List of Sinhala words of Portuguese origin

Note: For information on the transcription used, see National Library at Calcutta romanization. Exception from the standard are the romanization of Sinhala long "ä" ([æː]) as "ää", and the non-marking of prenasalized stops.

Sinhala words of Portuguese origin came about during the period of Portuguese colonial rule in Sri Lanka between 1505–1658. This period saw rapid absorption of many Portuguese words into the local language brought about by the interaction between Portuguese colonials and the Sinhalese people, mainly in the coastal areas of the island. A wide variety of words were adopted from administrative terms to military terms, which reveals several points of contact between the two groups. In addition to influences on language, the Portuguese introduced the Catholic religion to Sri Lanka, various forms of western clothing and also contributed to the formation of Baila, a Sri Lankan form of music.

Types of loanwords

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Borrowings

The words pertaining to the fields of commerce, administration, botany, food and military are the most numerous; this is to be expected because of many new innovations and goods that reached Sri Lanka via the Portuguese.

However it is important to note that the range of borrowings goes beyond the scope to be expected for a situation where two neighbouring peoples exchange material goods: There are many Portuguese loanwords pertaining to everyday and social life (kinship terms, ordinary activities etc.). Additionally, many lexical words (nouns, adjectives and verbs) have also been borrowed.

The borrowing process

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Portuguese loanwords in Sinhala rarely appear in the same form as the original word, the vast majority of them having undergone naturalisation. Usually, a word has undergone some kind of modification to fit into the Sinhala phonological (e.g. bandeja becomes bandesiya because the sound of the Portuguese /j/, does not exist in the Sinhala phoneme inventory) or morphological system (e.g. lenço becomes lensuva because Sinhala inanimate nouns (see grammatical gender) need to end with /a/, [ə], in order to be declineable).

These are the main ways Portuguese words are incorporated into the Sinhala lexicon with different endings:

  • With an /ma/ or /na/ or /va/ added to Portuguese words ending in /o/ (e.g. gancho > gāncuva).
  • With an /aya/ or /uva/ added to Portuguese words ending in consonants (e.g. lençol > lensōluva).
  • With a /ya/ added to words ending in /a/ or /e/ or /i/ (e.g. diamante > diyamantiya).
  • With the animate ending /yā/ or /vā/ added to Portuguese words signifying living beings or (e.g. burro > būruvā).

Adjectives that end in vowels are generally preserved in the original form.

There are over 150 words in the following list.

