Lingoflyދިވެހި ބަސް
- ދިވެހި ބަސްdhivehi basthe Dhivehi language
“ދިވެހި ބަސް” (dhivehi bas) — the Dhivehi language in Maldivian. Noun, level A1. Bas is both 'language' and 'word'. Dhivehi means 'islanders', from the old word divu, an island. Today an island is rah, and divu lives on only in island names ending in -dhoo. In a live sentence: “ދިވެހި ބަސް ދަސްކުރަނީ” (dhivehi bas dhaskuranee) — Learning the Dhivehi language. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ދ, ި, ވ, ެ, ހ, ި, ބ, ަ, ސ, ް.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ދިވެހި ބަސް (dhivehi bas) |
| Read in Latin letters | dhivehi bas |
| Translation | the Dhivehi language |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
What it is
The language of the Maldives: Indo-Aryan, closest to Sinhala, though the two split off about a thousand years ago. Written in the Thaana script, right to left. It is the mother tongue of 380,000 Maldivian citizens counted by the 2022 census; the country's other 130,000 or so residents are foreign workers who mostly do not speak it.
This word does not reduce to a translation: the thing it names is not part of everyday life here, so a “translation” would end up a description in brackets. The easiest way to learn it is together with its surroundings — where you meet it and what it is for.
Why it looks that way
Bas is both 'language' and 'word'. Dhivehi means 'islanders', from the old word divu, an island. Today an island is rah, and divu lives on only in island names ending in -dhoo
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.
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 “the Dhivehi language” in Maldivian?
«ދިވެހި ބަސް» (dhivehi bas), read “dhivehi bas”. In a live sentence: “ދިވެހި ބަސް ދަސްކުރަނީ” (dhivehi bas dhaskuranee) — Learning the Dhivehi language. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1; written with the characters ދ, ި, ވ, ެ, ހ, ި, ބ, ަ, ސ, ް.
How is “ދިވެހި ބަސް” (dhivehi bas) written in Latin letters?
dhivehi bas. 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?
Bas is both 'language' and 'word'. Dhivehi means 'islanders', from the old word divu, an island. Today an island is rah, and divu lives on only in island names ending in -dhoo. 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 this 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.