Beginning Maltese .

Lydia Sciriha

MALTA UNIVERSITY PUBLISHERS Ltd.

2nd Edition 2004

scanned for uz-translations, 2009

CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS ......... ....... .......... ...... ..... ... ............... .. ....... .... .. ix
NAME LIST ... .... .............. .... ...... .......... .. .. ......... ..... .... ....... .... ...... xi
PREFACE .. .. .. ... ..... .... ... .. ... .... .... ..... ... .. .. ....... ..... .. ......... .... ..... .... xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..... .. ...... .. ... .. ..... .. ....... .. ... ... .. ... .. ... .. .... xvi
INTRODUCTION
Aims of the Course ; Structure of the Course .. .. .. .... .......... ... xvii
LESSON ONE
The Maltese Sound System Part I: The Consonants .... .. .. .... .. 1
LESSON TWO
The Maltese Sound System Part 11 : The Vowels .. ................ .. 9
LESSON THREE
The Maltese Sound System Part Ill : The Diphthongs ...... .... . 13
LESSON FOUR
The Definite Article and Prepostions .. .. ........ .. .... .. .... .. ... .. .. .. .. . 17
LESSON FIVE
The Verbs To Be and To Have .. .. .......... .. ........ ....... ... .. .. ......... 23
LESSON SIX
Gender of Nouns and Adjectives .. ...... .. .. .. .... .. ... ........ ........ .... . 29
LESSON SEVEN
The Plural ... .... ... .... .. .. ...... .. ............ .. .... .... ... .. ..... .. ..... .. ... .. ... ... .. . 37
LESSON EIGHT
The Present Tense .... .. ............ .. .. ... ...... .. .. .... .... .. ...... .. ........ .. .. .. 45

vii

LESSON NINE
The Negative ...... ......... .............. ...... ... ..... .. .......... ... ......... ...... ... 53
LESSON TEN
The Future Tense ................. .. .......................................... ........ 57
LESSON ELEVEN
The Pronom inal Suffixes ...................... ............................ .. .. .... 61
LESSON TWELVE
Numbers and How to Tell the Time .. .. .. .. ...... .. .............. .. ........ 71

APPENDICES
1. Key to Exercises ............ .. ........ .. ...... ........ .. ...... .................. . 81
2. Verb List .... ...... .. .... .... ...... .. ...... .. .. ...... ......... ....... ................. 103
3. Vocabularies ............ .. ...... .................. ......... ....... ..... .... .. ...... 107

viii

PREFACE

Language is undeniably one of the most powerful indicators

of a person 's identity and origins. Even though the
population of the small island of Malta stands at a mere
400 ,000, the Maltese people are proud to speak Maltese ,
the indigenous language of Malta. Though Maltese had
been spoken by the natives of Malta for centuries , for a long
time it was considered to be 'the language of the kitchen '
by the educated Maltese who mainly spoke Italian or
English .
Mikiel Anton Vassalli was the first Maltese scholar who
openly declared the importance of the Maltese language as
a crucial vehicle in the pursuit of the islanders' nationalism.
In 1796, he recognized the fact that Malta was in need of
a 'lingua nazionale' that could not be Italian , the language
that was then spoken and written by educated Maltese, but
the indigenous language Maltese, then spoken by the
majority of the islanders. Vassalli regarded these native
speakers of the island's indigenous language as 'veri
nazionali' (true nationals) even though according to him , the
Maltese language was a hybrid language with several loanwords from other languages. Vassalli 's avant-garde attitude
towards Maltese many years later, was praised by Dun
Karm Psaila, Malta's national poet who wrote the poem 'Lil
Mikiel Anton Vassalli ' (to Mikiel Anton Vassalli) , and
subsequently dubbed Vassalli 'Missier I-ilsien Malti' (the
father of the Maltese language) . Thus, Vassalli gave birth
to a Maltese national conscience and many years later,
Maltese acted as the surrogate for national identity and the
fight for self-determination .
Although during Vassalli 's time Maltese was spoken by the
majority of the islanders, this indigenous language was
xiii

regarded as a non-standard language and was thus

perceived to be of an inferior status to the other languages,
especially Italian that was then spoken in Malta. Until the
1920s the Maltese alphabet was not yet standardised and
only in 1934 did Maltese supplant Italian to become the
language of the administration together with English.
In 1964, Malta became an Independent state within the
Commonwealth and the Maltese Constitution decreed
English and Maltese to be the official languages with
Maltese also being the national language and the language
of the courts. Section 75 of the Constitution deClares that
'every law will be enacted in Maltese and English and in
the eventuality of conflict the Maltese and Engl ish texts , the
Maltese text shall prevail'.
In May 2004, Malta became a member of the European
Union and Maltese was also accorded official language
status within the European Union .
In view of the fact that Maltese is not merely the official
language of Malta, but is also one of the official languages
within the European Union, now more than ever before, some
Europeans might wish to add Maltese to their linguistic
repertoire and thus this course would enable them to do so.
This course is also intended for the thousands of second
generation of Maltese migrants in North America, Australia
and England, for whom Maltese is their parents' native tongue.
Maltese language retention is high only among the first
generation of migrants. Unfortunately, the percentages drop
dramatically by the second and third generation , as evidenced
by the quantitative sociolinguistic studies carried out among
the Maltese communities in Australia and Canada. Sadly so,
most second and third generations of Maltese migrants do not
even have an incipient knowledge of Maltese.
xiv

This Maltese audio course for beginners is primarily

intended either for individuals who wish to add an official
EU language in their linguistiq repertoire , or for second and
third generations of Maltese' migrants who , for different
reasons , have been denied or have not taken up the
opportunity to learn the language of their parents and
grandparents and who would still like to learn Malte.se, at
their own pace , at home. It is also meant for those foreigners
who are living and working or studying in Malta and for
whom it is important, at least to understand the language.
Although most Maltese are fluent in English , yet they do
tend to lapse into Maltes-e quite often when in the company
of other natives, even in the presence of foreigners. Though
this is often done quite unwittingly, unfortunately the
foreigner often feels uncomfortable and left out. It is mostly
for this reason that some foreigners want to learn Maltese
as this will enable them to integrate with the Maltese
community.
Hopefully, the student who completes this beginners' course
will not only be able to communicate at the basic level in
this language , but also find the course to serve as an
impetus for him to continue with the study of the Maltese
language and culture.
University of Malta

Lydia Sciriha
May 2004

xv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

For several years , this course was piloted with the help of
a number of foreign students at the University of Malta, as
well as some foreigners working in Malta and who felt the
need to learn Maltese. The diversity of their native
languages is noteworthy. In fact, students whose first
languages are English, French , German , Italian , Greek,
Spanish , Danish, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Sinhalese
and Arabic have a.1I successfully completed this course and
have also provided me with important feedback on the
course content. I wish to thank all these students especially
Nimal Parawahera , Kuniko Fujiwara, Haneen Radie ,
Stephanie Anzinger, Helen Dekkers, Anne and Vincent
Fean .

Languages , like human beings , belong to families by

virtue of their genetic relationships . Maltese belongs to
the Semitic language family. Other languages such as
English and German belong to the Germanic group , whi le
Latin , French , Italian , Portuguese and Spanish are
members of the Romance language family. As members
of their particular families , languages display similarities
with other languages in the ir own language group. Thus ,
as a member of the Sem itic language family, Maltese
displays greater similarities with those languages in the
same group , such as Arabic , rather than with Germanic
and Romance languages . But unlike Arabic , Maltese is
written in Roman script.

I would also like to thank Professor Edward Fenech , my

brother Mario Sciriha and Ms. Romina Sah Frendo for
helping me to edit the original text.

