ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި
“ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި” (thinbaikulha ehbai) — one third in Maldivian. Noun, level B1. A fraction in Dhivehi is read the reverse way: 'of three parts, one part'. The little service word is the fraction marker, and all the others are built on this pattern. In a live sentence: “ކްލާހުގެ ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި ނާދޭ” — One third of the class did not come. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ތ, ި, ނ, ް, ބ, ަ, އ, ި, ކ, ު, ޅ, ަ.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި |
| Read in Latin letters | thinbaikulha ehbai |
| Translation | one third |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައިthinbaikulha ehbaione third
Why it looks that way
A fraction in Dhivehi is read the reverse way: 'of three parts, one part'. The little service word is the fraction marker, and all the others are built on this pattern.
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.
- ކްލާހުގެ ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި ނާދޭklaahuge thinbaikulha ehbai naadheyOne third of the class did not come
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 “one third” in Maldivian?
«ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި», read “thinbaikulha ehbai”. In a live sentence: “ކްލާހުގެ ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި ނާދޭ” — One third of the class did not come. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1; written with the characters ތ, ި, ނ, ް, ބ, ަ, އ, ި, ކ, ު, ޅ, ަ.
How is “ތިންބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި” written in Latin letters?
thinbaikulha ehbai. 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?
A fraction in Dhivehi is read the reverse way: 'of three parts, one part'. The little service word is the fraction marker, and all the others are built on this pattern. 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.