އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ
“އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ” (undhagulakah nuvaanama) — if it is not too much trouble in Maldivian. Phrase, level B1. Literally 'if it does not become hard': 'hard' plus the conditional. A request in Dhivehi is almost always preceded by a condition. In a live sentence: “އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ ފެންފުޅިއެއް ގެނެސްދީ” — If it is not too much trouble, bring a bottle of water. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters އ, ު, ނ, ދ, ަ, ގ, ު, ލ, ަ, ކ, ަ, ށ.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ |
| Read in Latin letters | undhagulakah nuvaanama |
| Translation | if it is not too much trouble |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަundhagulakah nuvaanamaif it is not too much trouble
Why it looks that way
Literally 'if it does not become hard': 'hard' plus the conditional. A request in Dhivehi is almost always preceded by a condition.
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.
- އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ ފެންފުޅިއެއް ގެނެސްދީundhagulakah nuvaanama fenfulhieh genesdheeIf it is not too much trouble, bring a bottle of water
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 “if it is not too much trouble” in Maldivian?
«އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ», read “undhagulakah nuvaanama”. In a live sentence: “އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ ފެންފުޅިއެއް ގެނެސްދީ” — If it is not too much trouble, bring a bottle of water. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters އ, ު, ނ, ދ, ަ, ގ, ު, ލ, ަ, ކ, ަ, ށ.
How is “އުނދަގުލަކަށް ނުވާނަމަ” written in Latin letters?
undhagulakah nuvaanama. 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?
Literally 'if it does not become hard': 'hard' plus the conditional. A request in Dhivehi is almost always preceded by a condition. 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.