Sinhala’s strongest swears are rarely heard in public, which makes them land even harder.

The 10 most-used swear words in Sri Lanka, ranked from nuclear to Grandma-safe. Tap “Hear it” to hear each one, or tap a red bar to reveal a word.

1. 1
   ammata hukannaඅම්මට හුකන්න am-ma-ta HU-kan-naMotherf***er.
   Nuclear ▶ Hear it
2. 2
   huththaහුත්තා HUT-thaC***.
   Nuclear ▶ Hear it
3. 3
   ballige puthaබැල්ලිගෙ පුතා BAL-li-ge PU-thaSon of a bitch.
   Very rude ▶ Hear it
4. 4
   wesiවේසි WAY-seeWhore.
   Very rude ▶ Hear it
5. 5
   pakayaපකයා PA-ka-yaDickhead.
   Very rude ▶ Hear it
7. 6
   kariyaකැරියා KA-ri-yaScoundrel.
   Rude ▶ Hear it
8. 7
   ballaබල්ලා BAL-laDog.
   Mild ▶ Hear it
9. 8
   modayaමෝඩයා MO-da-yaFool.
   Grandma-safe ▶ Hear it
10. 9
    gonaගොනා GO-naBull. Idiot.
    Grandma-safe ▶ Hear it
11. 10
    pissuපිස්සු PIS-suCrazy.
    Grandma-safe ▶ Hear it