Slang which is commonly regarded as not taboo is documented in this section. Please refer Examples of Taboo Sexual Slang and Euphemisms for slang which is regarded as taboo.
Baduwa (බඩුව) - Young or attractive female (chick).
Kælla (කෑල්ල) - Literally means 'a piece'. Used to refer to an eye catching girl. Commonly used by young males. (e.g. Sira Kealla- සිරා කෑල්ල). Plural: 'Kæli' (කෑලි)
Kotuwak Paninawa (කොටුවක් පනිනවා) - Committing adultery or having socially unaccepted relationship.
Line Daanawa (ලයින් දානවා) - Rather old yet not outdated term which means flirting with or 'hitting on' someone. Usually refers to male activity.
Mal Kadanawa (මල් කඩනවා) - To engage in flirtious chit-chat with member(s) of opposite sex. There is popular nick-name Mal Maama (මල් මාමා) which refers to a male person with excessive such behaviours. Also note the term Pæni Halanawa (පැණි හලනවා) which refers to a similar activity and the corresponding nick name Pæniya (පැණියා).
Paana Allanawa (පාන අල්ලනවා) - Literally 'holding the lamp'. Mocking reference to the act of a friend who accompany a person who is going to meet his date, girlfriend, wife, fiancee. This refers to the act of holding some light to help someone do something in the dark. (e.g. Umba taniyama palayan. Mama paana allanna enna one nehe (උඹ තනියම පලයන්. මම පාන අල්ලන්න එන්න ඕන නැහැ) means 'you go alone to see your date, why do you need me for')
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Slang Related to Consumption of Liquor, Tobacco and other Narcotics
There are many slang to refer to substances and their usage.
Bata (බට) or Batayak (බටයක්) - A cigarette. (e.g. Batayak gahamuda? (බටයක් ගහමුද?) means 'Shall we have a smoke?')
Bebe (බෙබේ) - Alcoholic. This could be a shorten form for Bebadda (බේබද්දා).
Dekak Da Gannawa (දෙකක් දා ගන්නවා) - Literally 'to have two shots'. To have a drink. Note that Nethi wenna gahanawa (නැති වෙන්න ගහනවා) refers to getting really drunk till one is unconsious. Wadinna ganahawa (වදින්න ගහනවා) means getting high but not really drunk. Mokuth karamuda (මොකුත් කරමුද?) which literally means 'shall we do something' when used in certain contexts means 'shall we have a drink'.
Duma (දුම) - Literally means 'smoke'. Used to mean anything used to have a smoke (e.g. cigarette, cigar, mal (මල්) etc.). (e.g. Dumak adimuda? (දුමක් අදිමුද?) means 'Shall we have a smoke?')
Kudu (කුඩු) - Heroin or other similar narcotics
Mala (මල) or Suusthiya (සුස්තිය) - Roll of Ganja (Cannabis or pot) for smoking or the ingredients used to prepare those. Relatively new term Mala (මල) is preferred over Suusthiya (සුස්තිය) in most social circles.'Paetta' Prepared cannabis cigaratte for Smoking. This term 'peatta' needs verification. Please discuss this in talk page Ritigala Jayasena 13:17, 10 October 2007 (UTC). Also the term Roket (Rocket) is sometimes used to mean the same.
Netum Thel (නැටුම් තෙල්) - Literally 'Dancing Oil'. Bit outdated but rather sarcastic term referring to any kind of hard liquor.
There are many terms to refer to illicit or homemade liquor which includes Kasippu (කසිප්පු) (this is the most common and accepted name), 'Heli Arrakku' (හැලි අරක්කු) (archaic term means, Pot-Liquor), 'Kashiya' (කෂියා) (which is a pet name derived from more mainstream term Kasippu), 'Vel Beer' (වෙල් බියර්) (means, beer of the paddy field), 'Katukambi' (කටු කම්බි) (means, barbed wire) 'Suduwa' (සුදුවා) (means, the white substance) depending on locality.
Bata (බට) or Batayak (බටයක්) - A cigarette. (e.g. Batayak gahamuda? (බටයක් ගහමුද?) means 'Shall we have a smoke?')
Bebe (බෙබේ) - Alcoholic. This could be a shorten form for Bebadda (බේබද්දා).
