These are nearly identical in purpose and shape in both alphabets:
| Feature | Sinhala | Tamil | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 60 (12 vowels + 48 consonants) | 31 (12 vowels + 18 consonants + 1 special) | | Direction | Left to Right | Left to Right | | Inherent Vowel | 'a' (අ) | 'a' (அ) | | Script Style | Rounded, cursive | Angular, blocky | Sinhala Vowels (ස්වර) Sinhala has 12 independent vowels: sinhala alphabet with tamil
Yet today, on Sri Lankan currency, road signs, and government documents, both scripts sit side by side—a beautiful, functional example of two alphabets that learned to live together. These are nearly identical in purpose and shape
| Sound | Sinhala | Tamil | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Ja | ජ | ஜ | | Sha | ශ | ஷ | | Sa (palatal) | ෂ | (same as Sha in Tamil) | | Ha | හ | ஹ | | Ksha | ක්ෂ | க்ஷ | cursive | Angular