އިމާރާތް
“އިމާރާތް” (imaaraaiy) — building in Maldivian. Noun, level A1, topic — the city and its places. Arabic in root; the course knows the verb 'to erect'. In Malé it's a concrete-and-coral multi-storey, yet a dwelling is still called simply 'house'. In a live sentence: “އެއީ އައު އިމާރާތެއް” — This is a new building. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters އ, ި, މ, ާ, ރ, ާ, ތ, ް.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | އިމާރާތް |
| Read in Latin letters | imaaraaiy |
| Translation | building |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- އިމާރާތްimaaraaiybuilding
Why it looks that way
Arabic in root; the course knows the verb 'to erect'. In Malé it's a concrete-and-coral multi-storey, yet a dwelling is still called simply 'house'
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.
- އެއީ އައު އިމާރާތެއްeee au imaaraathehThis is a new building
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 “building” in Maldivian?
Arabic in root; the course knows the verb 'to erect'. In Malé it's a concrete-and-coral multi-storey, yet a dwelling is still called simply 'house'
- 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 “building” in Maldivian?
«އިމާރާތް», read “imaaraaiy”. In a live sentence: “އެއީ އައު އިމާރާތެއް” — This is a new building. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “the city and its places”; written with the characters އ, ި, މ, ާ, ރ, ާ, ތ, ް.
How is “އިމާރާތް” written in Latin letters?
imaaraaiy. 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?
Arabic in root; the course knows the verb 'to erect'. In Malé it's a concrete-and-coral multi-storey, yet a dwelling is still called simply 'house'. 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.