Dekak Da Gannawa (දෙකක් දා ගන්නවා) - Literally 'to have two shots'. To have a drink. Note that Nethi wenna gahanawa (නැති වෙන්න ගහනවා) refers to getting really drunk till one is unconsious. Wadinna ganahawa (වදින්න ගහනවා) means getting high but not really drunk. Mokuth karamuda (මොකුත් කරමුද?) which literally means 'shall we do something' when used in certain contexts means 'shall we have a drink'.
Duma (දුම) - Literally means 'smoke'. Used to mean anything used to have a smoke (e.g. cigarette, cigar, mal (මල්) etc.). (e.g. Dumak adimuda? (දුමක් අදිමුද?) means 'Shall we have a smoke?')
Kudu (කුඩු) - Heroin or other similar narcotics
Mala (මල) or Suusthiya (සුස්තිය) - Roll of Ganja (Cannabis or pot) for smoking or the ingredients used to prepare those. Relatively new term Mala (මල) is preferred over Suusthiya (සුස්තිය) in most social circles.
Netum Thel (නැටුම් තෙල්) - Literally 'Dancing Oil'. Bit outdated but rather sarcastic term referring to any kind of hard liquor.
There are many terms to refer to illicit or homemade liquor which includes Kasippu (කසිප්පු) (this is the most common and accepted name), 'Heli Arrakku' (හැලි අරක්කු) (archaic term means, Pot-Liquor), 'Kashiya' (කෂියා) (which is a pet name derived from more mainstream term Kasippu), 'Vel Beer' (වෙල් බියර්) (means, beer of the paddy field), 'Katukambi' (කටු කම්බි) (means, barbed wire) 'Suduwa' (සුදුවා) (means, the white substance) depending on locality.
Examples of Composite Slang (non taboo)
Following non taboo composite slangs have two or more words combined and used together. Their specific meaning is expressed only when the combination of words used together. Individual words might not have any associated meaning with composite slang.
Ae Ae Banisata Ae Ae Keselgedi - Literally 'particular Buns (that taste better or go with) with particular Bananas', means providing a problematic situation with a very suitable solution (even temporary).
Aachchita Haal Garanna (ආච්චිට හාල් ගරන්න) - Expresses anger or unpleasant surprise. This is an expression which is actually 'avoidance' or euphemism for much stronger swear.
Baaldiyak Peralanawa (බාල්දියක් පෙරලනවා) - Literally 'to roll a bucket'. Refers to 'picking a fight' or 'act in an angry manner or shout about'
Duka Tamai (දුක තමයි) - Means 'it is going to be painful/exhausting/messy/problematic etc'. Although comparatively less common, Duka Thamai Ranjanee (දුක තමයි රංජනී) is used in similar contexts. Ane Manda Sarath (අනේ මන්දා සරත්) is a slang which has same origins as Duka Tamai Ranjanee. Ane Manda Sarath is used in situations where one would say 'I don't know!'. Note that 'Ranjanee' and 'Sarath' are common female and male names which were popular in 1960s and hence very common in middle aged population.
Gokkola Peenawa (ගොක්කොල පේනවා) - Literally 'to see young coconut leaves' (which are traditionally used to decorate a funeral). Refers to a situation where impending death is sensed in an eerie manner.
Jalaya Apathe - literally 'waste of water'. Figuratively 'in vain'
Jambu Gahen Wetenawa (ජම්බු ගහෙන් වැටෙනවා) - Euphemism for a girl attaining puberty. There are many other old and well established slang for the same such as Loku Lamayek Wenawa (ලොකු ළමයෙක් වෙනවා), Loku Wenawa (ලොකු වෙනවා), Malwara Wenawa (මල්වර වෙනවා), Geta Wenawa (ගෙට වෙනවා) (Literally 'become house confined' which is rather outdated term, which refers to rather outdated practice of confining a girl strictly indoors for few days, right after her very first menstruation)
Pissu Hedena Sanda! (පිස්සු හැදෙන සඳ!) - Shows surprise literally translates as 'Makes me crazy'.
Peththaka Indan Kahinawa (පැත්තක ඉඳන් කහිනවා) - Literally to 'cough in the sides'. Scornful reference to a third party who is supporting one party in an argument where the third party has no right to get involved. Nayata Kahinawa (ණයට කහිනවා) also has a similar usage.
