ް — sukun
«sukun» is sign of Maldivian, the “the Thaana script” script, read as “sukun (no vowel)”. No vowel at all: ބް is just “b”. The Maldivian alphabet has 35 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. The little circle above means “no sound here”. Almost every word ends with it: ބަސް is bas, not basa. On a carrier the character looks like this: ބް. It appears, for example, in the word “ސަލާމް” — hello.
In short
| Character | ް |
| Name | sukun |
| Sound | sukun (no vowel) |
| What it is | sign |
| On the carrier | ބް |
In our course the character comes 6th of 35: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ަ and ާ, appears in roughly every other word on this site.
How it sounds
No vowel at all: ބް is just “b”
The character in the “sukun” group
The eleventh sign in the fili row, and the only one that means the absence of a vowel.
Words with this character
- ސަލާމްsalaamhello
- ކިހިނެއް؟kihineh?how are you?
- ކިހިނެއްތޯ؟kihinehthoa?how are you (polite)?
- ޝުކުރިއްޔާshukuriyyaathank you
- އާންaanyes (casual)
- ނޫންnoonno
- އަހަރެންaharenI
- އަހަރެމެންaharemenwe
- ނަންnanname
- އަހަރެންގެ ނަމަކީaharenge namakeemy name is
- ކޮން ނަމެއްތަ؟kon namehtha?what is your name?
- ދިވެހިރާއްޖެdhivehiraajjethe Maldives
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 ް read?
As “sukun (no vowel)” — it is sign of the “the Thaana script” script. No vowel at all: ބް is just “b”.
What is the letter ް called?
Sukun. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Maldivian script: it is called “sukun” and reads as “sukun (no vowel)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ް be confused with?
The little circle above means “no sound here”. Almost every word ends with it: ބަސް is bas, not basa. 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.