ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި
“ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި” (dhe fiyavalhu dhurugai) — two steps away in Maldivian. Phrase, level A1, topic — asking the way. The literal build: 'at the distance of two steps'. Livelier is 'not far at all' — and in Malé it's true: you walk the island in an hour. In a live sentence: “ބޭސް ފިހާރަ ހުރީ ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި” — The pharmacy is two steps away. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި |
| Read in Latin letters | dhe fiyavalhu dhurugai |
| Translation | two steps away |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައިdhe fiyavalhu dhurugaitwo steps away
Why it looks that way
The literal build: 'at the distance of two steps'. Livelier is 'not far at all' — and in Malé it's true: you walk the island in an hour
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.
- ބޭސް ފިހާރަ ހުރީ ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައިbeys fihaara huree dhe fiyavalhu dhurugaiThe pharmacy is two steps away
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- ކޮބާ؟kobaa?where?Asked about a thing you're looking for: kobaa fen?, 'where is the water?'
- ކަނާތަށްkanaathahto the rightkanaath is 'the right hand', -ah the direction: literally 'toward the right hand'
- ވާތަށްvaathahto the leftVaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending
- ސީދާseedhaastraight aheadOf a road, and of a person — 'straight, honest'
- ކައިރިkairicloseFrom it comes kaireegai, 'near' — the most frequent place phrase in the course
- ދުރުdhurufarPartner to kairi. 'Is it far?' is dhuruthaa?
- މިތާmithaahereMi, 'this', plus thaa, 'place'. Partner to ethaa, 'there'
- އެތާethaathereE, 'that', plus thaa, 'place'. Further from the speaker than mithaa
- މަގުmagustreet, roadStreet, road and way. In Malé addresses it's the second word: Majeedhee magu
- ކިހިނެއް ދާނީkihineh dhaaneehow do I get there?Literally 'how will I go'. To a stranger on the street you ask politely, with the -thoa particle
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “two steps away” in Maldivian?
The literal build: 'at the distance of two steps'. Livelier is 'not far at all' — and in Malé it's true: you walk the island in an hour
- How do you say “here” in Maldivian?
Mi, 'this', plus thaa, 'place'. Partner to ethaa, 'there'
- How do you say “to the left” in Maldivian?
Vaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending
- How do you say “how do I get there?” in Maldivian?
Literally 'how will I go'. To a stranger on the street you ask politely, with the -thoa particle
- How do you say “far” in Maldivian?
Partner to kairi. 'Is it far?' is dhuruthaa?
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 “two steps away” in Maldivian?
«ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި», read “dhe fiyavalhu dhurugai”. In a live sentence: “ބޭސް ފިހާރަ ހުރީ ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި” — The pharmacy is two steps away. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters ދ, ެ, ފ, ި, ޔ, ަ, ވ, ަ, ޅ, ު, ދ, ު.
How is “ދެ ފިޔަވަޅު ދުރުގައި” written in Latin letters?
dhe fiyavalhu dhurugai. 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?
The literal build: 'at the distance of two steps'. Livelier is 'not far at all' — and in Malé it's true: you walk the island in an hour. 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.