އާއިލާ
“އާއިލާ” (aailaa) — family in Maldivian. Noun, level A1, topic — people and family. Arabic aa'ila. It covers kin more widely than parents and children. In a live sentence: “އަހަރެންގެ އާއިލާ މާލޭގައި” — My family is in Malé. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters އ, ާ, އ, ި, ލ, ާ. One of 164 words in the set “people and family” in the Maldivian course.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | އާއިލާ |
| Read in Latin letters | aailaa |
| Translation | family |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- އާއިލާaailaafamily
Why it looks that way
Arabic aa'ila. It covers kin more widely than parents and children
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- އަހަރެންގެ އާއިލާ މާލޭގައިaharenge aailaa maaleygaiMy family is in Malé
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- ރައްޓެހިrattehifriendNeutral about a man or a woman. Friendship as a feeling has its own longer word
- މަންމަmammamomThe household address and the ordinary word for 'mother' at once: there is no other in daily use
- ބައްޕަbappadadPartner to mamma. Grandfather is kaafa, grandmother maama
- ދަރިފުޅުdharifulhuchilddhari, 'offspring', plus the affectionate -fulhu. It's how you speak of someone else's child too
- ވިއްކާ މީހާvikkaa meehaasellerLiterally 'selling person': vikkaa is 'sells', meehaa is 'person'. There is no separate noun 'seller' in Dhivehi
- ގަންނަ މީހާganna meehaabuyerBy the same pattern as 'seller': ganna is 'buys'. The first word changes, the second stays
- އަވަށްޓެރިޔާavahteriyaaneighborFive syllables: a-vah-te-ri-yaa
- ގޭގެ ވެރިޔާgeyge veriyaalandlordGeyge is 'of the house' (from ge), veriyaa is 'master, owner'. The same word names the head of the country
- ޑޮކްޓަރުdoktarudoctorEnglish doctor. The bare k-sign holds 'k' without a vowel, hence 'dok-ta-ru'
- އިންޖިނިއަރުinjiniaruengineerEnglish engineer. One of the commonest borrowing moves: -er turns into -aru
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “family” in Maldivian?
Arabic aa'ila. It covers kin more widely than parents and children
- How do you say “neighbor” in Maldivian?
From avah, 'quarter, village'. The -yaa ending marks a person, as in the word for 'master'
- How do you say “dad” in Maldivian?
Partner to mamma. Grandfather is kaafa, grandmother maama
- How do you say “engineer” in Maldivian?
English engineer. One of the commonest borrowing moves: -er turns into -aru
- How do you say “buyer” in Maldivian?
By the same pattern as 'seller': ganna is 'buys'. The first word changes, the second stays
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “family” in Maldivian?
«އާއިލާ», read “aailaa”. In a live sentence: “އަހަރެންގެ އާއިލާ މާލޭގައި” — My family is in Malé. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters އ, ާ, އ, ި, ލ, ާ.
How is “އާއިލާ” written in Latin letters?
aailaa. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Arabic aa'ila. It covers kin more widely than parents and children. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.