Sori dot kom (සොරි ඩොට් කොම්) - Spoof reference to a (hypothetical) sorry.com web site, used to refer to a 'sorry' situation. (e.g. Train eka miss unothnam sori dom kom (ටේන් එක මිස් උනොත්නම් සොරි ඩොට් කොම්)). This is becoming popular among IT savvy populace and specially IT students.
Sorry Wenna Ona (සොරි වෙන්න ඕන) - Expressing sympathy or apology in a mocking manner.
Wala Kajja Gahanawa (වල කජ්ජ ගහනවා) - Literal reference to an ancient Sri Lankan game played with cashew nuts. Means 'to die' (same as 'kick the bucket')
Ae Ae Banisata Ae Ae Keselgedi - Literally 'particular Buns (that taste better or go with) with particular Bananas', means providing a problematic situation with a very suitable solution (even temporary).
Aachchita Haal Garanna (ආච්චිට හාල් ගරන්න) - Expresses anger or unpleasant surprise. This is an expression which is actually 'avoidance' or euphemism for much stronger swear.
Baaldiyak Peralanawa (බාල්දියක් පෙරලනවා) - Literally 'to roll a bucket'. Refers to 'picking a fight' or 'act in an angry manner or shout about'
Duka Tamai (දුක තමයි) - Means 'it is going to be painful/exhausting/messy/problematic etc'. Although comparatively less common, Duka Thamai Ranjanee (දුක තමයි රංජනී) is used in similar contexts. Ane Manda Sarath (අනේ මන්දා සරත්) is a slang which has same origins as Duka Tamai Ranjanee. Ane Manda Sarath is used in situations where one would say 'I don't know!'. Note that 'Ranjanee' and 'Sarath' are common female and male names which were popular in 1960s and hence very common in middle aged population.
Gokkola Peenawa (ගොක්කොල පේනවා) - Literally 'to see young coconut leaves' (which are traditionally used to decorate a funeral). Refers to a situation where impending death is sensed in an eerie manner.
Jalaya Apathe - literally 'waste of water'. Figuratively 'in vain'
Jambu Gahen Wetenawa (ජම්බු ගහෙන් වැටෙනවා) - Euphemism for a girl attaining puberty. There are many other old and well established slang for the same such as Loku Lamayek Wenawa (ලොකු ළමයෙක් වෙනවා), Loku Wenawa (ලොකු වෙනවා), Malwara Wenawa (මල්වර වෙනවා), Geta Wenawa (ගෙට වෙනවා) (Literally 'become house confined' which is rather outdated term, which refers to rather outdated practice of confining a girl strictly indoors for few days, right after her very first menstruation)
Pissu Hedena Sanda! (පිස්සු හැදෙන සඳ!) - Shows surprise literally translates as 'Makes me crazy'.
Peththaka Indan Kahinawa (පැත්තක ඉඳන් කහිනවා) - Literally to 'cough in the sides'. Scornful reference to a third party who is supporting one party in an argument where the third party has no right to get involved. Nayata Kahinawa (ණයට කහිනවා) also has a similar usage.
Sori dot kom (සොරි ඩොට් කොම්) - Spoof reference to a (hypothetical) sorry.com web site, used to refer to a 'sorry' situation. (e.g. Train eka miss unothnam sori dom kom (ටේන් එක මිස් උනොත්නම් සොරි ඩොට් කොම්)). This is becoming popular among IT savvy populace and specially IT students.
Sorry Wenna Ona (සොරි වෙන්න ඕන) - Expressing sympathy or apology in a mocking manner.
Wala Kajja Gahanawa (වල කජ්ජ ගහනවා) - Literal reference to an ancient Sri Lankan game played with cashew nuts. Means 'to die' (same as 'kick the bucket')
Examples of Swear Words
Ado (අ‍ඩෝ) - Means 'Hey' or 'Oi'. Offensive when not used between friends.
Bambuwa (බම්බුව) - Literally means Bamboo rod. Means 'nonsense'. Bambu gahapan! (බම්බු ගහපන්) usually means 'No way, get lost'
Kehelmala (කෙ‍ෙහල්මල) - Literally means Banana Foliage. Used to mean 'nonsense'. (e.g. Mona kehelmalakda! (මොන කෙ‍ෙහල්මලක්ද!) means 'What nuisance' or 'What nonsense'.)
