Convenience Store

1. ކޮތަޅެއް ބޭނުންތަ؟

   Kothalheh beynun-tha?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. The Maldives has no convenience store chains; you shop at a small family-run "fihaara". Single-use plastic bags carry a charge and are being phased out, so more and more people carry a cloth bag of their own

   Grammar Note

   The final particle "tha" forms a yes/no question, with "tho" as its polite counterpart. Answer "aan" (yes) or "noon" (no)

2. ކޮތަޅެއް ދެއްވާ.

   Kothalheh dhevvaa.

   One bag, please.

   Usage

   Use it when staff do not offer a bag. Shops in Malé often hand goods over loose. Bags are charged for, so follow up with "kihaa vareh?" (how much?) if you want to know the price first

   Grammar Note

   "Dhevvaa" is the honorific of "dhey" (to give) and is the standard form for asking something of shop staff or an elder. With friends you would simply say "dhee"

3. ކާޑުން ދެއްކިދާނެތޯ؟

   Kaadun dhekkidhaanetho?

   May I pay by card?

   Usage

   Card payment works widely in Malé and Hulhumalé, and local transfer apps are common too. Small shops on the outer islands, though, are often cash-only — stock up on small rufiyaa notes before you leave the capital

   Grammar Note

   Instrument is marked by the ending "-n": "kaadun" (by card), "faisaa-in" (in cash). Dhivehi has no prepositions; endings carry the whole load of case

4. ޖުމްލަ ސާޅީސް ރުފިޔާ.

   Jumla saalhees rufiyaa.

   That comes to forty rufiyaa.

   Usage

   Said by staff. The currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa, subdivided into "laari". Resorts price in US dollars, but shops in Malé work in rufiyaa. If the figure escapes you, ask to see the till display

   Grammar Note

   Dhivehi counts "ekeh" (1), "dheyh" (2), "thineh" (3), "hathareh" (4), "faheh" (5), reaching "dhihaeh" for ten. The numeral precedes the noun, as in "fas rufiyaa" (five rufiyaa)

5. ރަސީދު ބޭނުންތަ؟

   Rasheedhu beynun-tha?

   Do you need a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Small shops total things up mentally and often issue nothing at all. If you need it for expenses, asking by this word may get you a handwritten receipt

   Grammar Note

   "Beynun" is a noun meaning need or purpose and also works verbally for "want". Adding a subject is enough: "aharen beynun" means "I want it"

6. މި ދެއްވާ.

   Mi dhevvaa.

   This one, please.

   Usage

   The simplest phrase, used while pointing. Shops in Malé have narrow frontages and keep much of the stock on shelves behind the counter out of reach, so pointing is how you order

   Grammar Note

   Dhivehi has a two-way deictic contrast: "mi" (this) and "e" (that). For quantity, add the numeral, as in "meege dheyh dhevvaa" (two of these, please)

7. ފެން ހުރީ ކޮންތާކު؟

   Fen huree konthaaku?

   Where is the water?

   Usage

   Tap water is not drunk straight in the Maldives, so bottled water is essential. Most islands rely on desalinated seawater and fresh water is a genuinely scarce resource. The sun is fierce and you will sweat, so buy more than you think you need

   Grammar Note

   The verb "huri" states the location of a thing, while people take "ulhey" instead. Swap in any product and the frame holds: "kiru" (milk), "faan" (bread)

8. ފިނި ފެން ހުރިތޯ؟

   Fini fen hurithoa?

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   With temperatures around thirty degrees all year, cold drinks are in constant demand. Every shop has a chiller and keeps ambient and cold water separately, the cold sometimes costing a touch more

   Grammar Note

   Adjectives precede the noun, hence "fini fen" (cold water). The opposite is "hoonu" (hot), as in "hoonu sai" (hot tea)

9. ހެދިކާ ހުރިތޯ؟

   Hedhikaa hurithoa?

   Do you have short eats?

   Usage

   "Hedhikaa" is the Maldivian family of mostly fried snacks, known in English as short eats. Tuna-filled pastries and fish balls are the staples, and every shop and tea house stocks them. They belong above all to the afternoon tea hour

   Grammar Note

   "Hedhikaa" joins "hadhaa" (to make) with "kaa" (to eat) — literally something made to be eaten. Maldivian cooking turns on tuna and coconut, and the classic breakfast "mas huni" is built from exactly those two

10. ނަމާދު ވަގުތު ފިހާރަ ބަންދުތޯ؟

    Namaadhu vaguthu fihaara bandhu-thoa?