Sinhala සිංහල Meaning Portuguese Meaning Type
āyā ආයා Dry nurse aia Nurse Daily
äbäärtuva ඇබෑර්තුව Vacancy aberto Open, Vacant Trade
äänduru ඈඳුරු Dill endro Dill Food
agōstu අගෝස්තු August agosto August Daily
akol අකොල් akol álcool Alcohol Daily
alavaṃguva අලවංගුව Crow-bar alavanca Lever Daily
almāna අල්මාන Germany Alemanha Germany Daily
almāriya අල්මාරිය almirah, wardrobe armário Wardrobe, Cabinet Daily
almiya අල්මිය Storax almea/almeia Storax Daily
almōsa, alumōsuva අල්මෝස, අලුමෝසුව Breakfast almoço Breakfast Daily
alpenetta ඇල්පෙනිත්ත Pin alfinete Pin Daily
alugōsuvā අලුගෝසුවා Executioner algoz Executioner Administration
āmā ආමා Wet nurse ama Nurse Daily
amandäl/mandäl අමන්දැල් Almond amêndoa Almond Food
amēsi අමේසි Plum ameixa Plum Fruit
anjuvā අන්ජුවා Angel anjo Angel Daily
annāsi අන්නාසි Pineapple ananás Pineapple Fruit
arumōsam අරුමෝසම් Decorative, fancy armação Setting, Truss Daily
avuelā අබුලා Paternal Grandmother avó Grandmother Daily
avāna අවාන Fan abano Fan Daily
avel (aeṭaya) අවෙල් hazel (nut) avelã hazelnut Food
asēnti අසේන්ති Absent ausente Absent Daily
asnu අස්නු Rude asno Ass Daily
bankōtiya බංකෝතිය Banquet banqueta Banquet Daily
bolot බොලොත් Acorn bolota Acorn Daily
bāldiya බාල්දිය Bucket balde Bucket Daily
bambuva බම්බුව Bamboo, 'bullcrap' bambu Bamboo Daily
bankalot බංකලොත් Bankruptcy bancarrota Bankruptcy Daily
baṃkuva බංකුව Bench banco Bench Daily
bandēsiya බන්දේසිය Tray bandeja Tray Daily
bastona බස්තම Walking stick bastão Stick Daily
bāsu බාසු Dim baço Dim Daily
battala බත්තල Lighter batelão Lighter Daily
Bayila බයිලා Portuguese-influenced Sri Lankan music baila 3rd person present conjugation of "bailar" meaning "to dance" Music
bayinettuva බයිනෙත්තුව Bayonet baioneta Bayonet Military
bēbaddā, bebeyā බේබද්දා Drunkard bêbado Drunkard Daily
bīraluva බීරළුව Bobbin bilro Bobbin Daily
bispuvā බිස්පුවා Bishop bispo Drunkard Daily
bōnikkā බෝනික්කා Doll boneca Doll Daily
bora බොර Dreg borra Dreg Daily
bōrdaya බෝර්දය Border borda Brim, Border Daily
bostāduva බොස්තාදුව Slap bofetada Slap Daily
bottama බොත්තම Button botão Button Daily
bula බුල Bullet bala Bullet Military
būliya බූලිය Round jar bule Teapot Daily
būruvā බූරුවා Donkey burro Donkey Animal
būsi බූසි Wad bucha Wad Military
cinēlaya චිනේලය Slipper chinela Slipper Clothing
dāduva දාදුව Dice dado Dice Daily
dāta දාත Date data Date Daily
didālaya දිදාලය Thimble dedal Thimble Daily
diyamantiya දියමන්තිය Diamond diamante Diamond Daily
Diyogu දියෝගු James Diogo James Proper Name
don දොන් Sir/Lord dom Sir/Lord Daily
dōnā දෝනා Dame dona Dame Daily
dōsi දෝසි Sweet doce Sweet Daily
dusima දුසිම Dozen dúzia Dozen Daily
emōsiya එමෝසිය Emotion emoção Emotion Daily
ēra ඒර Ivy hera Ivy Bottanical
esmeri එස්මෙරි emery esmeril Emery Daily
esmuva එස්මුව a Guess esmo Random Daily
espāciya එස්පාචිය Corset espartilho Corset Daily
espētuva එස්පේතුව Roasting spit espeto Spit Daily
espiyā එස්පියා Spy espião Spy Daily
galappattiya ගලප්පත්තිය Caulking calafetagem Caulking Daily
gāncuva ගාන්චුව Hook (of a belt, bracelet) gancho Hook Daily
garādiya ගරාදිය Window grill grade Grill Daily
gāstuva ගාස්තුව Fee gasto Expense Daily
gääruppuva ගෑරප්පුව Fork garfo Fork Daily
gorōsu ගොරෝසු Coarse grosso Thick Descriptive
gōvā ගෝවා Cabbage couve Cabbage, Sprouts Food
hōrāva හෝරාව Hour hora Hour Daily
intēru ඉන්තේරු Entire inteiro Entire Daily
iskōlaya ඉස්කෝලය School escola School Daily
ispāsuva ඉස්පාසුව Space espaço Space Daily
janēlaya ජනේලය Window janela Window Construction
Jēmis ජේමිස් James Jaime James Proper Name
Juse ජුසේ Joseph José Joseph Proper Name
Juwam ජුවාම් John João John Proper Name
kabāya කබාය Coat capa Cloak Daily
kabuk කබුක් Laterite cabouco Laterite Daily
kābuva කාබුව Cable cabo Cable Daily
kaisa කයිස Platform cais Platform Daily
kaju කජු Cashew caju Cashew Food
kandalēruva කඳලේරුව Chandelier candelabro Chandelier Daily
kaldērama කල්දේරම Cauldron caldeirão Cauldron Daily
kaldu කල්දු Broth caldo Broth Food
kalisama කලිසම Pants calção Shorts Clothing
kamisaya කමිසය Shirt camisa Shirt Daily
kappādu කප්පාදු Castrated capado Gelding Daily
