އަތް ދޮވުން
“އަތް ދޮވުން” (aiy dhovun) — to wash your hands in Maldivian. Phrase, level A2. Literally 'the washing of hands'. Before eating it is compulsory: one eats with the hands, and by the dining room stands the washing place. In a live sentence: “ކެއުމުގެ ކުރިން އަތް ދޮވުން” — Wash your hands before eating. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters އ, ަ, ތ, ް, ދ, ޮ, ވ, ު, ނ, ް. A word from the everyday Maldivian course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | އަތް ދޮވުން |
| Read in Latin letters | aiy dhovun |
| Translation | to wash your hands |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- އަތް ދޮވުންaiy dhovunto wash your hands
Why it looks that way
Literally 'the washing of hands'. Before eating it is compulsory: one eats with the hands, and by the dining room stands the washing place.
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.
- ކެއުމުގެ ކުރިން އަތް ދޮވުންkeumuge kurin aiy dhovunWash your hands before eating
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 “to wash your hands” in Maldivian?
«އަތް ދޮވުން», read “aiy dhovun”. In a live sentence: “ކެއުމުގެ ކުރިން އަތް ދޮވުން” — Wash your hands before eating. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2; written with the characters އ, ަ, ތ, ް, ދ, ޮ, ވ, ު, ނ, ް.
How is “އަތް ދޮވުން” written in Latin letters?
aiy dhovun. 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?
Literally 'the washing of hands'. Before eating it is compulsory: one eats with the hands, and by the dining room stands the washing place. 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.