އުޅެނީ
“އުޅެނީ” (ulhenee) — I live in Maldivian. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. Residing, not existing. The place takes the -gai ending: 'I live in Malé'. In a live sentence: “އަހަރެން މާލޭގައި އުޅެނީ” — I live in Malé. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters އ, ު, ޅ, ެ, ނ, ީ. One of 36 words in the set “verbs” in the Maldivian course.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | އުޅެނީ |
| Read in Latin letters | ulhenee |
| Translation | I live |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- އުޅެނީulheneeI live
Why it looks that way
Residing, not existing. The place takes the -gai ending: 'I live in Malé'
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.
- އަހަރެން މާލޭގައި އުޅެނީaharen maaleygai ulheneeI live in Malé
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- ބޭނުންbeynunwant, needOne word for 'want' and 'need': fen beynun, 'water is needed'
- ދަނީdhaneeI'm goingThe -nee form marks neither person nor walking versus riding: the means of travel is named separately
- ކަނީkaneeI eatThe past is kai, with a changed stem. 'Drink' makes the same pair
- ބޮނީboneeI drinkThe same word serves for taking medicine: bes bonee
- ކިޔަނީkiyaneeI readBoth 'I read' and 'I name, pronounce': with 'song' it means 'sings a song'
- ވާހަކަދައްކަނީvaahakadhakkaneeI speakLiterally 'I conduct a conversation': vaahaka is 'a talk', dhakkanee is 'to show, to lead'
- ދަސްކުރަނީdhaskuraneeI studyDhas, 'what is learned', plus kuranee. 'To teach someone' is a different verb, with a causative twist
- ހޮވަނީhovaneeto chooseThe -nee form from unit four: choosing now. The same word speaks of elections
- ރިއްސަނީrissaneeit hurtsThe doubled s holds longer than usual: ris-saa-nee
- ހޮނޑުލަވަނީhondulavaneeto feel sickA nasal twang before the retroflex d: hondu-, not hon-du
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I live” in Maldivian?
Residing, not existing. The place takes the -gai ending: 'I live in Malé'
- How do you say “I study” in Maldivian?
Dhas, 'what is learned', plus kuranee. 'To teach someone' is a different verb, with a causative twist
- How do you say “I eat” in Maldivian?
The past is kai, with a changed stem. 'Drink' makes the same pair
- How do you say “to feel sick” in Maldivian?
Literally 'it climbs to the throat'. The bare n is that nasal twang again
- How do you say “I speak” in Maldivian?
Literally 'I conduct a conversation': vaahaka is 'a talk', dhakkanee is 'to show, to lead'
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 “I live” in Maldivian?
«އުޅެނީ», read “ulhenee”. In a live sentence: “އަހަރެން މާލޭގައި އުޅެނީ” — I live in Malé. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters އ, ު, ޅ, ެ, ނ, ީ.
How is “އުޅެނީ” written in Latin letters?
ulhenee. 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?
Residing, not existing. The place takes the -gai ending: 'I live in Malé'. 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.