Greetings
Āyubōwan
AH-yu-bo-wan
The formal Sinhala greeting — literally 'may you live long', said with palms together.
Vaṇakkam
va-NAK-kam
The Tamil greeting. Sri Lanka has two official languages and using the right one matters.
Kohomada
ko-HO-ma-da
How are you? The everyday informal greeting between people who know each other.
Social
Istūti
is-TOO-ti
Thank you in Sinhala. 'Nandri' in Tamil. Both are used less reflexively than English 'thanks'.
Machang
MA-chang
Mate / bro. Ubiquitous in Colombo English regardless of which language you're speaking.
Aiyo
AI-yo
An all-purpose exclamation of dismay, sympathy or exasperation. You will start using it within a fortnight.
Culture
Poya
POH-ya
The full moon day — a public holiday every single month, with alcohol sales and meat shops closed.
Daily life
Three-wheeler
three-WHEE-ler
The tuk-tuk, and the backbone of Colombo transport. Use PickMe (the local app) rather than negotiating.
Food
Kottu
KOT-tu
Chopped roti stir-fried with vegetables, egg and meat — you hear it being made before you see it.
Hoppers / Appa
AH-pa
Bowl-shaped fermented rice-flour pancakes. An egg hopper with lunu miris is the national breakfast.
Rice and curry
—
Not a dish but a format: rice with five to ten separate curries. The default lunch and far more varied than it sounds.
Emergency
1990
one-nine-nine-zero
Suwa Seriya — the free national ambulance service. Faster and more reliable than most alternatives.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.