kappittā, kappitiyā, kapiyā කප්පිත්තා Captain capitão Captain Daily
kāpiri කාපිරි African (origin) cafre Kaffir Daily
kartuway කාර්තුවේ Quarter quarto quarter Daily
kavalāru කවලාරු Cavalier cavaleiro Cavalier Food
karadamungu කරදමුංගු Cardamom cardamomo Cardamom Food
karadāsi, kaḍadaāsi කරදාසි Paper cartaz Card Daily
karattaya කරත්තය Carriage, Cart carreta Carriage Daily
kasādaya කසාදය Marriage casada Married Daily
kāskuva කතියා Hull casco Hull Daily
Katolika කතෝලික Catholic Católica Catholic Religious
katiyā කතියා Slave, captive cativa Captive Daily
kayila කයිල Peg cavilha Peg Daily
kendiya කෙන්දිය Candle candeia Lamp Daily
kēju කේජු Cheese queijo Cheese Food
kēntiya කේන්තිය Anger quente Hot Daily
kīliya කීලිය keel quilha keel Daily
kompāsuva කොම්පාසුව Compass compasso Compass Daily
kōndēsiya කොන්දේසිය Condition condição Condition Daily
kōntaraya කෝන්තරය Grudge contra Against Daily
koral කොරල් Coral coral Coral Daily
Korosma කොරොස්ම Lent Quaresma Lent Religious
kusima කුසිම Cushion coxim Cushion Daily
kosuva කොසුව Trough cocho Trough Daily
kōvaya කෝවය Pipe cova Pipe Daily
kuluna කුලුන column coluna Trough Military
kūññaya කූඤ්ඤය Wedge cunha Wedge Daily
kurusaya කුරුසය Cross cruz Cross Religious
kussiya කුස්සිය Kitchen cozinha Kitchen Daily
Laskirinya ලස්කිරිඤ්ඤ Lascarins Lascarim Asian militiaman Military
landēsi ලන්දේසි Dutch holandês Dutch Administration
lansaya ලන්සය Lance lança Lance Military
lantääruma ලන්තෑරුම Lantern lanterna Lantern Daily
lāpila ලාපිල Lapel lapela Lapel Clothing
lasariya ලසරිය Flourish/ornamentation laçaria Flourish Daily
lēndi ලෙන්ඩි Nit lêndea Nit Daily
lensōluva ලෙන්සෝලුව Bedsheet lençol Bedsheet Daily
lēnsuva ලේන්සුව Handkerchief lenço Handkerchief Clothing
lingusa, linguyisa ලිංගුස type of dried sausage linguiça Sausage Food
lisa ලිස List liça List Daily
liyal ලියල් Loyal leal Loyal Daily
lusa ලුස Light luz Light Daily
Lusiyā ලුසියා Lucy Lúcia Lucy Proper Name
mantuva මාන්තුව Cloak manto Mantle Clothing
madiriññā මාදිරිඤ්ඤා Godmother madrinha Godmother Daily
mamol මමොල් Marble mármore Marble Daily
mantaya මන්තය Blanket manta Blanket Fruit
mantēga මන්තේග Butter manteiga Butter Daily
manyokkā මන්යෝක්කා Manioc mandioca manioc Daily
Mariyā මරියා Mary Maria Mary Proper Name
mansana මසන් Apple maçã Apple Fruit
mēs මේස් Socks meias Socks Daily
mēsaya මේසය Table mesa Table Daily
mestri මෙස්ත්රි Master of a trade mestre Master Daily
minindoru මිනින්දෝරු Surveyor Medidor Measurer Daily
mīsama මීසම Mission missão Mission Daily
mōsuvā මෝසුවා Servant moço a young man Daily
mūnissama මූනිස්සම Munition munição Munition Military
navāla නාබු Clasp Knife navalha Clasp Knife Daily
nābu නාබු Turnip nabo turnip Food
nattala නත්තල Christmas Natal Christmas Religious
nōnā නෝනා Lady dona Lady Daily
nōs නෝස් Nutmeg noz nutmeg Food
notīsiya නොතීසිය Notice notícia Notice Administration
olam ඔලම් Elm olmo Elam Botanical
oliva ඔලිව Olive oliva Olive Food
ōlanda ඕලන්ද Holland Holanda Holland Administration
orasan Prayers orações Prayers Religious
ostensōriya ඔස්ටෙන්සොරිය Monstrance ostensório Monstrance daily
paalat පැලට් Palette paleta Palette Daily
padāsa පදාස Portion pedaço Piece Daily
panaderiā ටම්පුව Baker padeiro Baker Daily
pādiliyā පාදිලියා Father padre Father Daily
pādōla පාදෝල Hand barrow padiola Hand barrow Daily
pagāva පගාව Bribe paga Pay/Salary/Wages Administration
palmita පල්මිට Spatula palmeta Spatula Daily
pān පාන් Bread pão Bread
paraisuva පරයිසුව paradise paraíso Paradise Daily
pāskuva පාස්කුව Easter Páscoa Easter Religious
pāttayā පාත්තයා Goose pato duck Daily
padiriññā පාදිරිඤ්ඤා Godfather padrinho Godfather Daily
painēruva පයිනේරුවා Pioneer pioneiro Pioneer Daily
pap පාප් Pope papa Pope Religious
pastääla පස්තෑල Pie pastel Pastry Food
pavila පරයිසුව pavilion pavilhão Pavilion Daily
Pawulu පාවුළු Paul Paulo Paul Proper Name
pedarēruvā පෙදරේරුවා Mason pedreiro Mason Daily
Peduru පේදුරු Peter Pedro Peter Proper Name
penēraya පෙනේරය Sieve peneira Sieve Daily
peragam පෙරගම් Banns proclamas Banns Daily
perakadōruvā පෙරකදෝරුවා Proctor procurador Proctor Daily
perakalāsiya පෙරකලාසිය Warrant of Attorney, proxy procuração Proxy Daily
