Writing on signs in Sri Lanka
Round letters, no top line
Sinhala letters are very round, almost like circles and curls, and there is no line along the top. Signs often add Tamil and English.
- Letters like ශ and ල look like loops and curls.
- No top line: that rules out Hindi, Nepali and Bengali.
- Official signs often show three scripts: Sinhala, Tamil and English.
6 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Shop sign 5
Key clue Street sign 1
Sri Lanka: what its writing looks like
Sinhala letters are very round, made of curls and loops, and there is no line along the top. A Sinhala word looks like a row of circles.
Official signs in Sri Lanka often show three scripts: Sinhala, Tamil and English.
Sinhala is used across most of Sri Lanka. In the north and east, Tamil is more common.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
Sri Lanka vs 
India
Bangladesh
Hindi and Bengali have a line along the top of each word. Sinhala does not.
Questions about the writing in Sri Lanka
What does Sinhala writing look like?
Round, curly letters like ශ and ල, with no line along the top.
Why do Sri Lankan signs have three scripts?
Sinhala and Tamil are both official languages, and English is widely used, so signs often show all three.