Beginner 1
Lesson 1: Question Words — The Essentials
Survival words and the 'da' (ද) question marker
මොකක්ද?
Mokakda?
What? (Singular / General)
Used to ask about a single thing or a general object. It's your go-to word when you don't know what something is.
Example Sentences
ඔයාගේ නම මොකක්ද ?
Oyage nama mokakda
→ What is your name?
මොකක්ද ඒකට කියන්නේ?
mokakda eakata kiyanné
→ What is it called?
ගුරුතුමීට මොකක් වෙලාද?
guruthumeeta mokak welada?
→ What happened to the teacher?
Grammar Tip: Spoken Sinhala Shortcut
In Spoken Sinhala, we usually drop the formal verb. Instead of saying 'Where is the book?' we simply say 'Book where?' (Potha koheda? — පොත කොහෙද?). This makes conversations much faster and more natural.
Quick examples of this pattern:
පොත කොහෙද? (Potha koheda?) → Book where? = Where is the book?
ඒක කීයද? (Eeka kiyada?) → That how-much? = How much is that?
ඒ කවුද? (Ee kawuda?) → That who? = Who is that?
All Question Words — Quick Reference