Magula (මගුල) - Literally means 'wedding ceremony' or simply 'ceremony'. But used to mean 'nuisance' or 'nonsense'. Mona magulakda - (e.g. Mona magulakda manda (මොන මගුලක්ද මන්දා?) means What the hell is this?, Mata me magula karala epawewa (මට ෙම් මගුල කරලා එපා ෙවලා) means 'I am fed up with this shit').
Paraya (පරයා) - Means 'outcast' or 'outsider'. Always offensive. Paratti (පරට්ටි) is the female version. Usually used prefixed to some other offensive word. (e.g. Paratta Belli (පරට්ට බැල්ලි) literally translates as 'outcast bitch')
Ponnaya (පොන්නයා), Ponsiya or Pontiya - Umbrella term for all submissive Transgender people, Eunuch, or submissive male homosexual. Abusive word for any submissive behavior.
Redda (රෙද්ද) - Means cloth (female garment). Offensive use is quite similar to the usage 'Shit' in English although no similarity in the literal meaning. (e.g. 'Mona reddak da!' (මොන රෙද්දක්ද!) means 'What the hell!' and 'Thoge Aachchige redda' (තොගෙ ආච්චිගෙ රෙද්ද) means 'Your grandma's garment')
Tho (තෝ) and Thoge (තොගෙ) - Means 'you' and 'yours' but offensive when used with an angry tone
Vesi (වේසි) - Prostitute, Whore. Patta Vesi (පට්ට වේසි) is a stronger abusive term. Vesige Putha (වේසිගෙ පුතා) Literally 'son of a whore'.
Waathe (වා‍ෙත) - Literally means Gas or Wind. Used to mean 'Nuisance'. (e.g. Mala Waathe (මල වා‍ෙත) means 'Big nuisance')
Yako (යකෝ) - Means 'You devil'. This term is not offensive when used between friends.
Bambuwa (බම්බුව) - Literally means Bamboo rod. Means 'nonsense'. Bambu gahapan! (බම්බු ගහපන්) usually means 'No way, get lost'
Kehelmala (කෙ‍ෙහල්මල) - Literally means Banana Foliage. Used to mean 'nonsense'. (e.g. Mona kehelmalakda! (මොන කෙ‍ෙහල්මලක්ද!) means 'What nuisance' or 'What nonsense'.)
Magula (මගුල) - Literally means 'wedding ceremony' or simply 'ceremony'. But used to mean 'nuisance' or 'nonsense'. Mona magulakda - (e.g. Mona magulakda manda (මොන මගුලක්ද මන්දා?) means What the hell is this?, Mata me magula karala epawewa (මට ෙම් මගුල කරලා එපා ෙවලා) means 'I am fed up with this shit').
Paraya (පරයා) - Means 'outcast' or 'outsider'. Always offensive. Paratti (පරට්ටි) is the female version. Usually used prefixed to some other offensive word. (e.g. Paratta Belli (පරට්ට බැල්ලි) literally translates as 'outcast bitch')
Ponnaya (පොන්නයා), Ponsiya or Pontiya - Umbrella term for all submissive Transgender people, Eunuch, or submissive male homosexual. Abusive word for any submissive behavior.
Redda (රෙද්ද) - Means cloth (female garment). Offensive use is quite similar to the usage 'Shit' in English although no similarity in the literal meaning. (e.g. 'Mona reddak da!' (මොන රෙද්දක්ද!) means 'What the hell!' and 'Thoge Aachchige redda' (තොගෙ ආච්චිගෙ රෙද්ද) means 'Your grandma's garment')
Tho (තෝ) and Thoge (තොගෙ) - Means 'you' and 'yours' but offensive when used with an angry tone
Vesi (වේසි) - Prostitute, Whore. Patta Vesi (පට්ට වේසි) is a stronger abusive term. Vesige Putha (වේසිගෙ පුතා) Literally 'son of a whore'.
Waathe (වා‍ෙත) - Literally means Gas or Wind. Used to mean 'Nuisance'. (e.g. Mala Waathe (මල වා‍ෙත) means 'Big nuisance')
Yako (යකෝ) - Means 'You devil'. This term is not offensive when used between friends.