In fact , Maltese , which is basically Arabic in structure ,

word formation and vocabulary, is undoubtedly the most
striking living heritage of one of Malta's numerous
colonisers , the Arabs (870-1090). Subsequent rulers in
Malta's chequered history, namely, the Normans (10901266) ; the Angevins (1266-1283) ; the Aragonese (12831410) ; the Castilians (1412-1530) ; the Order of St John
(1530-1798) ; the French (1798-1800) and the British
(1800-1964) , mainly spoke Italian , Spanish , Portuguese ,
French and English . Inevitably so , an indelible mark was
left on the Maltese lexicon which is replete with loanwords derived from the diverse linguistic backgrounds of
these rulers .

I am also indebted to Professor Mario Vassallo for his

and technical support, especially in the
final stages of this work.
~ncouragement

Finally, I gratefullyacknowleged the support cA Professor

Robert Ghirlando, Ms Tita Bonnici , Mr Reginald Bartolo and
Mr Kenneth Mizzi.

Aims of the Course

This course is intended for foreigners as well as second

and third generations of Maltese migrants living in
countries such as the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada
and the United States of America . It does not presuppose
xvi

xvi i

any knowledge whatsoever of the language, but it does

expect the student to have the determination and grit to
learn the language.
The basic theoretical framework for this' course has been
derived from studies of first language acquisition ,
whereby the child, who is exposed to the language
through his parents or his caregivers, is first able to
understand the language, before he is in a position to
utter meaningful words . Comprehension always
precedes production in language acquisition and it is
thus to be expected that understanding a language ,
presupposes a lower level of competence than speaking
the language. Moreover when the child does start to
speak his mother language shortly after his first birthday,
he does not do so by uttering five or six word sentences!
Rather, the child first starts with one word sentences
which are predominantly made up of nouns and then
gradually builds up the sentences into larger components
by means of adjectives, pronouns , verbs and adverbs.
Thus , the sentences gradually become significantly more
complex grammatically and structurally than the one or
two word sentences.
Thus, just as the child first comprehends his native
language , the primary goal of this course is for the
st~de~t to first comprehend Maltese , and by doing so ,
thiS will give him enough confidence to eventually speak
the language . However, the following caveat is in order.
Though the course will give the student enough expertise
to enable him to understand and to read Maltese , as well
as to construct and speak Simple sentences in this target
language , the student should not expect to become a
verbal geyser in Maltese by merely following these basic
.
lessons in this beginners' course .
xviii

Structure of the Course

The course is structured in such a way that the student is

not overburdened with too many grammatical rules, though ,
needless to say, some general rules regarding word
formation, verb conjugation , and the structure of the
sentence are given. Particular attention has been paid to
explain grammatical rules in a simple manner so that the
student will not give up after a couple of lessons. Maltese,
like other languages in the world , is neither a difficult nor
is it an easy language. In view of th is fact, it is the refore
important that the student embarks on each lesson with a
positive attitude and dedicates sufficient time for study.
The compact discs which accompany this course book are
provided for the student to enable him to listen to Maltese
as it is spoken by native speakers of the language, and also
to give him the opportunity to practise the language. The
vocabulary, which is an integral part of each lesson , is also
to be found on the accompanying compact discs. As this
course stresses the interactive approach , for each word or
expression given on the compact discs, the student will first
hear the English word , followed by the Maltese translation .
To obtain the full benefit from the compact discs, following
each Maltese word or expression , there is a pause which
will give him sufficient time to repeat the same word or
expression . This is followed by a confirmation so that the
student will be able to check his pronunciation right away.
In this regard , it is fitting to emphasise that memory plays
an important part in language learning and it is strongly
recommended that he goes over the given vocabulary in
each lesson as often as possible. The student should devise
different strategies to grab each available opportunity to
listen to the vocabulary on the compact discs, even if he
is solely listening and repeating the vocabulary for just a few
minutes, such as while driving the car, jogging , or doing
xix

some manual tasks which do not require a lot of

concentration. Language research has consistently shown
that immersing oneself in the language by listening as often
as possible to the audio material, is one of the best ways
to remember the vocabulary.
It is important to note that since the course relies heavily
on the vocabulary which supplements each lesson, there
are a number of exercises at the end of each lesson to help
the student revise the lesson and to jog his memory of the
vocabulary in the previous lessons. As the vocabulary of the
preceding lesson builds on the next one , it is thus advisable
for the student to first learn the vocabulary in the preceding
lesson before embarking on to the next, and thus avoid
ending up frustrated and demoralised when attempting the
end of lesson exercises . A key to the exercises is found in
one of the appendices of this course book.

THE MALTESE CON SONANTS

The sound system of Maltese is made up of consonants ,

vowels and diphthongs. Most of these sounds are natural,
which means that these sounds are found in the sound
inventories of many of the world 's languages. Like most
languages, the Maltese sound system also incorporates
sounds which are not considered to be as natural as others.
Thus , for example , the sound [m) as in mum is more natural
than the sound [h) as in the underlined part of the English word
hair.
THE INTER NATIONAL PHONETIC ALPH ABET

In Maltese, there is at times a discrepancy in the way a sound

is written (orthography) and the way it is actually pronounced
because the Maltese alphabet is not an entirely phonetiC one .
On account of this fact, and in order to overcome the problem
of mispronuncing written words in the text, the International
Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) which symbolises the sounds in
languages is used. In the IPA, the phonetic spelling is a way
of writing a word so that one symbol always represents one
sound. Of note is the fact , that most of the symbols in the
phonetic alphabet are represented in the same way as the
orthographic letters in the word. Thus, for example , the first
sound of the first letter of the Maltese word belt town is
identically represented as [b) in IPA. It should be noted that all
IPA symbols are placed within square brackets. However, there
are other symbols which are differently represented.
The following orthographic letters of Maltese are represented
in the same way as those of IPA.
xx

Orthographic
Letter
b
d
f

SECTION A

Word List

IPA
Qag
Qog
flower
girl
yellow
~ing
lamb
man
no
Qlane
ring
.Qun
ten

[b]
[d]
[f]
[g]

j
k
I
m
n
p
r
s
t
v
w

[k]
[I]
[m]
[n]
[p]
[r]
[s]
[t]
[v] ~ine
[w] .'t{ater

U]

Maltese consonants in initial position of the word.

B [b)

a sea
a door

baliar
bieb

C [t ]
a key
a chocolate

cavetta
cikkulata

D [d)

a house

dar
dan

this
F [f]

The following orthographic letters in Maltese differ from IPA

c
9
1'1

h
gli
q

x
z
Z

[t ) (church)
[dz) (justice)
[h) (hair)
[) (unpronounced as in heir)
[] (unpronounced as in dough)
[?) (as in bollie as found in Cockney dialect)
[ ) (shoe)
[ts] (bits)
[z) (?;ebra)

a flower
a family

fjura
familja

G [g)
thank you
an island

grazzi
gzira

G [dz]
gurdien
gnien

a mouse
a garden

GH [ ] unpronounced
tomorrow
a bird

gliada
gliasfur

H [ ] unpronounced
hekk
thus; so
huwa
he

T [t]

H [h]

a loaf of bread

nobza
nalib

milk

V [v]

J [j]

vazun
vapur

a dog
a room

widna
wicc

no
a dress

xemx
xita

a day

jum
jiena

sun
rain

Z [t5]

M [m]
mara
mejda

an ear
a face

X[ ]

L [I]
le
libsa

a vase
a ship
W [w]

K [k]
kelb
kamra

a girl
a boy

tifla
tifel

a woman
a table

zija
ziju

a grandfather
a grandmother

zarbun
zunzana

N [n]
nannu
nanna

an aunt
an uncle

[z]

a pair of shoes
a wasp

P [p]

a cheesecake

pastizz
periklu

danger

a [1]
a cat
a heart

qattus
qalb

R [r]

a man
a head

ragel
ras

S [5]
sodda
siggu

a bed
a chair
5

The following exercises test your identification of the Maltese

consonants. Exercise One tests your identification of gig ; h/fl;
z/z; c and gfl.

