Thaana

Official script of the Maldives. A uniquely hybrid system derived from Arabic characters and Indian numerals. Reportedly developed for covert communication during Portuguese colonial rule (16th–17th century). Written right-to-left with complete vowel marking above and below every consonant. Maldivian (Dhivehi) is an Indo-Aryan language related to Sri Lankan Sinhala — making its adoption of this Arabic-Indian hybrid script particularly distinctive.