Maldives language
Dhivehi (Maldivian) is the official language of the Maldives, written in the right-to-left Thaana script. But the practical answer most travellers want: English is widely spokenacross tourism and Malé, so there's no language barrier at a resort.
Dhivehi
A language of the Indian Ocean.
Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan language, most closely related to Sinhala but a distinct tongue of its own, shaped by centuries of trade across the Indian Ocean. Over time it absorbed words from Arabic, Persian, Hindi-Urdu, Portuguese and English — yet remains unintelligible to speakers of any of them.
It is written in Thaana, a script read right to left whose letters derive partly from Arabic and Indic numerals — one of the more unusual writing systems anywhere. You'll see it on signage, the rufiyaa banknotes and official documents.
For visitors, none of this is a barrier: English is the working language of the resorts and the wider tourism economy. Learning even a couple of Dhivehi phrases, though, is a genuine kindness that staff notice and appreciate.
12 useful Dhivehi phrases
Romanised approximations — Dhivehi sounds don't map perfectly to English spelling.
Frequently asked
Language in the Maldives — your questions.
What language is spoken in the Maldives?
The official and national language is Dhivehi (also called Maldivian), spoken by virtually the entire population. It is an Indo-Aryan language most closely related to Sinhala, the language of neighbouring Sri Lanka, with strong borrowings from Arabic, Persian, Hindi-Urdu and English. Regional dialects differ noticeably in the southern atolls such as Addu and Huvadhu.
Do they speak English in the Maldives?
Yes, very widely. English is the main language of tourism, business and higher education, and it is the medium of instruction in many schools. At resorts, staff are fluent in English and often several other languages, so international visitors face no language barrier at all. In Malé and across the tourism sector you can comfortably get by in English.
What is the Dhivehi script?
Dhivehi is written in Thaana, a unique alphabet read from right to left. It is unusual among the world's scripts: its consonant letters are derived partly from Arabic and Indic numerals, and vowels are added as marks above and below. Thaana replaced an older left-to-right script several centuries ago. You will see it on signs, currency and official documents throughout the country.
Do I need to learn Dhivehi to visit?
No. A resort holiday requires no Dhivehi whatsoever — everything operates in English. That said, a few words go a long way: greeting staff with "Assalaamu alaikum" or thanking them with "Shukuriyaa" is always warmly received. If you visit local islands, simple phrases help you connect with the community.
Is the Maldivian language the same as Indian or Sri Lankan?
Dhivehi is its own distinct language, not Hindi or Sinhala, though it shares the same Indo-Aryan roots and is closest to Sinhala. It has absorbed vocabulary from Arabic (reflecting the country's Islamic heritage), as well as Persian, Hindi-Urdu, Portuguese and English over centuries of Indian Ocean trade — but it is unintelligible to speakers of those languages.