Exercise One
SECTION B

Match the underlined Maltese consonantal sound by

underlining its equivalent in the English example as in the
following:
Gurdien a mouse (garden ; gem)
Qikkulata a chocolate (cave; chair)
Now try these yourself:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11 .
12.

Zun~ana a wasp (zebra; hits)

Qavetta a key (cake; cheese)
Zija an aunt (zero; bits)
.G.nien a garden (justice; golf)
.!1obza a loaf of bread (horse ; heir)
Gflasfur a bird (dough; ghost)
Grazzi thank you (job; good)
tiuwa he (hair; heir)
.!1alib milk (ham ; honest)
Ziju an uncle (zodiac; kits)
Qzira an island (juice; gold)
Zarbun a pair of shoes (zodiac; kits)

Exercise Two
1. Which two consonants are not sounded in Maltese?

2. Give four Maltese consonants which differ from IPA?

Word List
pultruna
curkett
dak
fenek
galletti na
gurnata
gflaref
hanut
jew
karrotta
laringa
missier
nies
patata
qamar
rih
sena
tieqa
warda
xitla
zokkor
zball

an armchair
a ring
that
a rabbit
a biscuit
a day
a wise man
a shop
or
a carrot
an orange
a father/dad
people
a potato
a moon
wind
a year
a window
a rose
a plant
sugar
a mistake

hija
cena
dejjem
vaganza
gallarija
gakketta
gflax
hu
Jannar
karrozza
langasa
malajr
nar
basla
qawl
ritratt
sikkina
tabib
wied
xaghar
zalza
zejt

she
supper/dinner
always
a holiday
a balcony
a jacket
because
a brother
January
a car
a pear
soon
a fire
an onion
a proverb
a photo
a knife
a doctor
a valley
hair
tomato sauce
oil

3. Give eight Maltese consonants which are identical with IPA?

Try these exercises:

Exercise Three
Match the underlined Maltese consonantal sound by underlining
its sound equivalent in the English example:
1. Zokkor sugar (bits; zenith)
2. Qurkett a ring (cane ; child)
3. Zejt oil (zebra ; hits)
4 . Gallarija a balcony (girl ; just)
5. t!.anut a shop (hour; house)
6. Gnax because (ghost; though)
7. Xagnar hair (shoe ; xenophobia)
8. Gurnata a day (goal ; job)
9. t!.u a brother (heir; hair)
10. Jew or (judge; yellow)

Lesson Two
The Maltese Sound System Part 11:
The Vowels

THE MALTESE VOWELS

Maltese has six orthographic symbols a, e, i, 0, u, and ie for

the vowels . The first five symbols can be either long or short ,
whereas the digraph ie is long. Usually vowels which are
followed by one consonant are long , while those vowels
which precede more than one consonant are short. The
Maltese vowels are represented in a simplified way by means
of IPA symbols as shown in the following examples with the
vowels in question.

SECTION A
Exercise Four

Word List

Express in Maltese:
A bird ; I; a dog ; a woman ; a girl ; an aunt; a cheesecake ; a car;
a pear; an orange ; a grandfather; danger; an armchair; a chair;
a door; now; supper; a rabbit ; a feast; tomorrow; because ; a
dress; no; a table; quickly; a grandmother; an uncle ; a heart;
a bed ; a head ; a year; a ship; a holiday.

A [a]
anmar
arja

red
air

ezempju
hen a

E le]
an example
happiness

I [i]
ilma
id
ienor
iebes
ont
omm
ukoll
but

water
a hand
lE [i]
another
hard

0[0]
a sister

a mother/mummy
U [u]
also
a Docket

Exercise Three

Now try this exercise :

Express in English:

Exercise One
Match the underlined Maltese vowel with its sound equivalent
in the English example as in the following:

e.g. Zunzgna a wasp (hat; grch)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

isfar; sema; kiesafl ; iva; kif; pranzu ; barmil ; pupa; luminata; but;
arja; posta; ilma; presepju ; dundjan ; hena.

Exercise Four

Aflmar red (father; pat)

Qmm mother/mum (on ; work)
i d hand (ship ; sheep)
Ukoll also (butcher; cut)
.Elf one thousand (sell ; neat)
Bieb a door (sheet; hit)
ilma water (bill ; heat)

Express in Maltese:

a key; a door; this; a house; a flower; a ring ; a chocolate; a day;

a bird; because; a brother; I; milk; an island ; thank you ; a car;
a father; a cat; a man/husband ; an uncle; a boy .

SECTION B
Word List
barmil
medicina
kif
kiesafl
roza
sema
pupa
isfar

a bucket
a medicine
how
cold
pink
a sky
a doll
yellow

pranzu
presepju
iva
posta
gobon
dundjan
luminata
uniformi

a lunch
a Christmas crib
yes
mail
cheese
a turkey
a lemonade
a uniform

Now try these exercises :

Exercise Two
Match the underlined Maltese vowel with its sound equivalent
in the English example.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
10

LMminata a lemonade (put; boot)

Kif how (lick; leak)
Gnien a garden (it; seat)
RQza pink (over; cot)
M~dicina medicine (let; seat)
Arja air (car; black)
11

THE MALTESE DIPHTHONGS

A diphthong is represented as either:

(a) a sequence of two vowels; or
(b) a combination of a vowel followed by one of the semivowels j or w.
Maltese has seven diphthongs: [aj) ; [ej]; [aw]; [ew) ; [owl ; [ij]; [iw)
with the last diphthong hardly ever found in Maltese words .
Of particular note is the fact that in writing, the digraph gJi may
be followed by all the vowels except by the digraph ie. As has
already been noted in the first lesson, the digraph gJi has no
particular sound . However, when the gJi is followed by either the
vowels i, or u, the resulting pronunciations are the diphthongs
raj] or [ej] and [awl or [owl respectively as shown in the following
examples :
e.g. tiegill mine
e.g miegflu with him
The underlined part of tiegill mine is pronounced as either the
diphthong raj] or the diphthong [ej] ; while that of miegflu is
pronounced as either of the two diphthongs [awl or [ow].

13

Now try this exercise :

Exercise One
SECTION A
Word List

bajda
tieglii

[AJ] [aj]
an egg
mine

tieglii
bejt

[EJ] [ei]
mine
a roof

Match the underlined Maltese diphthongs with their English

sound equivalents as in the following example:

Beil

roof

(paid; tide)

1. Tieglli mine
2. Qawsalla a rainbow
3. Miegli u with him
4. Kewkba a star
5. Tieglli mine

SECTION B
Word List

[AW] [awl
a rainbow
with him

qawsalla
miegliu

[OWl [owl
with him
wood

(nice; bit)
(now; show)
(know; dice)
(sew; eye)
(day; low)

dgliajsa
fejn
hawn
sewda

a boat
where
here
black

dija
liamrija
lilewwa
tiegliu

a light, brightness
soil
sweetness
his

miegliu
gliuda

[EW] [ew]
an almond
a star

lewza
kewkba

[IJ] [ij]
mija
lumija

one hundred

a lemon

Exercise Two
Express in English:
Gnien ; hu/huwa; Jannar; kamra ; kelb; gliasfur; gurdien ; fjura ;
dan ; 6ikkulata; liu ; gliax; jiena; zejt; xemx ; wied ; zarbun ; siggu ;
mejda; sodda; tifla; xagliar; sikkina; widna; xita; nannu ; qalb ;
zokko r; zunzana.

[IW] [iw]
liwja

a bend

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:
Yes; happiness ; a supper; a medicine ; how; yellow; example;
red ; a lemonade; an egg ; mine ; his; where ; a boat; wood ; a
hundred ; brightness; a star; a rainbow .

