ދެން ދަނީ
“ދެން ދަނީ” (dhen dhanee) — goodbye in Maldivian. Interjection, level A0, topic — greetings and goodbyes. People leave with an act, not a phrase: 'well, I'm off', and the answer comes back. On the radio and on paper the Arabic assalaamu alaykum closes the conversation. In a live sentence: “ދެން ދަނީ، ފަހުން ބައްދަލުވާނެ” — Goodbye, see you again. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ދ, ެ, ނ, ް, ދ, ަ, ނ, ީ.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ދެން ދަނީ |
| Read in Latin letters | dhen dhanee |
| Translation | goodbye |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A0 |
- ދެން ދަނީdhen dhaneegoodbye
Why it looks that way
People leave with an act, not a phrase: 'well, I'm off', and the answer comes back. On the radio and on paper the Arabic assalaamu alaykum closes the conversation
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.
- ދެން ދަނީ، ފަހުން ބައްދަލުވާނެdhen dhanee, fahun baddhaluvaaneGoodbye, see you again
Nearby words: greetings and goodbyes
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
- ސަލާމްsalaamhelloAn all-purpose greeting for any time of day
- ކިހިނެއް؟kihineh?how are you?The ؟ sign is mirrored, because Thaana runs right to left. Literally just 'how?'; the standard answer is rangalhu
- ކިހިނެއްތޯ؟kihinehthoa?how are you (polite)?The polite upgrade: the particle -thoa raises the register. Among peers people simply say kihineh
- ފަހުންfahunsee you laterLiterally 'later'. When parting, Maldivians more often say dhanee ('I'm off') or fahun ('later') than any long farewell
- ހެނދުނުގެ ސަލާމްhendhunuge salaamgood morningThe island greets with salaam at any hour and needs no morning greeting; 'morning's salaam' is what sounds on the radio, on stage and in letters
- ބާއްޖަވެރި މެންދުރެއްbaajjaveri mendhurehgood afternoonbaajjaveri is 'propitious', mendhuru is 'noon', and the tail -eh means 'a …': you wish a good noon. The morning gets the same treatment
- ބާއްޖަވެރި ހަވީރެއްbaajjaveri haveerehgood eveninghaveeru is the evening before sunset, the one you know from haveerugai. After sunset and before sleep people wish baajjaveri reygandeh
- ބާއްޖަވެރި ރޭގަނޑެއްbaajjaveri reygandehgood nightreygandu is the night, known from reygandugai. It's said when parting for the night; settling in, people add a wish for 'joyful sleep'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “greetings and goodbyes”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “goodbye” in Maldivian?
People leave with an act, not a phrase: 'well, I'm off', and the answer comes back. On the radio and on paper the Arabic assalaamu alaykum closes the conversation
- How do you say “good evening” in Maldivian?
haveeru is the evening before sunset, the one you know from haveerugai. After sunset and before sleep people wish baajjaveri reygandeh
- How do you say “good morning” in Maldivian?
The island greets with salaam at any hour and needs no morning greeting; 'morning's salaam' is what sounds on the radio, on stage and in letters
- How do you say “how are you (polite)?” in Maldivian?
The polite upgrade: the particle -thoa raises the register. Among peers people simply say kihineh
- How do you say “hello” in Maldivian?
An Arabic loanword meaning 'peace' — the same word you hear in as-salamu alaykum. One word covers both hi and hello, neutral in politeness
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 “goodbye” in Maldivian?
«ދެން ދަނީ», read “dhen dhanee”. In a live sentence: “ދެން ދަނީ، ފަހުން ބައްދަލުވާނެ” — Goodbye, see you again. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A0, from the set “greetings and goodbyes”; written with the characters ދ, ެ, ނ, ް, ދ, ަ, ނ, ީ.
How is “ދެން ދަނީ” written in Latin letters?
dhen dhanee. 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?
People leave with an act, not a phrase: 'well, I'm off', and the answer comes back. On the radio and on paper the Arabic assalaamu alaykum closes the conversation. 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.