ނ — nonu
«nonu» is a consonant of Maldivian, the “the Thaana script” script, read as “n”. The ordinary “n” of “net”. For example, in the word “ނަން” — name. The Maldivian alphabet has 35 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. Before another consonant ނ is written with no vowel sign and stands not for “n” but for a nasal shade: ރަނގަޅު reads “rangalhu”. It appears, for example, in the word “ކިހިނެއް؟” — how are you?
In short
| Character | ނ |
| Name | nonu |
| Sound | n |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 4th of 35: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are މ and ަ, appears in roughly every other word on this site.
How it sounds
The ordinary “n” of “net”
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.
- ނަންnanname
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
- ކިހިނެއް؟kihineh?how are you?
- ކިހިނެއްތޯ؟kihinehthoa?how are you (polite)?
- ރަނގަޅުrangalhufine, well
- އާންaanyes (casual)
- ނޫންnoonno
- އަހަރެންaharenI
- އޭނާeynaahe
- އަހަރެމެންaharemenwe
- ނަންnanname
- އަހަރެންގެ ނަމަކީaharenge namakeemy name is
- ކޮން ނަމެއްތަ؟kon namehtha?what is your name?
- އިނގިރޭސިingireysiEnglish (language)
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 «nonu» it is “n”, as in the word “ނަން”), 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 ނ read?
As “n” — it is a consonant of the “the Thaana script” script. The ordinary “n” of “net”. For example, in the word “ނަން” — name.
What is the letter ނ called?
Nonu. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Maldivian script: it is called “nonu” and reads as “n”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ނ be confused with?
Before another consonant ނ is written with no vowel sign and stands not for “n” but for a nasal shade: ރަނގަޅު reads “rangalhu”. 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.