14

15

Lesson Four
The Definite Article and Prepositions

DEFINITENESS

In Maltese, definiteness is shown by placing the definite article

1_ or iI- (if the word which follows the article starts with a
consonant) in front of both nouns and adjectives as in the .
following examples:
I-arja
I-afldar
il-baliar

the air
the green (object)
the sea

il-mejda
il-laringa
il-marid

the table
the orange
the sick (man)

Moreover, when preceded by words which begin with c, d, n, r,

s, t, x, z and Z, the definite article is assimilated with these
sounds as in the following examples :
ic-cavetta
id-dar
in-nanna
ir-ragel
is-sikkina
it-tifel
ix-xemx
iz-ziju
iz-zarbun

the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the

key
house
grandmother
man
knife
boy
sun
uncle
pair of shoes

INDEFINITENESS

Indefiniteness in Maltese is unmarked, since the absence of the

definite article 1- implies the indefiniteness of the noun or
adjective as in the following examples :
I-arja
il-Iumija
il-kelb
id-dar
I-ikrah
is-sabili

the
the
the
the
the
the

air
lemon
dog
house
ugly (person)
beautiful

arja
lumija
kelb
dar
ikrah
sabili

air
a lemon
a dog
a house
ugly
beautiful

17

pi

PREPOSITIONS AND THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

The most commonly used prepositions in Maltese are:

quddiem
wara
Iidejn
lejn
fuq
tant
fejn
bejn
minn
lil
bnal
gnal
ta'
ma'
fi
bi

in front of
behind
near
towards
on
under
where
between
from
to
like
for
of
with
in
with

ta'+ id-dar = tad -dar

gnal + ir-ragel = gnar-ragel
bflal + in-nanna = bnan-nanna
bi + is-sikkina = bis-sikkina
ma' + it-tifel = mat-tifel
fi + ix-xita = fix-xita
bi + iz-zokkor = biz-zokkor
fi + iz-zejt = fiz-zejt

to the girl
of the chocolate/
made of chocolate
of the house; the house's
for the man
like the grandmother
with the knife
with the boy
in the rain
with sugar
in the oil

The definite article is not linked with the other prepositions ,

namely quddiem, wara, fuq, tant, Mejn, fejn and bejn. Thus :

When the prepositions 1iI, bnal, gnal, ta', ma', fi and bi (but not
the other prepositions) immed iately precede the definite article,
they are linked to the definite article , thus forming one word as
in the following examples:

18

IiI + it-tifla = lit-tifla

ta' + ic-Cikkulata = tat-Cikkulata

CONTRACTIONS OF PREPOSITIONS

lil + iI-kelb = lill-kelb

bnal + iI-banar = bnall-banar
gnal + il-kelb = gnall-kelb
ta' + iI-qattus = tal-qattus
ma' + iI-mara = mal-mara
fi + iI-gnien = fil-gnien
bi + iI-fjura = bil-fjura

Also, the preposition which is joined to the definite article ,

assimilates with the following word which starts with C, d, r, n,
, t , x, z and z as in the following examples:

to the dog
like the sea
for the dog
of the cat (the eat's)
with the woman/ wife
in the garden
with the flower

in front of the woman

behind the door
under the ring
near the sea
towards the house
between the people

quddiem iI-mara
wara I-bieb
tant it-tu rkett
Iidejn il-banar
lejn id-dar
bejn in-n ies

SECTION A
Word List
bi
ma'
ta'
bejn
Iidejn
quddiem

with
with
of
between
near
in front

fi
gnal
bnal
tant
lejn
wara

in
for
like
under
towards
behind

19

Now try these exercises:

SECTION B
Exercise One

Word List

First insert the definite article, then translate into English.

e.g. bejt

u
izda
filwaqt
gnaldaqstant
marid

il-bejt (the roof)

Vazun ; mejda; siggu; gnien ; zunzana; baliar; cavetta; dgliajsa;

fjura ; isfar; alimar; gnasfur; nanut; nar; ragel ; xemx ; zokkor;
zejt; widna; tifla; sodda.
Exercise Two

20

Cardinal Numbers

In-Numri Kardinali
1
2
3
4

3. What happens to those prepositions which are linked to the

definite article when the following words start with C, d, n,
r, s, t, x, Z, and z?

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

it-Tnejn
it-Tlieta
I-Erbgna
il-t=lamis
il-Gimglia
is-Sibt
il-t=ladd

1. Which prepositions can be linked to the definite article to

form one word?

2. Which prepositions cannot be linked to the definite article?

The days of the week

II-Granet tal-gimgna

Answer the following questions

wiened
tnejn
tlieta
erbglia

In-Numri Ordinali
I-ewwel
it-tieni
it-tielet
ir-raba'
il-names
is-sitt

first
second
third
fourth
fifth
sixth

and
but
while
consequently
sick

5
6
7
8

namsa
sitta
sebglia
tmienja

9
10
11
12

disglia
gliaxra
Iidax
tnax

Ordinal Numbers
is-se ba'
it-tmien
id-disa'
I-gnaxar
il-Iidax
it-tnax

seventh
eighth
ninth
tenth
eleventh
twelfth

21

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:

Lesson Five

For a holiday; on the lemon; under the key; between the people;
with the aunt; on the chair; of the boy; like a rainbow; in the car;
for the husband; behind the vase; in front of the uncle; between
the bed and the chair; of a girl ; the dog and the cat; the boy's
pocket; Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The Verbs To Be and To Have

PRONOUNS AND VERBS

Exercise Four

The personal pronouns in Maltese are :

Express in English:

jiena
inti (sing)
huwa
hija
anna
intom (pi)
huma

Ftdejn is-siggu ta' Marija; tant il-mejda; fil-karrozza tal-mara; ma'

Joe ; lejn il-bieb; bejn il-qattus u I-kelb; fiI-familja ta' Carmen ;
gnal tifel ; fiI-but tal-missier; I-ewwel qattus; namsa u gnaxra; ittielet ragel; I-gnaxar mara.

Exercise Five

I
you (sing)
he
she
we
you (pi)
they

The conju gated form of the verb To Be is as follows :

Write these in Maltese:

=2
3 + 4 = 7;

e.g . 1 + 1

wiened u wiened

(i)
(ii) 1 + 2 + 6 = 9;
(iii) 5 + 7 = 12;
(iv) 8 + 3 = 11 ;
(v) 10 + 2 = 12.

= tnejn

To Be
jiena
inti (sing)
huwa
hija
anna
intom (pi)
huma

I am
you are
he is
she is
we are
you are
they are

The above paradigm of the conjugated verb to be shows that

the personal pronouns in Maltese also have a verbal function
whe n followed by a noun or an adjective as in the following
examples :
hija mara sabina
huwa marid

she i.s. a beautiful woman

he i.s. sick

The verb To Have, an irregular functional verb , is conjugated

in the following way:

22

23

To Have
jiena gfiandi
inti gfiandek (sing)
huwa gfiandu
hija gfiandha
afina gfiandna
intom gfiandkom (pi)
huma gfiandhom

ASKING QUESTIONS

I have
you have
he has
she has
we have
you have
they have

Of particular note is the fact that, unlike English , the subject

pronouns in Maltese may be omitted since the verbal forms are
recognised by their endings. This notwithstanding , the pronouns are inserted when :
(i) two subjects are in contrast in a sentence:
e.g. (a)

Huma gfiandhom gnien filwaqt li hija gfiandha karozza.

They have a garden while she has a car.

instead of:
e.g. (b) * Gfiandhom gnien filwaqt Ii gfiandha karozza.
(They) have a garden while (she) has a car.
(* hypothetical sentence)
(ii) for emphasis:
e.g. (a)

Hija gfiandha qattus.