Examples of Equating People with Animals
For the purpose of swearing, for fun, and as nicknames, it is a common practice in any language/culture to equate people with animals. Each language/culture has popular set of such animals references used for this purpose. Each animal represents a particular set of characteristic which can be positive or negative. In any culture, usually an animal like 'Pig' is used with negative connotation and an animal like 'Lion' with positive connotation.
Æmbalaya (අ‍ැඹලයා) - Type of an Ant which are drawn to sweet stuff. Refers to a male who is drawn to females a lot.
Balla (බල්ලා) - Dog- Generally bad or dislikable person
Bakamuna (බකමූණා) - (Owl)- Moody person who does not smile at all!!
Bassa (බස්සා) or Mukalan Bassa (මූකලන් බස්සා) - Owlet - One who responds with a grunt or "HMMM" in conversations.
Bælli (බැල්ලි) - Exactly the same usage as 'Bitch' and literally translates to 'Bitch'. Patta Bælli (පට්ට බැල්ලි) is a very offensive term. Bællige Putha (බැල්ලිගෙ පුතා) translates literally to 'son-of-a-bitch' and means exactly the same.
Booruwa (බූරුවා) - Donkey. Refers to a silly person causing damages due to lack of knowledge. Derivative is Puththalam Booruwa (පුත්තලම් බූරුවා), which literally means donkey whose origin is 'Puttalam'. Also used sarcastically for describing the age (i.e. 'Puttalam booruwo dennekge wayasa' (පුත්තලම් බූරුවෝ දෙන්නෙක්ගෙ වයස) means 'As old as two Puttalam donkeys').
Gal Aanda (ගල් ආඳා) - (Type of Eel) Elusive, Doggy, Cunning type of person.
Gas Gemba (ගස් ගෙම්බා) - Tree Frog. - Dislikable slimy person.
Gas Goana (ගස් ගෝනා) - Literally 'Tree Dwelling Sambar. Also used in rural dialects, as a substitute colloquial term for Monkey. The reason for the name is due to the fact that Monkey (Langur) meat is sometimes used a sa substitute for Sambar meat. Used as a derogatory nickname.
Gærandiya (ගැරඬියා) - Rat Snake - Dislikable slithery person
Gini Kikili (ගිනි කිකිලි) - (Firely Hen) - Refers to an attractive and female. Similar to the English slang Bimbo.
Gona (ගොනා) or Haraka (හරකා) or Mee haraka (මී හරකා) or Eladena (එළදෙන) - (Bull, Buffalo, Cow)
Hikanala (හිකනලා) - Skink - Used to call people without any strength (e.g. Eka hikanala vage apahu giye. (ඒකා හිකනලා වගේ ආපහු ගියේ.))
Koka (කොකා) - (Heron) Nick name for a skinny tall person.
Kotiya - (leopard) - Sexual predetor (both in hetrosexual and homosexual sense)
Kunakatuwa - (Hump Nosed Viper) - Person with a unlikable character who is envious of other people.
Kukula (කුකුළා) - (Rooster or Cock) - Flirtious (male) person. Sometimes means 'womanizer'. Kukul kenthikaraya (කුකුළ් කේන්තිකාරයා) means 'Short tempered one'.
Nariya (නරියා) - (Jackall) - Nick name or an Insult. Unlikeable person.
Naya (නයා) - (Cobra) - Used to refer to a short tempered or revengeful person.
Oora (උ‍ෟරා) - (Pig) - Used to refer to an unhygienic or gluttony person.
Otuwa (ඔටුවා) - (Camel) - Odd person. (e.g. Æi api otuwoda? (ඇයි අපි ඔටුවොද?))
Polos Kottoruwa (පොළොස් කොට්ටෝරුවා) - (Large Green Barbet is an Asian Barbet) Used as a nickname.
Sinhaya (සිංහයා) - (Lion) - Brave, person with good principles.
Wandura (වඳුරා) - (Monkey) - Nick name or an insult to a male, refering to his bad looks or being dark skinned. Wændiri (වැඳිරි) is the female version.
Æmbalaya (අ‍ැඹලයා) - Type of an Ant which are drawn to sweet stuff. Refers to a male who is drawn to females a lot.
Balla (බල්ලා) - Dog- Generally bad or dislikable person
Bakamuna (බකමූණා) - (Owl)- Moody person who does not smile at all!!
