މާފުކުރޭ
“މާފުކުރޭ” (maafukurey) — excuse me in Maldivian. Interjection, level A0, topic — polite words. maafu is 'forgiveness', kurey is 'make' — literally 'make forgiveness'. It covers sorry as well as excuse me. In a live sentence: “މާފުކުރޭ، ފެރީ ކޮބާ؟” — Excuse me, where is the ferry? You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters މ, ާ, ފ, ު, ކ, ު, ރ, ޭ. One of 17 words in the set “polite words” in the Maldivian course.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | މާފުކުރޭ |
| Read in Latin letters | maafukurey |
| Translation | excuse me |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A0 |
- މާފުކުރޭmaafukureyexcuse me
Why it looks that way
maafu is 'forgiveness', kurey is 'make' — literally 'make forgiveness'. It covers sorry as well as excuse me
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.
- މާފުކުރޭ، ފެރީ ކޮބާ؟maafukurey, feree kobaa?Excuse me, where is the ferry?
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- ކިހިނެއްތޯ؟kihinehthoa?how are you (polite)?The polite upgrade: the particle -thoa raises the register. Among peers people simply say kihineh
- ޝުކުރިއްޔާshukuriyyaathank youFrom the Arabic shukran. There is no shorter native substitute — people say it in full, even for a small favor
- ތިޔަ ބޭފުޅާthiya beyfulhaayou (polite)The polite you for one person: beyfulhaa is a respectful 'person'. The safe choice with any stranger
- ބޭނުމެއް ނޫންbeynumeh noonI don't need itFrom beynun, 'want, need', and noon, 'no'. The polite refusal to a street seller
- މިނިޓެއް މަޑުކުރޭminiteh madukureywait a minuteMadukurey is 'hold on, wait', from madu, 'quiet, slow' — the same root as 'slowly' from unit one
- ހުރިހާ ކަމެއް ރަނގަޅުhurihaa kameh rangalhuall is wellHurihaa is 'all', kameh is 'a matter' — literally 'all matters are good'
- ހުރިހާ ކަމެއް ބަރާބަރުhurihaa kameh baraabarueverything is fineThe same opening as in 'all is well', but with 'excellent' from unit one
- އަހަންނަށް މަޑުކުރޭahannah madukureywait for meThe same 'hold on' as in 'wait a minute', but with 'to me': it's you they're waiting for
- އަނެއްކާ ކިޔައިދެއްވާanekkaa kiyaidhevvaaplease explain againThe familiar 'once more' plus the polite form of 'give'. The honorific ending is what makes the request respectful
- ފޯމު ފުރުއްވާfoamu furuvvaaplease fill in the formFoamu is English form, the verb is the polite 'fill in'. The plain 'fill' is shorter
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “excuse me” in Maldivian?
maafu is 'forgiveness', kurey is 'make' — literally 'make forgiveness'. It covers sorry as well as excuse me
- How do you say “everything is fine” in Maldivian?
The same opening as in 'all is well', but with 'excellent' from unit one
- How do you say “you (polite)” in Maldivian?
The polite you for one person: beyfulhaa is a respectful 'person'. The safe choice with any stranger
- How do you say “please fill in the form” in Maldivian?
Foamu is English form, the verb is the polite 'fill in'. The plain 'fill' is shorter
- How do you say “all is well” in Maldivian?
Hurihaa is 'all', kameh is 'a matter' — literally 'all matters are good'
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 “excuse me” in Maldivian?
«މާފުކުރޭ», read “maafukurey”. In a live sentence: “މާފުކުރޭ، ފެރީ ކޮބާ؟” — Excuse me, where is the ferry? You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters މ, ާ, ފ, ު, ކ, ު, ރ, ޭ.
How is “މާފުކުރޭ” written in Latin letters?
maafukurey. 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?
maafu is 'forgiveness', kurey is 'make' — literally 'make forgiveness'. It covers sorry as well as excuse me. 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.