/æ/, like ඇ

3. Which one is work?

   /wɔːk//wɜːk/

4. The traffic in Colombo is really today. (ඇ)

   bedbad