Alphabet/Step by step/Vowels 2
ඍ
[edit | edit source]The ninth letter in the alphabet. The sound of which is in Sanskrit = ṛi in English, which sound is retained in some Sanskrit words, naturalized in the Sinhalese language, while in others it is = ru. It is only used at the beginning of a word as well as all the other vowels. Let's see some example words begin with this letter. There aren't many words begin with this letter.
- ඍතුව (ṛtuva) - season
- ඍණ (ṛṇa) - negative
- ඍජු (ṛju) - straight
- ඍෂි (ṛṣi) - a saint or holy person (in Hindu mythology)
එ
[edit | edit source]The 13th letter in the alphabet. It sounds as a in 'hay', e in 'men' or e in 'engage'. It is only used at the beginning of a word as well as all the other vowels. Let's see some example words begin with this letter.
- එක (eka) - one
- එකම (ekama) - only
- එන්න (enna) - come
- එල්ලනවා (ellanava) - hang
- එළුවා (eḷuvā) - goat
- එළදෙන (eḷadena) - cow
- එඬේරා (en̆ḍērā) - shepherd
- එලිය (eliya) - light
- එදා (edā) - that other day
- එකතුව (ekatuva) - sum
ඒ
[edit | edit source]The 14th letter in the alphabet. It sounds as a in 'made'. It takes the sound of the vowel එ held long. It is only used at the beginning of a word as well as all the other vowels. Let's see some example words begin with this letter.
- ඒකාන්ත (ēkānta) - verily/truly
- ඒක (ēka) - that/alone/solitary/that thing
- ඒවා (ēvā) - those
- ඒනිසා (ēnisā) - therefor/so
- ඒකා (ēkā) - that fellow
ඓ
[edit | edit source]The 15th letter of the alphabet. It is a diphthong. It sounds like i in 'while'. On other hand We can say it sounds like the name of the letter "I" in English. It is only used at the beginning of a word as well as all the other vowels. Let's see some example words begin with this letter. There aren't many words begin with this letter.
- ඓතිහාසික (aitihāsika) - historical
- ඓශ්වර්යය (aiśvaryaya) - splendor/omnipotence
ඔ
[edit | edit source]The 16th letter of the alphabet. It has the sound of o in 'olive'. It is only used at the beginning of a word as well as all the other vowels. Let's see some example words begin with this letter.
- ඔටුන්න (oṭunna) - diadem/crown
- ඔටුවා (oṭuvā)- camel
- ඔත්තුකාරයා (ottukārayā) - spy
- ඔක්කොම (okkoma) - all/everyone
- ඔට්ටුව (oṭṭuva) - wager/bet/stake
- ඔතනවා (otanavā) - wrap
- ඔවුන් (ovun)- they
- ඔරුව (oruva) - canoe
- ඔරවනවා (oravanavā) - stare
- ඔලුව (oluva) - head
ඕ
[edit | edit source]The 17th letter of the alphabet. It takes the sound of the vowel ඔ held long as o in 'stone'. This letter is also can be seen only at the beginning of a word. Let's see some example words begin with this letter.
- ඕපාදූප (ōpādūpa) - gossip/insinuation
- ඕලු (ōlu) - Lotus
ඖ
[edit | edit source]The 18th letter and the last vowel in the alphabet. It sounds like ou in 'our'. This letter is also can be seen only at the beginning of a word. Let's see some example words begin with this letter. There isn't many words begin with this letter.
- ඖෂධ (auṣadha) - drugs/medicine