Common Sinhala idioms and proverbs with their figurative meanings explained, for an upper-level learner. Front: the Sinhala idiom or proverb (with romanization). Back: literal meaning and figurative meaning.
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- කන කොටත් නෑ, බොන කොටත් නෑ (Kana kotath ne, bona kotath ne)
- Not there when eating, not there when drinking; describes someone who avoids helping but shows up only for benefits
- බල්ලට කන්දක් නැති වගේ (Ballata kandak nathi wage)
- Like a dog with no mountain to guard; describes someone acting without purpose or direction
- ඇඟේ රත්තරං තිබ්බත් රත්තරං බව නොපෙනේ (Ange ratharan thibbath ratharan bawa nopene)
- Even with gold on the body, the gold does not show; a saying about hidden or unrecognized worth
- වචනයෙන් ගසපු තුවාලයට බෙහෙතක් නෑ (Wachanayen gaspu thuwalayata behethak ne)
- There is no medicine for a wound cut by words; a proverb about the lasting hurt caused by harsh speech
- බුදුන් වහන්සේටත් හිතුවක්කාරයෝ හිටියා (Budun wahanseta wath hithuwakkarayo hitiya)
- Even the Buddha had critics; a saying meaning no one can please everyone
- දිය නොපෙනී ගඟ තරණය කරන්න එපා (Diya nopeni ganga tharanaya karanna epa)
- Do not cross a river without seeing the water; a proverb warning against acting without checking the situation first
- බෙල්ල උස්සනවා (Bella ussanawa)
- Literally to raise the neck; means to become proud or arrogant
- කට රත් වෙනවා (Kata rath wenawa)
- Literally the mouth becomes hot; means to argue heatedly
- ඇස් පිය නොගසා (As piya nogasa)
- Literally without blinking the eyes; means watching very closely and attentively
- බඩ පිච්චෙනවා (Bada picchenawa)
- Literally the stomach burns; means to feel jealous of someone else's success
- හිත හොඳයි (Hitha hondai)
- Literally the heart is good; describes a kind-hearted person
- බෙල්ලෙන් අල්ලනවා (Bellen allanawa)
- Literally to grab by the neck; means to catch someone red-handed
- අත උස්සනවා (Atha ussanawa)
- Literally to raise the hand; means to give up or surrender
- කන් දෙකට ගානවා (Kan dekata ganawa)
- Literally to rub into both ears; means to keep repeating advice to someone
- ඇහැට කණට වදිනවා (Ahata kanata vadinawa)
- Literally to strike the eye and ear; means to be very obvious or noticeable
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