Bassa (බස්සා) or Mukalan Bassa (මූකලන් බස්සා) - Owlet - One who responds with a grunt or "HMMM" in conversations.
Bælli (බැල්ලි) - Exactly the same usage as 'Bitch' and literally translates to 'Bitch'. Patta Bælli (පට්ට බැල්ලි) is a very offensive term. Bællige Putha (බැල්ලිගෙ පුතා) translates literally to 'son-of-a-bitch' and means exactly the same.
Booruwa (බූරුවා) - Donkey. Refers to a silly person causing damages due to lack of knowledge. Derivative is Puththalam Booruwa (පුත්තලම් බූරුවා), which literally means donkey whose origin is 'Puttalam'. Also used sarcastically for describing the age (i.e. 'Puttalam booruwo dennekge wayasa' (පුත්තලම් බූරුවෝ දෙන්නෙක්ගෙ වයස) means 'As old as two Puttalam donkeys').
Gal Aanda (ගල් ආඳා) - (Type of Eel) Elusive, Doggy, Cunning type of person.
Gas Gemba (ගස් ගෙම්බා) - Tree Frog. - Dislikable slimy person.
Gas Goana (ගස් ගෝනා) - Literally 'Tree Dwelling Sambar. Also used in rural dialects, as a substitute colloquial term for Monkey. The reason for the name is due to the fact that Monkey (Langur) meat is sometimes used a sa substitute for Sambar meat. Used as a derogatory nickname.
Gærandiya (ගැරඬියා) - Rat Snake - Dislikable slithery person
Gini Kikili (ගිනි කිකිලි) - (Firely Hen) - Refers to an attractive and female. Similar to the English slang Bimbo.
Gona (ගොනා) or Haraka (හරකා) or Mee haraka (මී හරකා) or Eladena (එළදෙන) - (Bull, Buffalo, Cow)
Hikanala (හිකනලා) - Skink - Used to call people without any strength (e.g. Eka hikanala vage apahu giye. (ඒකා හිකනලා වගේ ආපහු ගියේ.))
Koka (කොකා) - (Heron) Nick name for a skinny tall person.
Kotiya - (leopard) - Sexual predetor (both in hetrosexual and homosexual sense)
Kunakatuwa - (Hump Nosed Viper) - Person with a unlikable character who is envious of other people.
Kukula (කුකුළා) - (Rooster or Cock) - Flirtious (male) person. Sometimes means 'womanizer'. Kukul kenthikaraya (කුකුළ් කේන්තිකාරයා) means 'Short tempered one'.
Nariya (නරියා) - (Jackall) - Nick name or an Insult. Unlikeable person.
Naya (නයා) - (Cobra) - Used to refer to a short tempered or revengeful person.
Oora (උ‍ෟරා) - (Pig) - Used to refer to an unhygienic or gluttony person.
Otuwa (ඔටුවා) - (Camel) - Odd person. (e.g. Æi api otuwoda? (ඇයි අපි ඔටුවොද?))
Polos Kottoruwa (පොළොස් කොට්ටෝරුවා) - (Large Green Barbet is an Asian Barbet) Used as a nickname.
Sinhaya (සිංහයා) - (Lion) - Brave, person with good principles.
Wandura (වඳුරා) - (Monkey) - Nick name or an insult to a male, refering to his bad looks or being dark skinned. Wændiri (වැඳිරි) is the female version.
Examples of Ethnic Slurs
These terms are disrespectful (if not offensive) when used by a person outside the ethnic demographic group, to refer to a person of that demographic group.
Cheena (චීනා) - Person of chineese origin
Demala (දෙමළා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Tamil origin. Even though the proper Sinhala noun to refer a Tamil ethic group is Demala (දෙමළ), when used in this sense it is regarded as disrespectful. (Note the ending vowel 'අ' vs. 'ආ')
Dambaya (දඹයා) - Relatively new term to refer to a person of Indian nationality. (Living in India). This term is used mostly by office workers of Sri Lanka, who also interact with Indians; Also by Sri Lankan diaspora living abroad. Derivative from the word 'Dambadiva' (දඹදිව), which is used to refer to the ancient India.
Hambaya (හම්බයා) - Rather outdated term to refer to a person of Muslim origin.
Kalla (කල්ලා) - Person with a dark skin. Can refer to a person with African origin. This terms is also used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in USA to refer to an African American
Japana - Person of Japanese origine.
