ޏ — gnaviyani
«gnaviyani» is a consonant of Maldivian, the “the Thaana script” script, read as “gn”. A soft nasal “ny”, like Spanish “ñ”. The Maldivian alphabet has 35 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It appears, for example, in the word “ދަރަންޏަށް ފައިސާ ނެގުން” — to borrow money.
In short
| Character | ޏ |
| Name | gnaviyani |
| Sound | gn |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 35th of 35: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, before it comes ޗ.
How it sounds
A soft nasal “ny”, like Spanish “ñ”
The character in the “twenty-four consonants” group
The order is the canonical one — haa, shaviyani, nonu, raa… It is not an alphabet in the familiar sense: the first nine signs descend from Arabic numerals, and you can see it in their shapes.
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound, see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 35 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Maldivian character ޏ read?
As “gn” — it is a consonant of the “the Thaana script” script. A soft nasal “ny”, like Spanish “ñ”.
What is the letter ޏ called?
Gnaviyani. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Maldivian script: it is called “gnaviyani” and reads as “gn”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.