How to Say What You Like and Don’t Like

🌿 Introduction

Today, let’s talk about how to say what you like and don’t like in Sinhala.
It’s one of the most useful things to learn—because we all have favorites, right? 😄

👉 Tip: Don’t worry too much about getting every grammar detail perfect in this part. I’ll show you the simple way and give extra notes for when you want to sound super accurate.

✨ Key Phrases

🌟 Some Common Verbs

Here are some verbs you can use with kaemathii:

🗣️ Sentence Patterns

Pattern 1

Mama kaemathii + verb

✅ Examples:

• මම කැමතියි කන්න
  (Mama kaemathii kanna)
  I like to eat

• මම කැමතියි නටන්න
  (Mama kaemathii natanna)
  I like to dance

• මම කැමතියි පොත් කියවන්න
  (Mama kaemathii poth kiyawanna)
  I like to read books

Pattern 2

Mama + verb + kaemathii

✅ Examples:

• මම පොත් කියවන්න කැමතියි
  (Mama poth kiyawanna kaemathii)
  I like to read books

👉  Both patterns are correct and common! Use whichever feels easier. Both patterns give the same meaning. Because sometimes, the sentences structure is flexible in Sinhala and also it gives the same meaning with different structures, although it might change the emphasis sometimes.

🌼 Using English Verbs in Sinhala Sentences

You’ll often hear English verbs mixed in Sinhala:

✅ Structure:
Mama kaemathii + English verb + karanna

Examples:

• මම කැමතියි play කරන්න
  (Mama kaemathii play karanna)
  I like to play

• මම කැමතියි dance කරන්න
  (Mama kaemathii dance karanna)
  I like to dance

• මම කැමතියි drive කරන්න
  (Mama kaemathii drive karanna)
  I like to drive

👉 Mixing English verbs like this is super common in Sri Lanka, so don’t feel shy or weird about it! As long as you use grammar and the structure correctly, you will sound natural

🌟 Talking About Liking Nouns

This part sounds tricky, but I’ll make it easy!

✅ Rule:

Examples:

• මම කැමතියි පුසාට
  (Mama kaemathii puusata)
  I like the cat

• මම කැමතියි parties වලට
  (Mama kaemathii parties walata)
  I like parties

• මම කැමතියි ළමයින්ට
  (Mama kaemathii lamainta)
  I like kids

👉 But this has number of exceptions! Sounds difficult? Good news : if you’re not a perfectionist, this rule is not super important at the beginner level, if you skip this and just say “mama kaemathii puusa” we’ll still understand you!

👉 PS : This doesn’t mean grammar is not important. Of course grammar is super important and in these lessons, I focus on teaching all the important grammar. But there a few grammar points that are a bit flexible for people who find grammar challenging.

🌼 Talking About Your Favorite Things

We talked about what you like, so let’s also learn how to say favorite!

✅ The word for favorite is:
කැමතිම
(Kaemathima)

👉 It’s easy—just take kaemathii and add -ma!
(It’s actually the superlative form.)

✨ Examples

✅ මම කැමතිම කෑම කොත්තු
(Mama kaemathima kaaema koththu)
My favorite food is koththu

✅ මම කැමතිම රට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව
(Mama kaemathima rata Sri Lankaawa)
My favorite country is Sri Lanka

✅ මම කැමතිම තැන ඇල්ල
(Mama kaemathima thaena Ella)
My favorite place is Ella

✅ මම කැමතිම activity එක hiking
(Mama kaemathima activity eka hiking)
My favorite activity is hiking

👉 Tip: You can use mama or mage:

• මම කැමතිම රට…
  (Mama kaemathima rata…) = my favorite country …

• මගේ කැමතිම රට…
  (Mage kaemathima rata…) = my favorite country …

✅ Both are correct!

🌟 More Example Sentences

✅ මගේ කැමතිම චිත්‍රපටිය Harry Potter
(Mage kaemathima chithrapatiya Harry Potter)
My favorite movie is Harry Potter

✅ මගේ කැමතිම ක්‍රීඩාව cricket
(Mage kaemathima kriidawa cricket)
My favorite sport is cricket

✅ මම කැමතිම කෑම rice and curry
(Mama kaemathima kaaema rice and curry)
My favorite food is rice and curry

✅ මගේ කැමතිම සංගීතය classical music
(Mage kaemathima sangeethaya classical music)
My favorite music is classical music

✅ මම කැමතිම තැන Sigiriya
(Mama kaemathima thaena Sigiriya)
My favorite place is Sigiriya

✅ මගේ කැමතිම පොත Percy Jackson
(Mage kaemathima potha Percy Jackson)
My favorite book is Percy Jackson

✅ Practice Tip:
Try making 3 sentences about your favorite food, place, and hobby.
If you want to, post them in the discussion area so I can see!

🌟 Quick Recap

You now know how to say:

• Like – Kaemathii

• Don’t like – Kaemathi naae

• Favorite – Kaemathima

…and combine them with verbs and nouns to express yourself.

✅ When you’re ready, click below to keep learning:

🔗 Link to the Blog Post → Saying What You Like in Sinhala
🔗 Link to the Video → Saying What You Like in Sinhala

📝 Example Sentences

✅ මම කැමතියි සිංදු කියන්න
(Mama kaemathii sindhu kiyanna)
I like to sing

✅ මම කැමතියි චිත්‍ර අඳින්න
(Mama kaemathii chithra andhinna)
I like to draw

✅ මම කැමතියි චිත්‍රපට බලන්න
(Mama kaemathii movies balanna)
I like to watch movies

✅ මම කැමතියි dance කරන්න
(Mama kaemathii dance karanna)
I like to dance

✅ මම කැමතියි play කරන්න
(Mama kaemathii play karanna)
I like to play

✅ මම කැමතියි drive කරන්න
(Mama kaemathii drive karanna)
I like to drive

🌟 Quick Review

🎧 Practice & Activities

✅ Listen to the audio clips
✅ Repeat the sentences
✅ Try to make your own sentences with things you like!

👉 Click the links below to watch and read more:

🔗 Link to the Blog Post → Saying What You Like in Sinhala
🔗 Link to the Video → Saying What You Like in Sinhala

✅ Ready for the quiz? Test yourself and try the fun activities below!

✨ The more you practice, the faster you’ll get comfortable expressing yourself in Sinhala!

💬 Discussion Prompt

What’s one thing you really like to do?
Write your answer in Sinhala using kaemathii or kaemathi naae!