Dhivehi is spoken almost nowhere outside the Maldives, and it comes with its own script — Thaana — which is genuinely unusual among the world's writing systems and worth knowing a little about even as a short-term visitor.
Where it comes from
Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan language, related distantly to Sinhala (spoken in Sri Lanka), reflecting the historical trade and migration links across that part of the Indian Ocean. Centuries of Arabic influence through Islam have also left a visible mark on its vocabulary.
The Thaana script
Thaana is written right to left, like Arabic, but its letterforms are largely original rather than borrowed — an unusual case of a script developed relatively recently (widely used from around the 18th century) rather than inherited from an older writing tradition. It's one of relatively few scripts in the world combining right-to-left direction with letterforms not descended from Arabic or another established alphabet.
Getting by day to day
English is widely spoken throughout the tourism industry — resorts, guesthouses and dive centres all operate comfortably in English — so Dhivehi isn't a practical necessity for most trips. A handful of phrases go a long way on local islands specifically:
- Asalaam alaikum — a common greeting (shared with the wider Islamic world).
- Shukuriyaa — thank you.
- Haalu kihineh? — how are you?