Alifu Magic

- vowels carried - consonants doubled - sukun support Alifu has three uses in Dhivehi thaana script. Its role with vowels is explained in the next paragraph. Combined with a sukun, alifu can either double (or stress) the next consonant, or add a light "h" sound. These two roles are explained on the right. Alifu can carry vowels and indicates they are pronounced alone. The examples below show the silent alifu consonant with each of the vowels.

When alifu carries a sukun, it has two possible meanings. Occurring within a word it usually indicates that the next consonant is doubled (or stressed) when pronounced. The two examples below use the Dhivehi words for sweet potato kattala, and problem massala. The other meaning of the alifu sukun combination occurs when it appears at the end of a word, indicating a light "h" sound added to the vowel sound "e". The two examples below use the Dhivehi words for an island rasheh, and the number three thineh.