ޅ — lhaviyani
«lhaviyani» is a consonant of Maldivian, the “the Thaana script” script, read as “lh”. A dark “l” with the tongue curled back — English has nothing like it. For example, in the word “ކުކުޅު” — chicken. The Maldivian alphabet has 35 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. The pair of ލ (l): ޅ sounds duller and “thicker”. It appears, for example, in the word “ރަނގަޅު” — fine, well.
In short
| Character | ޅ |
| Name | lhaviyani |
| Sound | lh |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 28th of 35: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ށ and ޓ, appears in 310 words of this site.
How it sounds
A dark “l” with the tongue curled back — English has nothing like it
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- ކުކުޅުkukulhuchicken
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.
Words with this character
- ރަނގަޅުrangalhufine, well
- ތިޔަ ބޭފުޅާthiya beyfulhaayou (polite)
- ކުކުޅުkukulhuchicken
- ދަރިފުޅުdharifulhuchild
- އުޅެނީulheneeI live
- ކޮތަޅުkothalhubag (plastic)
- ހުޅުވިފައިhulhuvifaiopen (for business)
- ދިރިއުޅޭ ތަންdhiriulhey thanhousing
- ތަޅުދަނޑިthalhudhandikey
- ހުރިހާ ކަމެއް ރަނގަޅުhurihaa kameh rangalhuall is well
- އަހަންނަށް ނުހުޅުވުނުahannah nuhulhuvunuI can't open it
- ގުޅަބޭސްgulhabeyspill
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 (for «lhaviyani» it is “lh”, as in the word “ކުކުޅު”), 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 ޅ read?
As “lh” — it is a consonant of the “the Thaana script” script. A dark “l” with the tongue curled back — English has nothing like it. For example, in the word “ކުކުޅު” — chicken.
What is the letter ޅ called?
Lhaviyani. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Maldivian script: it is called “lhaviyani” and reads as “lh”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ޅ be confused with?
The pair of ލ (l): ޅ sounds duller and “thicker”. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.