She has a cat.

instead of:

In Maltese the following words are used to ask questions:

kem m ?
min?
gfialfejn?
fejn?
kif?
xi?
minn fejn?

how much/how many?

who?
why?
where?
how?
what?
from where?

As has been noted earlier, it is common for Maltese speakers

to omit the personal pronouns as in the following examples:
Kemm gfiandek zokkor?
Min huma?
Gfialfejn hija hawn?
Fejn intom?
Kif int?
X'gfiandu r-ragel?

How much sugar do you have?

Who are they?
Why is she here?
Where are you? (pi)
How are you? (sing)
What does the husband have?

Of note is the fact that the Maltese particle in prefixes the

pronouns hu (inhu), hija (inhija) and huma (inhuma) when
these follow either kif how or xi what as below:

What is he?
X'inhu?
Kif inhija?
How is she?
Kif inhuma? How are they?

e.g. (b) Gfiandha qattus.

(She) has a cat.
(iii) when the second subject in a sentence is preceded by the
word anki or ukoll also/even:
e.g. (a) Marija gfiandha qattus u anki jiena gfiandi wiefied .
Maria has a cat and even I have one (cat) .
instead of:
e.g.

* Marija gfiandha qattus u ankilukoll gfiandi wiefied.

Maria has a cat and even I have one (cat).
(*hypothetical sentence)

24

25

SECTION A

SECTION B

Word List
kemm?
min?
minn
glialfejn?
xi?
kamra tas-sodda
kamra tal-pranzu
sal ott
k6ina
kugin
xejn
ilium
ftit
bank
flus
razzett
kampanja
papra
kaxxa
pipa
tajjeb

how much/ how many?

who?
from
why?
what?
a bedroom
a dining room
a sitting room
a kitchen
a cousin
nothing
today
a little
a bank
money
a farm
countryside
a duck
a box
a pipe
good/ well

Exercise One
Express in English

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

26

Marija gliandha dar fil -kampanja.

Mario gliandu qattus, kelb u papra fil-gnien tiegliu .
L-omm u I-missier huma fuq il-bejt tan-nanna.
It-tifla ta' Carmen gliandha kaxxa kbira talit is-sodda.
II-pipa tan -nannu hija fuq il-mejda fil-kCina.
Ir-ragel ta' Marija gliandu ragun .
Kif int ilium? Tajjeb, grazzi.
Min huwa dak it-tifel? II-kugin ta' Francesco.
Fejn huwa Mark? Huwa fis-salott ma' Mario.

Word List
Ix-xhur tas-sena

The months of the year

Jannar
Frar
Marzu
April
Mejju
Gunju
Lulju
Awissu
Settembru
Ottubru
Novembru
Di6embru

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Espressjonijiet ta' Kuljum

Everyday Expressions

I-gliodwa t-tajba
il-wara nofs in-nhar it-tajjeb
il-Iejl it-tajjeb
x'hemm?
kif int?
tajjeb
hekk u hekk
sanna
narak
is-sliem
jekk jogligbok

good morning
good afternoon
good night
hello (how are things?)
how are you?
fine/ well
so-so
good bye
see you
peace be with you
please

Common Expressions with the Verb To Have

Gnandi I-guli .
Gliandi I-gliatx.
Gliandi ragun.
Gliandi tort.
Gliandha sena.
Gliandi x'naglimel.

I am hungry.
I am thirsty.
I am right.
I am wrong.
She is one year old.
I am busy.

27

Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11 .

12.
13.

The boy is behind the chair.

The dog is on the roof.
Carmen and Francesco have a dog and a cat in the farm .
What is the matter with Sean (What does Sean have)?
Nothing.
I am hungry and they are thirsty.
We are wrong and you (singular) are right.
Where is Maria? She is in the dining room.
Who is Francis? He is the son of George and Simone and
the cousin of Francesco .
What does the mother have on the chair? She has an
orange and a lemon .
How much money do you have in the bank? A little.
The months of the year are January, February, March, April ,
May, JU+le, July, August, September, October, November
and December.
The days of the week are seven : Monday, Tuesday ,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday , Saturday and Sunday.
Mario: Hello, good morning Mark, how are you?
Mark: Fine thanks, and you?
Mario: Well thanks.
Mark: Goodbye Mario.
Mario: Peace be with you Mark.
Mark: See you!

Lesson Six
Gender of Nouns and Adjectives

In Maltese, both nouns and adjectives are marked for gender.

It is thus important to know the gender of the nouns so that the
adjectives will agree in gender with the nouns they descri be .
Now let us first look at the gender formation of nouns.
GENDER OF NOUNS

In Maltese, nouns are either masculine or feminine . Nouns

which refer to males are masculine and those which refer to
females are feminine as in the following examples:
Masculine
il-missier
iz-ziju

the father
the uncle

Feminine
I-omm
iz-zija

the mother
the aunt

For animate objects, most feminine nouns are usually derived

from masculine nouns by adding the suffix a. Thus:
Masculine
it-tabib
il-kelb

the doctor
the dog

Feminine
it-tabiba
il-kelba

the doctor
the bitch

In th~ case of inanimate objects, most feminine nouns usually

end In the vowel a, whereas masculine nouns usually end in a
consonant or in the vowel u.
Masculine
ii-iarbun
is-siggu

the shoe
the chair

Feminine
is-sigra
il-libsa

the tree
the dress

However, there are exceptions to the above rules such as when :

(a) some masculine nouns end in the vowel a
and
(b) some feminine nouns end in a consonant:

28

29

Masculine
Alia
ilma
is-sema

God
the water
the sky

Feminine
id-dar
il-qalb
I-omm

(i)
the house
the heart
the mother

GENDER OF ADJECTIVES

Describing words which are known as adjectives, tell you what

a thing is like (small, heavy, large) . In Maltese, adjectives can
be either masculine or feminine depending on the gender of the
noun . Thus, an adjective is assigned a masculine gender if it
describes a masculine noun , whereas it is given the feminine
form if it qualifies a feminine noun , as is shown in the examples
below:
tifel zgnir
tifla zgnira

a small/young boy
a small/ young girl

it-tifel iz-zgnir
it-tifla z-zgnira

the boy the small/young (the small/young boy)

the girl the small/young (the small/young girl)

by adding the vowel a to the masculine adjective which

ends in a consonant; e.g. zgnir (masculine), zgnira
(feminine) small;

(ii) by addi ng ja to the masculine adjective which ends in the

vowel i; e.g. mistni (m) , mistnija (f) shy.
The following are examples of masculine adjectives which end
in a consonant or in the vowel i, together with the feminine
adjectives wh ich are derived from the masculine adjectives by
adding the suffixes ja or the vowel a to the masculine adjective :
Masculine
nadif
qasir
qawwi
raM .

clean
short
fat/sturdy
a villager

Feminine
nadifa
qasira
qawwija
ranlija

SECTION A
From the above examples one notes that:
(i)

the position of the adjective in Maltese is one which follows

the noun ; e.g. tifel zgnir a boy small/young (a small/young
boy)

(ii) Definiteness is shown by affixing the definite article to both

the noun and the adjective ; e.g. It-tifel iz-zgnir the boy the
young (the young boy). Occasionally, the definite article is
affixed only to the noun ; e.g . il-Kotba Mqaddsa The Sacred
Scripture.
As regards the gender of nouns, at the outset of this lesson it
was noted that as a rule , masculine nouns end in a consonant
or in the vowel u, whereas those which are feminine end in the
vowel a. Adjectives follow a similar pattern. Those adjectives
which describe masculine nouns usually end in a consonant or
in the vowel i. Just like feminine nouns, feminine adjectives are
derived from masculine adjectives in the following ways :

30

Word List
From this lesson onwards the word list shows the
gender of the noun and adjective.
Alia (m)
nabib (m)
najjat (m)
gnalliem (m)
dentist (m)
avukat (m)
nutar (m)
bennej (m)
perit (m)
spizjar (m)
kittieb (m)
flixkun (m)
ranal (m)
ilsien (m)

God
friend
tailor
teacher
dentist
lawyer
notary
stone mason
an architect
a pharmacist
a writer
a bottle
a village
a language/ tongue

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

31

Exercise Two
platt (m)
problema (f)
belt (f)
gflarus (m)
lampa (f)
librerija (f)
tazza (f)
kikkra (f)
kuccarina (f)
imgflarfa (f)
kamra tal-banju (f)
sanna (f)
pjazza (f)

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

plate
problem
town
groom
lamp
library
glass
cup
teaspoon
spoon
bathroom
health/ strength
a (village) square

Express in Maltese and say whether the noun is either

masculine or feminine:
e.g . the ear il-widna (f)
the sun ; the oil ; the glass; the square ; the lemon ; the church ;
the house ; the fire; the town ; the dress; the lamp; the post; the
milk; the bookcase/library; the spoon ; the plate .

