We use 2 methods when writing Pali and Sinhala Pirith lyrics in English. First method is the usual Sinhala unicode typing style. Second method is the Sinhala-to-English transliteration method with little dashes on top or bottom of the letters.
Below is the method we use to transliterate Pali/Sinhala to English. We use this system when writing pirith, sutra and gatha in English. This way you can quickly realize the exact pronunciation of a specific word which is very important when chanting.
Sinhala Vowels To English Transliteration
The following table will help Non-Sinhala person to realize how Sinhala Vowels are transliterated to English. Same system applies for both Sinhala and Pali to English transliterations.
| Sinhala Letter | Capital English Letter | Simple English Letter |
|---|---|---|
| අ | A | a |
| ආ | Ā | ā |
| ඇ | A̱ | a̱ |
| ඈ | Ae | ae |
| ඉ | I | i |
| ඊ | Ī | ī |
| උ | U | u |
| ඌ | Ū | ū |
| සෘ | Sru | sru |
| සෲ | Srū | srū |
| එ | E | e |
| ඒ | Ē | ē |
| ඓ | I̱ | i̱ |
| ඔ | O | o |
| ඕ | Ō | ō |
| ඖ | Au | au |
| අං | An | an |
| අඃ | Ah | ah |
Sinhala Consonants To English Transliteration
It’s time for you to get familiar how we transliterate the Sinhala Consonants for our Sinhala & Pali pirith verses.
| Sinhala Letter | Capital English Letter | Simple English Letter |
|---|---|---|
| ක | K | k |
| ඛ | Kh | kh |
| ග | G | g |
| ඝ | Gh | gh |
| ඞ | Ng | ng |
| ඟ | Ng | ng |
| ච | Ch | ch |
| ඡ | Ch | ch |
| ජ | J | j |
| ඣ | J | j |
| ඤ | Gn | gn |
| ට | T | t |
| ඨ | T̄ | t̄ |
| ඩ | D | d |
| ඪ | Ḏh | ḏh |
| ණ | N | n |
| ඬ | Nd | Nd |
| ත | Th | th |
| ථ | T̄h | t̄h |
| ද | Dh | dh |
| ධ | D̄h | d̄h |
| න | N | n |
| ඳ | Ndh | ndh |
| ප | P | p |
| ඵ | Ph | ph |
| බ | B | b |
| භ | Bh | bh |
| ම | M | m |
| ඹ | Mb | mb |
| ය | Y | y |
| ර | R | r |
| ල | L | l |
| ව | V (W) | v (w) |
| ශ | Sh | sh |
| ෂ | Sh | sh |
| ස | S | s |
| හ | H | h |
| ළ | L | l |
| ෆ | F | f |
Sinhala To English Transliteration Examples
Sinhala Phrase → සත්බුදු වන්දනාව
English Phrase → Sathbudu Wandanawa
Sinhala to English Transliteration → Sathbudhu Wandhanāwa
Sinhala Phrase → යේ බ්රාහ්මනා වේදගු
English Phrase → Ye Brahmana Wedagu
Sinhala to English Transliteration → Yē Brāhmanā Wēdhagu
Sinhala Word → අභිසම්භිධානේ
English Word → Abisambidane
Sinhala to English Transliteration → Abhisambhid̄hānē
Now that you’re blessed with the super power of accurately reading and understanding of our Sinhala & Pali seth pirith lyrics in English, it’s time for you to put it into use. Good luck!