    Does the shop close during prayer time?

    Usage

    The Maldives is a Muslim country, and shops and eateries shut their doors for about fifteen minutes at each of the five daily prayers. The times shift slightly day by day, so mistiming a shopping trip means waiting outside. During Ramadan the opening hours change altogether

    Grammar Note

    Both "namaadhu" and "vaguthu" come from Arabic. Dhivehi has absorbed Arabic vocabulary steadily since the islands embraced Islam in the twelfth century, and Thaana takes its right-to-left direction from the Arabic script

11. މިތާ ފޯނު ޗާޖުކޮށްލެވިދާނެތޯ؟

    Mithaa foanu chaaju kohlevidhaanetho?

    May I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Small shops and tea houses in Malé will sometimes let you use a socket if you ask, though it rests on the owner's goodwill, so buy something first. Island hopping leaves you away from power for long stretches, which makes a power bank well worth carrying

    Grammar Note

    English loanwords become verbs by adding "kurey" (to do): "chaaju kurey" (to charge), "book kurey" (to book). Thaana simply transcribes the borrowed sounds as they are

12. ކައިރީގައި އޭޓީއެމް ހުރިތޯ؟

    Kairreegai ATM hurithoa?

    Is there an ATM nearby?

    Usage

    Malé and Hulhumalé have Bank of Maldives machines all over, and they take international cards. On the outer islands, though, it is entirely normal for there to be no ATM at all — draw your cash before you leave the capital

    Grammar Note

    "Kairi" (near) takes the locative ending "-gai" to give "nearby". Acronyms and similar borrowings are often left in Latin letters, sitting inside a Thaana sentence as they are

13. ފާޚާނާ ކޮބާ؟

    Faakhaanaa kobaa?

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    Shops have no customer toilet and will point you to a mosque or an eatery. Mosques have washing facilities for the ablutions before prayer and visitors are rarely turned away, though dress matters

    Grammar Note

    "Kobaa" is the shortest way to ask where something is, needing only a noun in front of it. "Faakhaanaa" is of Persian and Arabic descent and is found right across South Asia

14. ކިރު ހުރީ ކޮންތާކު؟

    Kiru huree konthaaku?

    Where is the milk?

    Usage

    With virtually no dairy farming, milk in the Maldives is imported and sold in shelf-stable cartons, alongside a good deal of powdered milk. Coconut milk, "kaashi kiru", is the everyday one, forming the base of curries and soups

    Grammar Note

    "～ ހުރީ ކޮންތާކު؟" is the pattern for "where is ～?". Put the name of the item in front to ask where a product is in the shop

15. ސިނގިރޭޓް ހުރިތޯ؟

    Sigireyt hurithoa?

    Do you have cigarettes?

    Usage

    Cigarettes sit behind the till, so point at the brand. Smoking in public places is tightly regulated and import duties are high, which keeps prices up. Note too that alcohol and pork are not sold outside the resorts — no ordinary shop will have them

    Grammar Note

    If they have none the answer is "neiy". The existential verb is suppletive: "huri" in the affirmative and "neiy" in the negative

16. ފިހާރަ ބަންދުކުރަނީ ކޮންއިރަކު؟

    Fihaara bandhukuranee kon-iraku?

    What time does the shop close?

    Usage

    Shops in Malé keep long hours, some staying open until nearly midnight. Many close on Friday mornings for the congregational prayer, and during Ramadan the busiest stretch runs from sunset late into the night

    Grammar Note

    "Bandhu" (closed) plus "kurey" (to do) yields the transitive "to close". The opposite is "hulhuvanee", so "fihaara hulhuvanee kon-iraku?" asks what time the shop opens

17. ޝުކުރިއްޔާ، ދެން ދިޔައީ.

    Shukuriyyaa, dhen dhiyaee.

    Thank you, I will be off then.

    Usage

    The line for leaving once you have paid. Shopkeeper and customer stand close in the Maldives and a few words of small talk are common. "Shukuriyyaa" comes from Arabic, and the reply is "marhabaa"

    Grammar Note

    Dhivehi conventionally uses the past form "dhiyaee" (went) to announce that you are leaving now. A politer alternative is "dhanee"

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