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese and then derive the feminine from the
following masculine nouns:
e.g. the friend (m) il-flabib, il-flabiba
The dentist; the dog ; the doctor; the tailor; the teacher; the
notary; the tom-cat; the architect; the writer; the pharmacist.

Exercise One
Mark the nouns which are masculine as M and those which are
feminine as F stating the reason for your choice.

SECTION B
Word list

The following example will show you how to go about working

the exercise :
II-Iampa

the lamp

1. il-mara
2. il-kelba
3. is-siggu
4. il-problema
5. il-wicc
6. I-ilma
7. is-sema
8. I-avukat
9. il-flajjat
10. Alia
11. il-qawsalla
12. I-isptar
13. il-tabiba

32

F/ends in the vowel a

the woman
the bitch
the chair
the problem
the face
the water
the sky
the lawyer
the tailor
God
the rainbow
the hospital
the doctor

ferflan (m)
imdejjaq (m)
i:gflir (m)
kbir (m)
twil (m)
qasir (m)
sabifl (m)
ikrah (m)
rqiq (m)
sinjur (m)
fqir (m)
kwiet (m)
imqareb (m)
bjond (m)
ismar (m)

happy
sad
small/young
big
tall
short
beautiful/handsome
ugly
thin
rich/ wealthy
poor
quiet
naughty/ mischievous
fair
dark

33

gliazzien (m)
biezel (m)
nadif (m)
malimug (m)
qadim (m)
xiii (m)
gdid (m)
barrani (m)
glioli (m)
baxx (m)
dliuli (m)
liazin (m)
ktieb (m)

lazy
active/ industrious
clean
dirty
old (inanimate object)
old (person)
new
foreigner
high
low
affable
bad
book

Nazzjonalitajiet

Nationalities

Malti (m)
Gliawdxi (m)
Ingliz (m)
Amerikan (m)
Awstraljan (m)
Kanadiz (m)
Spanjol (m)
Taljan (m)
Grieg (m)
Franciz (m)
Tork (m)
Ciprijott (m)
Gappuniz (m)
Germaniz (m)
Gliarbi (m)

Maltese
Gozitan
English
American
Australian
Canadian
Spanish
Italian
Greek
French
Turk
Cypriot
Japanese
German
Arab

exercise Five
Express in Maltese:

The small girl ; the shy man ; the quiet girl ; the handsome man ;
the dirty dog; the good book; the rich family .

Exercise Six
Put in the feminine and then translate into English:

Taljan ; mis~li i ; tifel ; Tork; ~alti ; FranCiz; Kanad iz; Gliawdxi;

Awstaljan ; Ciprijott; Grieg ; Germaniz; Gliarbi.

Exercise Seven
Express in English:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Ir-ragel ta' Marija hu olixon u twi l.

Min huma Marija u Francis? It-tfal ta' Joe.
Sean huwa t-tifel iz-zgliir tal-familja Fenech .
Mario hu twil u sabili bliaz-ziju ta' Marija.
Mark u Mario gliandhom il-guli u I-gliatx.
Ir-ragel ix-xiii u I-mara x-xilia gliandhom ragun.
Carmen Marija gliandha sena biss u hija olit Francesco.
Id-dar is-sabilia gliandha kamra tal-pranzu kb ira , kamra
tas-sodda, kCina zgliira, kamra tal-banju u gnien kbir.
9. It-tifla I-Maltija u t-tifel il-Gappuniz huma fid-dar iz-zgliira
tar-ragel il-fqir.
10. Kemm gliandhom flus ir-ragel u I-mara tar-razzett il-qadim?
Ftit.

Exercise Eight
Express in Maltese:

Exercise Four
Express in Maltese

A short man ; a quiet boy; a beautiful sky; a fat woman ; a big

house; a sick bitch ; a poor woman ; a small car; a short boy; an
industrious woman ; a dark girl ; a dirty kitchen ; a clean bathroom ;
a lazy cousin .
34

1. The Greek (f), the Italian (m), the German (f) and the
Maltese (m) are in the sitting room with other people.
2. In the village there is a big square and a small tree .
3. The language of the American boy is (the) English .
4. Joe is a wealthy man but is generous with the poor boy.

35

5. The beautiful woman has a lazy husband and an

industrious daughter.
6 . The tall Canadian is blond, affable and happy.
7. Maria's problem (the problem of Maria) is new.
8 . In the library there is an old lamp and a dirty cup.
9. The old hospital is small but clean .
10. The bride and the groom are here.

In Maltese, both nouns and adjectives are assigned the plural

form for which no gender distinction occurs. There are two kinds
of plural:
(a) the Sound or External Plural is formed by the addition of
suffixes such as -i, -ijiet, -iet, -ien , to the masculine and
feminine form of the nouns and / or adjectives .
NOUNS

Most nouns are assigned the plural by affixing the suffixes: -i,
-ien, -ijiet, and -iet.
platt
bieb
missier
sptar
omm
*siggu
*nannu/a
*Uajla

platti
bibien
missirijiet
sptarijiet
ommijiet
siggijiet
nanniet
tfajliet

plates
doors
fathers
hospitals
mothers
chairs
grandparents
young adolescent females

*Nouns ending in a vowel drop this vowel when affixing the

plural suffix.
The plural of nouns which indicate parts of the body which go
in pairs such as hands, arms, ears, and legs, is formed by
affixing the suffix -ejn to the end of the singular noun.
id
gliajn
rigel
widna
spalla

36

idejn
gliajnejn
riglejn
widnejn
spallejn

hands
eyes
legs
ears
shoulders

37

The suffix -ajn is affixed to the singular form instead of -ejn in

the case of nouns which end in gfl or fl:
gewnan gwinnajn
driegn
dirgnajn

wings
arms

ADJECTIVES
Of particular note is the fact that adjectives generally take th e
suffixes -in, -n, -i, and not the other suffixes. Adjectives ending
in a consonant are assigned plurality by affixing the suffix -in :
fernan
imdejjaq
manmug
tajjeb
rieqed
gflazzien
kiesan

fernanin
imdejqin
manmugin
tajbin
reqdin
gnazzenin
kesnin

happy
unhappy
dirty
good
sleepy
lazy
silly

Adjectives ending in the vowel i form their plural by adding the

suffix -n :
Malti
Gnawdxi
Sqalli
dliuli
barrani

Maltin
Gliawdxin
Sqallin
dliulin
barranin

Maltese
Gozitans
Sicilians
affable
foreigners

Adjectives ending in a consonant form their plural by adding the

suffix -i :
Franciz
Ingliz
Taljan
Spanjol

Francizi
Inglizi
Taljani
Spanjoli

French
English
Italian
Spanish

(b) the Broken or Internal Plural is formed by changing the

internal structure of the word itself. It should be noted that
the change in the structure of the word occurs only with
regard to the vowels of the particular word. The sequence
of the consonants of the noun or adjective is never changed .
The following examples show the formation of broken or
internal plurals:

38

bejt
furketta
rag el
kitla
fene k
qalb
zejt

bjut
frieket
rgiel
ktieli
fniek
qlub
zjut

roofs
forks
men/husbands
kettles
rabbits
hearts
oils

Unfortunately, as is evident from the above examples , there are

no quick and easy rules which govern the formation of the
broken plu rals of nouns and adjectives. It is thus advisable to
memorise the plural forms of the nouns and adjectives in
question together with their singular forms .