perōla පෙරෝල Pearl pérola Pearl Daily
pigura පිගුර Figure figura Fiver Daily
pikama පිකම Pickaxe picão Pickaxe Military
pīkudu පීකුදු Liver (of animals) fígado Liver Daily
pinu පිනු Pine pinho Pine Botanical
pinsaya පින්සය Tweezer pinça Tweezer Daily
pintāruva පින්තාරුව Painting pintura Painting, Picture Daily
pintūraya පින්තූරය Picture pintura Painting, Picture Daily
pinsala පින්සල Paintbrush pincel Brush Daily
pīppaya පීප්පය Cask/Barrel pipa Cask Daily
pipiññā පිපිඤ්ඤා Cucumber pepino Cucumber Food
pistōlaya පිස්තෝලය Pistol pistola Pistol Army
pīrisiya පීරිසිය Saucer pires Saucer Daily
pīttaya පීත්තය Ribbon fita Ribbon Clothing
poloiyya පොලොඉය්ය Flounce folho Flounce Daily
pōranuwa පෝරණුව Oven, kiln forno Oven Daily
pōrtaya පෝර්තය Porthole porto Door Daily
prāskuva ප්රාස්කුව Flask frasco Flask Daily
puliya පුලිය Pulley polia Pulley Daily
punīlaya පුනීලය Funnel funil Funnel Daily
rābu රාබු Radish rábano Radish Food
raivaya රයිවය Anger raiva Anger Daily
rancuva රංචුව Herd, group rancho Daily
rāttala රාත්තල Pound (measurement) arrátel Pound Daily
rēndaya රේන්දය Lace renda Lace Clothing
rōdaya රෝදය Wheel roda Wheel Daily
rōmānu රෝමානු Roman romano Roman Daily
rōsa රෝස Rose, Pink rosa Rose, Pink Daily
rūbiya රූබිය Ruby rubi Ruby Daily
rulan රුලන් Semolina rolão Semolina Food
rusu රුසු Grey ruço Grey Daily
saban සබන් Soap sabão Soap Daily
sakōla සකෝල Satchel sacola Satchel Daily
sākkuva සාක්කුව Pocket saco Sack Daily
salādaya සලාදය Salad salada Salad Food
Santhiyagu සන්තියාගු James Santiago James Proper Name
sāntu සාන්තු Holy santo Holy Daily
santuvāriya සාන්තුවරිය Sanctuary santuário Sanctuary Daily
sapatēruvā සපතේරුවා Shoemaker sapateiro Shoemaker Food
sapattuva සපත්තුව Shoe sapato Shoe Clothing
sarampa සරම්ප Measles sarampo Measles Daily
saruvāla සරුවාල Pyjama ceroulas Pants Daily
sātan සාතන් Satan satã Satan Daily
setim සෙතිම් Satin cetim Satin Clothing
sāvāla සාවාල sável sabão Shad Daily
savudiya සවුදිය a toast saúde health Daily
sāya සාය Skirt saia Skirt Clothing
sēda සේද silk seda silk Clothing
senil සේනිල් senile senil senile Daily
sēriyā සේරියා mermaid sereia mermaid Daily
säsiya සැසිය session sessão session Daily
sidādiya සිදාදිය City cidade City Administration
silima සිලිම Shilling xelim Shilling Daily
sinyō සින්යෝ Sir senhor Sir Daily
simenti සිමෙන්ති Cement cimento Cement Daily
sināla සිනාල Signal sinal sinal Daily
sinsēruva සින්සේරුව ashtray cinzeiro ashtray Daily
sintuva සින්තුව Belt cinto belt Daily
sīnuva සීනුව Bell sino Bell Daily
siññō සිඤ්ඤෝ Sir senhor Sir Daily
sitāsi සිතාසි Summons citação Monition Administration
sokolat සොකොලත් Chocolate chocolate Chocolate Food
soldāduvā සොල්දාදුවා Soldier soldado Soldier Military
stōlaya ස්තෝලය Stole estola Stole Daily
sumānaya සුමානය Week semana Week Daily
sumāsu සුමාසු Padding chumaço Wadding Military
sukiri සූකිරි Sugar açúcar Sugar Food
tācciya තාච්චිය Frying pan tacho Pan Daily
tambōruwa තම්බෝරුව Tambourine tambor Drum Daily
täbääruma තැබෑරුම Tavern taberna Tavern Daily
tampuva තම්පුව Envelope tampo Cover Daily
tapa තප Slap tapa Slap Daily
täva තැව Tower torre Tower Daily
tapēsiya තපේසිය Carpet tapete Carpet Daily
tasa තස Cup taça Cup Daily
tāppaya තාප්පය Parapet wall taipa Parapet wall Daily
testamēntuva තෙස්තමේන්තුව Testament testamento Testament Daily
tōntuva තෝන්තුව dizziness tonto dizzy Daily
toppiya තොප්පිය hat topo Cap Clothing
tīnta තීන්ත Ink, paint tinta Ink, paint Daily
tiringu තිරිඟු Wheat trigo Wheat Food
tīruva තීරුව Customs duty tiro Customs Administration
tōmbuva තෝම්බුව Register tombo Register Administration
tuvāya තුවාය Towel toalha Towel Daily
vala වළ Pit vala Ditch Military
ventu වෙන්තු Windy vento Wind Daily
vestiya වෙස්තිය Waistcoat véstia Waistcoat Daily
vindima වින්දිම Vintage vindima Vintage Daily
villuda විල්ලුද Velvet veludo Velvet Daily
vinākiri විනාකිරි Vinegar vinagre Vinegar Food
vīduruva වීදුරුව Glass vidro Glass Daily
visita විසිත Visit visita Visit Daily
viskōtuva විස්කෝතුව Biscuit biscoito Biscuit Food
visita විසිත Visit visita Visit Daily
vīvā, viyavā Widow viúva Widow Daily
viola විඔල Guitar violão Guitar Music

