ކާން
“ކާން” (kaan) — to eat in Maldivian. Verb, level A1, topic — food and drink. The dictionary form in -n; it stands before beynun and jehey — 'to-eat is wanted', I want to eat. The course knows the personal kanee, 'I eat': the verb doesn't change for person, only the form tells the cards apart. In a live sentence: “ކާން ބޭނުންތަ؟” — Do you want to eat? You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ކ, ާ, ނ, ް.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ކާން |
| Read in Latin letters | kaan |
| Translation | to eat |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- ކާންkaanto eat
Why it looks that way
The dictionary form in -n; it stands before beynun and jehey — 'to-eat is wanted', I want to eat. The course knows the personal kanee, 'I eat': the verb doesn't change for person, only the form tells the cards apart
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.
- ކާން ބޭނުންތަ؟kaan beynuntha?Do you want to eat?
Nearby words: food and drink
A menu, a market, a shop sign, the question “what is this?”. Food is the most frequent subject of the first weeks and the safest excuse to start talking.
- ފެންfenwaterOn the islands all water is shipped in, so this word enters service earlier than most
- ކޮފީkofeecoffeeAn English loanword written in Thaana. There are many like it — listen for the familiar
- ސައިsaiteaSai means both tea and a light meal in general: the morning sai is breakfast
- ބަތްbaiyriceLiterally 'rice', but also 'food' in general: rice with fish is the base of the Maldivian table
- މަސްmasfishTuna is the backbone of Maldivian cooking
- ރޮށިroshiroshi (flatbread)A thin wheat flatbread, the base of breakfast — a relative of the Indian roti
- ކުކުޅުkukulhuchickenBoth the bird and the meat. Chicken curry is kukulhu rihaa
- ބިސްbiseggThe indefinite form is biyeh: the final s turns to h before the ending
- މޭވާmeyvaafruitA collective: one fruit or many — the plurality isn't marked separately
- ދޮންކެޔޮdhonkeyobananadhon (ripe, light) plus keyo (the banana plant). The local banana is smaller than the imported one
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “food and drink”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to eat” in Maldivian?
The dictionary form in -n; it stands before beynun and jehey — 'to-eat is wanted', I want to eat. The course knows the personal kanee, 'I eat': the verb doesn't change for person, only the form tells the cards apart
- How do you say “chicken” in Maldivian?
Both the bird and the meat. Chicken curry is kukulhu rihaa
- How do you say “tea” in Maldivian?
Sai means both tea and a light meal in general: the morning sai is breakfast
- How do you say “banana” in Maldivian?
dhon (ripe, light) plus keyo (the banana plant). The local banana is smaller than the imported one
- How do you say “roshi (flatbread)” in Maldivian?
A thin wheat flatbread, the base of breakfast — a relative of the Indian roti
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 eat” in Maldivian?
«ކާން», read “kaan”. In a live sentence: “ކާން ބޭނުންތަ؟” — Do you want to eat? You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “food and drink”; written with the characters ކ, ާ, ނ, ް.
How is “ކާން” written in Latin letters?
kaan. 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 dictionary form in -n; it stands before beynun and jehey — 'to-eat is wanted', I want to eat. The course knows the personal kanee, 'I eat': the verb doesn't change for person, only the form tells the cards apart. 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.