SECTION A
Word List
From this lesson onwards the Word List gives
the plural form of the nouns and adjectives.
tifel
tifla
mara
ragel
tfajla
missier
omm
genitur
ziju
zija
kugin
kugina
flu
oflt
barrani
furketta
mgflarfa
sikkina
kuccarina
sieq

tfal
tfal
nisa
rgiel
tfajliet
missirijiet
ommijiet
genituri
zijiet
zijiet
kugini
kugini
aliwa
aliwa
barranin
frieket
mgliaref
skieken
kuccari ni
saqajn

boys
girls
women
men
young adolescent females
fathers
mothers
parents
uncles
aunts
male cousins
female cousins
brothers
sisters
foreigners
forks
spoons
knives
teaspoons
feet

39

rigel
gliajn
spalla
widna
'gewnali
rkobba
id
saba'
dliuli
gliaqli
nadif
twil
kwiet
kbir
kburi
liazin
sliun
sinjur
qadim
xiii
sabili
malimug
tajjeb
ferlian
qasir
gliazzien
giddieb
zgflir
gnien
ziemel
limar
dar
qattus
kelb
razzett
bandiera

riglejn
gliajnejn
spallejn
widnejn
gwinliajn
rkobbtejn
idejn
swaba'
dliulin
gliaqlin
ndaf
twal
kwieti
kbar
kburin
liziena
slian
sinjuri
qodma
xjuli
sbieli
malimugin
tajbin
ferlianin
qosra
gliazzenin
giddibin
zgflar
gonna
zwiemel
limir
djar
qtates
klieb
rziezet
bnadar

legs
eyes
shoulders
ears
wings
knees
hands
fingers
affable
wise/ prudent
clean
tall
quiet
big
proud
bad
hot
rich
old (inanimate objects)
old (persons)
beautiful/handsome
dirty
good
happy
short
lazy
liars
small
gardens
horses
donkeys
houses
cats
dogs
farms
flags

exercise One
First put into the plural and then translate into English as in the
following example:
happy mothers
ommijiet ferlianin
e.g. omm ferliana

Tifel malimug ; mara nadifa; nannu xiii ; ragel twil ; tifla gliaqlija;
furketta qadima; kuccarina nadifa; spalla kbira ; widna zgliira;
tifla gnazziena; Malti gliaqli ; missier kwiet; ragel tajjeb.

Exercise Two
Put these sentences into the plural and then translate into
English:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Iz-ziju hu fil-gnfen iz-zgliir mat-tifla I-kwieta.

In-nanna u n-nannu huma fid-dar taz-ziju.
Iz-ziemel u I-limar huma fir-razzett il-kbir tan-nannu .
II-qattus u I-kelb huma fuq il-bjut tar-ralilin .
II-bandiera tal-pajjiz gliandha ftit kuluri.

SECTION B
Word List
sptar
siggu
mejda
kamra
kcina
knisja
ralial
iejt
libsa
qalziet
dublett
flokk
glekk
klassi
poeta

sptarijiet
siggijiet
mwejjed
kmamar
kcejjen
knejjes
rliula
zjut
Ibiesi
qliezet
dbielet
flokkijiet
glekkijiet
klassijiet
poeti

hospitals
chairs
tables
rooms
kitchens
churches
vii/ages
oils
dresses
trousers
skirts
sweaters
jackets
classes
poets

'----

40

41

professur
avukat
perit
gflalliem
nutar
spizjar
tabib
student
problema
Taljan
FranCiz
Malti
Gflawdxi
Giprijott
Grieg
Tork
Germaniz
Gappuniz
Kanadiz
Amerikan
studjuz
flobza
ilsien
bejt
qalb
ras
kitla

professuri
avukati
periti
gflalliema
nutara
spizjara
tobba
studenti
problemi
Taljani
Fran6izi
Maltin
Gflawdxin
Giprijotti
Griegi
Torok
Germanizi
Gappunizi
Kanadizi
Amerikani
studjuzi
flobziet
ilsna
bjut
qlub
irjus
ktieli

professors
lawyers
architects
teachers
notaries
pharmacists
doctors
students
problems
Italians
French
Maltese
Gozitans
Cypriots
Greeks
Turks
Germans
Japanese
Canadians
Americans
scholars
loaves of bread
languages/ tongues
roofs
hearts
heads
kettles

6.

In the farm there are horses, donkeys, big cats and small

dogs.
On the tables there are forks , knives and spoons.
7. The villagers have rabbits and dogs in the square .
8.
The churches in Malta are old but beautiful.

9.

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

42

The grandfather is with an old woman in the big house.

The boy and the girl are on the chai r.
The wise uncle is on the small bed .
Carnival and Easter are big feasts .
The horses and the donkeys are in the big garden with
children.

43

REGULAR VERBS

Maltese verbs are made up of stems such as XT ARA - to buy

or GHAMEL - to do. In order to conjugate the verbs in the
present tense, one must first derive the imperative from each
stem.
The imperative has two persons: the second person singular
(ixtri! - buy!) ; and the second person plural (ixtru! - buy!) . It is
best to memorise the two persons of the imperative of the verb
stems to be able to conjugate the verbs in the present tense.
CONJUGATION OF VERBS

Maltese verbs are conjugated by means of adding the prefixes

n (1 st person singular), t (2nd person singular) , j (3rd person
singular masculine) , t (3rd person singular feminine ) to the
singular form of the imperative. The plural prefixes n (1 st person
plural) , t (2nd person plural) , j (3rd person plural) are added to
the plural form of the imperative as shown in the following
conjugated verbs :

XTARA to buy
ixtril
ixtru!

(2nd person singular) buy!

(2nd person plural) buy!

jiena
inti
huwa
hija

nixtri
tixtri
jixtri
tixtri

I buy
you (sing) buy
he buys
she buys

anna
intom
huma

nixtru
tixtru
jixtru

we buy
you (pI) buy
they buy

45

Exercise Three

xtara
ixtri! (sing) ; ixtru! (pi)

to buy
buy!

lagnab
ilgnab! (sing) ; ilagnbu! (pi)

to play
play!

e.g. Anna (fehem) nifhmu .

ta
agnti! (sing) ; agntu! (pi)

to give
give!

5. Intom (sajjar). 6. Jiena (xtara). 7. Huma (Iagnab). 8. Marija

u Mario (ta) . 9 . It-tfal (fehem). 10. Inti (kiteb) . 11 . II-kelb (gera) .

fehem
ifhem! (sing) ; ifhmu! (pi)

to understand
understand!

put the correct form of the verb in the present tense as in the
following example:

1. Huwa (nadem). 2. Hija (nabb). 3. Inti (seraq) . 4. Anna (Iibes) .

12. In-nisa (pogga) . 13. Intom (gnamel).

SECTION B
Exercise One

Translate into Maltese and conjugate the following verbs in the

present tense:
to wash ; to love; to work; to do/to make; to give ; to understand ;
to sweep; to buy.
Exercise Two

Insert the correct pronoun and then translate into English.