Proper Names

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Former Sri Lankan cricketer Chaminda Vaas is one of many Sinhalese with a surname of Portuguese origin.

Many Sinhalese adopted Portuguese names, especially surnames. Some are very common (e.g. Perera, De Silva). The names, however, do not necessarily denote Portuguese ancestry or Christian religious affiliation, with many Buddhist Sinhalese having Portuguese-origin surnames, as Buddhism does not recognise the notion of heresy for not naming their children with names which do not originate from the Pali language

Sri Lankan Form සිංහල Portuguese
Aponso අපොන්සු Afonso
Cabral කබ්රාල් Cabral
Caldera, Kaldera කල්දේරා Caldeira
Corea කෝරියා Correia
Croos ක්රූස් Cruz
De Abrew ද අබ්රිව් Abreu
De Almeda, Almeda ද අල්මේදා, අල්මේදා De Almeida
De Alwis ද අල්විස් Alves
De Costa ද කොස්තා Da Costa
De Livera, Livera ද ලිවේරා, ලිවේරා De Oliveira
De Mel ද මෙල් Melo
De Sampayo, Sampayo ද සම්පයෝ, සම්පයෝ Sampaio
De Saram ද සේරම් Serra
De Silva, Silva ද සිල්වා, සිල්වා Da Silva
Dias දිඅස් Dias
Fonseka ෆොන්සේකා Fonseca
Fernando ප්‍රනාන්දු Fernandes
Gomes, Gomis ගෝමෙස්, ගෝමිස් Gomes
Gonsalkorale ගොන්සල් කෝරලේ Gonçalves
Grero ග්රේරු Guerreiro
Mendis මෙන්ඩිස් Mendes
Nonis නෝනිස් Nunes
Pasqual, Pasquel පැස්කුවල් Pascoal
Perera පෙරේරා Pereira
Peiris පීරිස් Peres
Pinto පින්ටෝ Pinto
Rodrigo රොද්රිගෝ Rodrigues
Rosa රෝසා Rosa
Salgado සල්ගාදු Salgado
Sigera සීගේරා Siqueira
Suwaris සුවාරිස් Soares
Tisera, Tissera තිසෙරා Teixeira
Vaas වාස් Vaz
Vadumestri, Vadumestrige වඩුමෙස්ට්‍රි, වඩුමෙස්ට්‍රිගේ Combination of Sinhala Vadu meaning carpenter, Português mestre meaning "master of a trade" and Sinhala ge meaning "house of"

See also

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