Merry Christmas in Sinhala
සුබ නත්තලක් වේවා
Suba Naththalak Wewa
Say it like this: SOO-bah NUT-thah-lak WEH-wah
Big letters show the part to say louder.
Quick answer
- In Sinhala, Merry Christmas is සුබ නත්තලක් වේවා (Suba Naththalak Wewa), said like SOO-bah NUT-thah-lak WEH-wah.
- Happy New Year is සුබ අලුත් අවුරුද්දක් වේවා (Suba Aluth Avuruddak Wewa).
- People say it in Sri Lanka.
What Suba Naththalak Wewa means
'Suba' means auspicious or happy, 'Naththalak' means 'a Christmas', and 'wewa' means 'may it be'.
Sinhala is written in its own rounded script, which reads left to right and was developed from ancient Indian scripts.
Other ways to say it in Sinhala
Happy New Year
සුබ අලුත් අවුරුද්දක් වේවා
Suba Aluth Avuruddak Wewa
Say it like this: SOO-bah AH-looth ah-VOO-rood-dak WEH-wah
May you have a happy new year.
Where people speak Sinhala
Sri Lanka
Sinhala (සිංහල) belongs to the Indo-European (Indo-Aryan) language family.
Hear it from Rally on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, Rally the corgi rides the Christmas Train around the world. He reaches Colombo at about 12:50 AM local time, and kids learn to say සුබ නත්තලක් වේවා as he lands.
Watch Rally arrive in Colombo →Christmas traditions where people speak Sinhala
- Firecrackers at dawn: For Sri Lankan Christians the Christmas season begins on December 1, announced by firecrackers at dawn. Streets are decorated and shopping centers put up big Christmas trees.[1]
- Midnight Mass and parties: Christians attend Midnight Mass across the country, then host parties at home. Friends who are not Christian are invited too, which is a lovely part of the season.[1]
- Naththal Seeya: In Sinhala, Santa Claus is called Naththal Seeya. Big hotels hold Christmas dinner dances, and companies hold parties as well.[1]
🎄 Quick game: Merry Christmas in Sinhala
Three quick questions for kids. Tap an answer to play.
Say Merry Christmas in more languages
- Bengaliশুভ বড়দিন
- Nepaliक्रिसमसको शुभकामना
- Urduکرسمس مبارک
- Dari (Afghan Persian)کریسمس مبارک
- Burmeseပျော်ရွှင်ဖွယ်ရာ ခရစ္စမတ်ပွဲတော် ဖြစ်ပါစေ
- Korean메리 크리스마스
- Tagalog (Filipino)Maligayang Pasko
- Teluguక్రిస్మస్ శుభాకాంక్షలు
Questions parents ask
How do you say Merry Christmas in Sinhala?
Say සුබ නත්තලක් වේවා, 'Suba Naththalak Wewa'. It means 'may you have a happy Christmas'. Naththala is the Sinhala word for Christmas, and the wish pattern with 'wewa' is the same one used for the New Year. Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans use a different greeting, so each community has its own words for the holiday.[1]
How do you pronounce Suba Naththalak Wewa?
Say 'SOO-bah NUT-thah-lak WEH-wah'. The 'th' in 'Naththalak' is a hard 't' with a slight breath, not the English 'th', and the double 'tt' means you hold the sound slightly. 'Wewa' sounds like 'weh-wah', with the w close to a v. Stress the first syllable of each word.[1]
What does Naththalak mean?
'Naththala' is the Sinhala word for Christmas and 'Naththalak' means 'a Christmas'. 'Suba' means auspicious or happy, and 'wewa' means 'let it be' or 'may it be'. So the whole greeting is a wish: may it be a happy Christmas. Sinhala often phrases good wishes as 'may it be'.[1]
How do you write and spell it in Sinhala?
Sinhala has its own script with rounded letters, written left to right: සුබ නත්තලක් වේවා. In English letters, spellings vary a little, such as 'Suba Naththalak Wewa' or 'Shuba Nattalak Wewa', because there is no single standard. If you cannot type Sinhala, either romanization is understood.[1]
How do you say Happy New Year in Sinhala?
Say සුබ අලුත් අවුරුද්දක් වේවා, 'Suba Aluth Avuruddak Wewa', which means 'may you have a happy new year'. 'Aluth' means new and 'avurudda' means year. This is also the greeting for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, so people say it twice a year.[2][3]
Is there a formal and a casual way to say it?
'Suba Naththalak Wewa' suits cards, speeches and anyone you wish to respect. Friends often simply say 'Merry Christmas' in English, which many Sri Lankans use. Sinhala also has polite and casual verb forms, but this wish does not need to change for different people.[1]
When do people say it in Sri Lanka?
The Christmas season starts for Christians on December 1, announced by firecrackers at dawn, so greetings begin early. Christmas is a public holiday that everyone observes, although only about 7 percent of Sri Lankans are Christian and most of them are Catholic. The country is mostly Buddhist.[1]
Is the main celebration Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve, December 24, is when the main celebrations take place. Christians go to Midnight Mass across the country and then host parties at home for Christian and non-Christian friends. December 25 is a public holiday for the whole country.[1]
What are Christmas customs in Sri Lanka?
Streets and shopping centers are decorated, with large Christmas trees in malls. Firecrackers mark the start of the season on December 1, hotels hold Christmas dinner dances, and companies hold parties. Santa Claus is called Naththal Seeya, and Christians attend Midnight Mass.[1]
How can I teach Suba Naththalak Wewa to kids?
Teach the word 'Naththalak' first, since it is the key word: NUT-thah-lak. Then add 'Suba' (happy) and 'Wewa' as a magic wish word that means 'may it be'. Introduce Naththal Seeya, the Sinhala name for Santa, as a fun extra, and let children say the greeting when giving cards.[1]
A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first train ride, hand-painted in real watercolor by Leslie Dunn. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonSources
We check every greeting against dictionaries, language institutes and cultural sources.
- Christmas in Sri Lanka, WhyChristmas.com
- Happy New Year Wishes in Sinhala, Ling App
- Bonne année dans toutes les langues, Generation Voyage
