ޕީސް އަކުން
“ޕީސް އަކުން” (pees akun) — by the piece in Maldivian. Adverb, level B1, topic — shopping and money. Colloquial, from English 'piece': 'by the item'. This is what price tags in Male say when goods are not sold by weight. In a live sentence: “ބިސް ވިއްކަނީ ޕީސް އަކުން” — Eggs are sold by the piece. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ޕ, ީ, ސ, ް, އ, ަ, ކ, ު, ނ, ް.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ޕީސް އަކުން |
| Read in Latin letters | pees akun |
| Translation | by the piece |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | B1 |
- ޕީސް އަކުންpees akunby the piece
Why it looks that way
Colloquial, from English 'piece': 'by the item'. This is what price tags in Male say when goods are not sold by weight.
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.
- ބިސް ވިއްކަނީ ޕީސް އަކުންbis vikkanee pees akunEggs are sold by the piece
Nearby words: shopping and money
How much it costs, whether there is a smaller one, whether cards are accepted. A shop forgives mistakes: miss a word and they will show you the thing with their hands anyway.
- ކިހާ ވަރެއް؟kihaa vareh?how much is it?Literally 'what measure'. For counting pieces there's a different question, kithah
- އަގުagupriceFrom it come the words for 'cheap' and 'expensive' — literally 'price good' and 'price big'
- ރުފިޔާrufiyaarufiyaa (currency)The currency of the Maldives; the hundredth part is the laari. The name shares a root with the Indian rupee
- ފިހާރަfihaarashopAny small shop. Compounds: beysfihaara, 'pharmacy', and the English 'supermarket'
- މާރުކޭޓުmaarukeytumarketEnglish market. In Malé it names the fish and vegetable market by the port
- ކައުންޓަރުkauntarucounterNo stressed syllables in Dhivehi — the syllables come out even: ka-un-ta-ru
- ވިއްކާ މީހާvikkaa meehaasellerLiterally 'selling person': vikkaa is 'sells', meehaa is 'person'. There is no separate noun 'seller' in Dhivehi
- ގަންނަ މީހާganna meehaabuyerBy the same pattern as 'seller': ganna is 'buys'. The first word changes, the second stays
- މީޒާންmeezaanscalesmee-ZAAN, long ee in the first syllable
- ކިލޯkiloakilogramEnglish kilo. At the market people more often just say 'kilo', without the grams
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “shopping and money”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “by the piece” in Maldivian?
Colloquial, from English 'piece': 'by the item'. This is what price tags in Male say when goods are not sold by weight.
- How do you say “seller” in Maldivian?
Literally 'selling person': vikkaa is 'sells', meehaa is 'person'. There is no separate noun 'seller' in Dhivehi
- How do you say “rufiyaa (currency)” in Maldivian?
The currency of the Maldives; the hundredth part is the laari. The name shares a root with the Indian rupee
- How do you say “kilogram” in Maldivian?
English kilo. At the market people more often just say 'kilo', without the grams
- How do you say “counter” in Maldivian?
English counter written in Thaana. The counter, the desk, the till — one word covers them all
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 “by the piece” in Maldivian?
«ޕީސް އަކުން», read “pees akun”. In a live sentence: “ބިސް ވިއްކަނީ ޕީސް އަކުން” — Eggs are sold by the piece. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level B1, from the set “shopping and money”; written with the characters ޕ, ީ, ސ, ް, އ, ަ, ކ, ު, ނ, ް.
How is “ޕީސް އަކުން” written in Latin letters?
pees akun. 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?
Colloquial, from English 'piece': 'by the item'. This is what price tags in Male say when goods are not sold by weight. 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.