Kallathoni (කල්ලතෝනි) - Refers to any illegal immigrant or non-citizan, especially from India.
Kochchiya (කොච්චියා) - Rather outdated term to refer to a person of Indian origin.
Lansiya (ලන්සියා) or Lan(g)siya (ලංසියා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a Burgher person of Dutch origin, living in Sri Lanka.
Mattaya (මට්ටයා) - Used by the Sinhala/Tamil majority to refer to a person of Muslim origin hailing from East of the island (Ampara, Pothuvil, Madakalapuwa area).
Mækka (මැක්කා) or Mæssa (මැස්සා) - Person of Mexican (Hispanic) origin. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in USA.
Otuwa (ඔටුවා) - Person of Arabic origin. Specially the males wearing Thawb and Agal. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in Middle East region.
Pakka (පක්කා) - Male of Pakistani origin - typically wearing Shalwar Kameez. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in Middle East region.
Sakkiliya (සක්කිලියා) - Derived from a name of a Dalit like caste that came over relatively recently from India. Originally used by the Sinhalese majority as a pejorative. Usually refers to a very unhygienic or uncultured person, who lacks basic manners.
Sudda (සුද්දා) - Used by the Sinhala/Tamil majority to refer to a person of white caucasian or European origin. Generally refers all pale white-skinned people, and literal translation is 'white one'.
Thalaya (තලයා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Tamil origin from North (Jaffna). Refers to the excessive use of Thala Thel(or gingelly oil) by this community.
Thambiya (තම්බියා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Muslim origin. The literal meaning of 'Thambi' is younger brother (in Tamil), Originally, this must have been used not as an offensive term but an affectionate one.
Cheena (චීනා) - Person of chineese origin
Demala (දෙමළා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Tamil origin. Even though the proper Sinhala noun to refer a Tamil ethic group is Demala (දෙමළ), when used in this sense it is regarded as disrespectful. (Note the ending vowel 'අ' vs. 'ආ')
Dambaya (දඹයා) - Relatively new term to refer to a person of Indian nationality. (Living in India). This term is used mostly by office workers of Sri Lanka, who also interact with Indians; Also by Sri Lankan diaspora living abroad. Derivative from the word 'Dambadiva' (දඹදිව), which is used to refer to the ancient India.
Hambaya (හම්බයා) - Rather outdated term to refer to a person of Muslim origin.
Kalla (කල්ලා) - Person with a dark skin. Can refer to a person with African origin. This terms is also used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in USA to refer to an African American
Japana - Person of Japanese origine.
Kallathoni (කල්ලතෝනි) - Refers to any illegal immigrant or non-citizan, especially from India.
Kochchiya (කොච්චියා) - Rather outdated term to refer to a person of Indian origin.
Lansiya (ලන්සියා) or Lan(g)siya (ලංසියා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a Burgher person of Dutch origin, living in Sri Lanka.
Mattaya (මට්ටයා) - Used by the Sinhala/Tamil majority to refer to a person of Muslim origin hailing from East of the island (Ampara, Pothuvil, Madakalapuwa area).
Mækka (මැක්කා) or Mæssa (මැස්සා) - Person of Mexican (Hispanic) origin. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in USA.
Otuwa (ඔටුවා) - Person of Arabic origin. Specially the males wearing Thawb and Agal. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in Middle East region.
Pakka (පක්කා) - Male of Pakistani origin - typically wearing Shalwar Kameez. This term is used by Sri Lankan diaspora living in Middle East region.
Sakkiliya (සක්කිලියා) - Derived from a name of a Dalit like caste that came over relatively recently from India. Originally used by the Sinhalese majority as a pejorative. Usually refers to a very unhygienic or uncultured person, who lacks basic manners.
Sudda (සුද්දා) - Used by the Sinhala/Tamil majority to refer to a person of white caucasian or European origin. Generally refers all pale white-skinned people, and literal translation is 'white one'.
Thalaya (තලයා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Tamil origin from North (Jaffna). Refers to the excessive use of Thala Thel(or gingelly oil) by this community.
Thambiya (තම්බියා) - Used by the Sinhala majority to refer to a person of Muslim origin. The literal meaning of 'Thambi' is younger brother (in Tamil), Originally, this must have been used not as an offensive term but an affectionate one.
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