ސާފު
“ސާފު” (saafu) — clean in Maldivian. Adjective, level A2, topic — the city and its places. Said of cleanliness and of clarity alike: 'clean water', 'a clear talk'. The familiar 'cleaning' of the first wave is the same root. In a live sentence: “މި އަވަށް ވަރަށް ސާފު” — This district is very clean. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ސ, ާ, ފ, ު. One of 100 words in the set “the city and its places” in the Maldivian course.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ސާފު |
| Read in Latin letters | saafu |
| Translation | clean |
| Part of speech | adjective |
| Level | A2 |
- ސާފުsaafuclean
Why it looks that way
Said of cleanliness and of clarity alike: 'clean water', 'a clear talk'. The familiar 'cleaning' of the first wave is the same root.
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.
- މި އަވަށް ވަރަށް ސާފުmi avah varah saafuThis district is very clean
Nearby words: the city and its places
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
- ފިހާރަfihaarashopAny small shop. Compounds: beysfihaara, 'pharmacy', and the English 'supermarket'
- މާރުކޭޓުmaarukeytumarketEnglish market. In Malé it names the fish and vegetable market by the port
- ބޭސްފިހާރަbeysfihaarapharmacyBeyss is 'medicine', fihaara is 'shop'
- ބޭންކުbeynkubankEnglish bank with a vowel glued on — how Dhivehi fits foreign words to its rhythm
- ކައުންޓަރުkauntarucounterNo stressed syllables in Dhivehi — the syllables come out even: ka-un-ta-ru
- މީޒާންmeezaanscalesmee-ZAAN, long ee in the first syllable
- ސުޕަރު މާރުކޭޓުsuparu maarukeytusupermarketEnglish supermarket. The native maarukeytu, 'market', from unit three is the same word market — it just arrived earlier and wore itself smooth
- ކިޔޫkiyooqueueEnglish queue. Three letters on paper, heard as 'kiyoo'
- ހުޅުވިފައިhulhuvifaiopen (for business)From 'to open'. The -fai ending gives the state: not 'they open' but 'it is open'
- ބަންދުbandhuclosed (for the day)Both 'closed' and 'day off': 'bandhu day' is a non-working day. On Fridays much is bandhu
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “the city and its places”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “clean” in Maldivian?
Said of cleanliness and of clarity alike: 'clean water', 'a clear talk'. The familiar 'cleaning' of the first wave is the same root.
- How do you say “supermarket” in Maldivian?
English supermarket. The native maarukeytu, 'market', from unit three is the same word market — it just arrived earlier and wore itself smooth
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Maldivian?
Beyss is 'medicine', fihaara is 'shop'
- How do you say “closed (for the day)” in Maldivian?
Both 'closed' and 'day off': 'bandhu day' is a non-working day. On Fridays much is bandhu
- How do you say “scales” in Maldivian?
Arabic meezaan — scales. The same root the Arab neighbors use in 'balance'
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 “clean” in Maldivian?
«ސާފު», read “saafu”. In a live sentence: “މި އަވަށް ވަރަށް ސާފު” — This district is very clean. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adjective, level A2, from the set “the city and its places”; written with the characters ސ, ާ, ފ, ު.
How is “ސާފު” written in Latin letters?
saafu. 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?
Said of cleanliness and of clarity alike: 'clean water', 'a clear talk'. The familiar 'cleaning' of the first wave is the same root. 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.