1. . ..... taqra nafna kotba.
2. .. .. .. niifnu fiI-pjazza .
3. .. .... jagnmlu nafna storbju .
4 . .. .... nixtri nafna laring .
5. . .... . jnobb is-sigar kbar.
6. .. .... tpoggi s-siggijiet fil-kamra tal-banju.
7. .. .. .. nafldmu kuljum.
8. . ... .. nsajjar kull nhar ta' Sibt.
9. .. .... jisraq nafna flus .
10. . .... . nagntu nafna laring u langas .
11 . . .... . jnobbu I-klieb u I-qtates.
12. .. .... nifhmu I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti.

48

Word List
kiesan (m), kiesna (f) , kesnin (pi)
flaxix
frotta (f), frott (pi)
flelwa (f), nelu (pi)
stagun (m) , staguni (pi)
xahar (m), xhur (pi)
numru (m), numri (pi)
flafna
dan (m), din (f) , dawn (pi)
dak (m), dik (f), dawk (pi)
gardinar (m), gardinara (pi)
eiami (m), eiamijiet (pi)
lezzjoni (m) , lezzjonijiet (pi)
futbol
difficli (m & f, Sing & pi)
flimkien
hemmhekk
storbju
Milied
Ghid
laringa (f), laring (pi)
ittra (f) , ittri (pi)
karrotta (f) , karrotti (pi)
langasa (f) , langas (pi)

cold
vegetables
fruits
sweets
seasons
months
numbers
much; a lot of; many
this/these
that/those
gardeners
examinations
lessons
football
difficult
together
there
noise
Christmas
Easter
oranges
letters
carrots
pears

49

11

Exercise Five
II-kuluri

the colours

Express in Maltese:

anmar (m), namra (f), nomor (pi)

alldar (m), nadra (f) , nodor (pi)
iswed (m), sewda (f) , suwed (pi)
abjad (m) , bajda (f) , bojod (pi)
isfar (m) , safra (f), sofor (pi)
iknal (m) , kanla (f), konol (pi)
griz (m) , griza (f), grizi (pi)
kannella (m & f, sing & pi)
roza (m & f, sing & pi)

red
green
black
white
yellow
blue
gray
brown
pink

L-istaguni

the seasons

ir-rebbiegna (f)
is-sajf (m)
il-narifa (f)
ix-xitwa (f)

spring
summer
autumn
winter

1.
. 2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Exercise Four
Express in English:

1. L-istaguni tas-sena huma erbgna: ir-rebbiegna, is-sajf,

il-liarifa u x-xitwa .
2. II-kuluri li nnobb huma tmienja: I-iswed, I-alldar, il-kannella,
ir-roza, I-iknal , I-abjad, il-griz u I-isfar.
3. II-bandiera Taljana hija liadra, bajda u namra.
4. II-libsa I-namra hija manmuga .
5. It-tife I in-nadif hu qawwi.
6. Mara Griega hija mara sabina.
7. Ix-xin I-gnaref huwa lidejn il-mara I-mistnija.
8. Is-sigra I-kbira hija sabina nafna.
9. Simone tnobb gnien kbir bil-fjuri.
10. Filwaqt li Mario hu t-tifel il-kbir tal-familja Borg, Maria hija
t-tifla z-zgliira tal-familja Fenech .

50

Every week the boy reads a book.

Mary cooks dinner for the boys.
Simone's husband is very sturdy and tall.
Every day the children eat a lot of sweets.
The pretty girl wears the red dress.
I love Christmas and Easter.
I have a brown dog and a black tom-cat.
The four seasons are: spring , summer, autumn and winter.
Every evening Maria and Joe dance together.
They have a large house and a beautiful garden .
Every Monday, Mark buys oranges , carrots and pears.
Every month Carmen washes the old chair in the kitchen.

Exercise Six
Express in Maltese:

1. The Maltese flag is white and red .

2. Francesco Pio and Carmen are in the grandfather's garden
(in the garden of the grandfather) .
3. Wh ile December is a cold month , July is very warm .
4. Sean is a quiet boy and is also shy.
5. A Canadian student is studious and wise .
6. Francis has a big car while I have a small dog and a big
tabby cat.
7. The mother and the father are hungry and thirsty.
8. The boy and the girl are right.

51

Lesson Nine
The Negative
Not is translated by the word rna (rn' only before a vowel , silent
h or gli). This is followed by the conjugated verb to which is
affixed x to the end of the verb. Ma always occupies the same
pJace in the sentence as the English word not and it always
grecedes the verb. Thus :

I spend;
we buy;

e.g. Jien nonfoq

e.g. Alina nixtru

jien rna nonfoqx

alina ma nixtrux

I do not spend
We do not buy

NEGATIVE FORMS

The following are the negative forms of the verbs To Be and

To Have. Of note is the fact that a verb ending in the vowel a,
has this vowel changed to ie when the negative suffix x is
attached to it.
Verb To Be
jiena
inti
huwa
hija

lam
you are
he is
she is

rn'iniex
rn'intix
m'huwiex
m'hijiex

I am not
you (sing) are not
he is not
she is not

alina
intom
huma

we are
you are
they are

rn'aliniex
m'intomx
m'humiex

we are not
you (pI) are not
they are not

Verb To Have
jiena
inti
huwa
hija

gliandi
gliandek
gliandu
gliandha

I have
you have
he has
she has

alina gliandna we have

intom gliandkom you have
huma gliandhom they have

m'gliandix
m'gliandekx
m'gliandux
m'gliandhiex

I do not have
you (sing) do not have
he does not have
she does not have

m'gliandniex
m'gliandkomx
m'gliandhomx

we do not have
you (pI) do not have
they do not have

53

SECTION A
Word list
storja (f) , stejjer (pi)
filgliaxija
wara nofs in-nhar

stories
in the evening
in the afternoon

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11 .

mar
mur! (sing); morru! (pi)

to go
go!

Exercise Two

wiegeb
wiegeb! (sing) ; wiegbu! (pi)

to answer
answer!

Put in the correct form of the verb and then translate into
English:

gidem
igdem! (sing) ; igdmu! (pi)

to bite
bite!

e.g. Alina (kiteb) iUra lill-mara ta' Mario.

Alina niktbu iUra lill-mara ta' Mario.
We write a letter to Mario's wife.

acceUa
acceUa! (sing); acceUaw! (pi)

to accept
accept!

fetali
iftali! (sing) ; iftliu! (pi)

to open
open!

Now try these exercises:

Exercise One
Put the right part of the verb in those sentences for which the
verb stem is given in brackets and put into the negative.
Afterwards translate into English:
e.g. II-Milied u I-Gliid (gliamel) lil liafna nies ferlianin
II-Milied u I-Gliid ma jaglimlux lil liafna nies ferlianin .
Christmas and Easter do not make a lot of people happy.
1. Hija gliandha tifla u tifel.
2 . . Alina (gera) lejn il-baliar.
3. Jiena mara bjonda u twila.

54

Huwa gliandu dar sabilia bi gnien kbir.

Hija spizjara anzjana u gliarfa.
Hu ma nisa tajbin .
Inti gliandek liafna guli u gliatx.
It-tfal (fehem) I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti.
Marija u Mario huma fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tfal.
Pierre (xtara) liafna froU u lielu gliat-tifel ta' Marija.
It-tfal (gliamel) liafna storbju meta huma (Iagliab) I-futbol
fit-triq .

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Inti (zifen) tajjeb liafna.

Huma (liabb) lill-qtates u I-klieb.
Marija (xtara) libsa twila.
It-tfal (gera) fir-razzeU tan-nanniet.
Jiena (kiteb) ktieb dwar I-istorja ta' Malta.
II-missier (liadem) fl-glialqa tan-nannu .
In-nisa (sajjar) kuljum gliall-familji.
Carmen (nefaq) liafna flus fil-kotba ta' I-iskola.
Huwa (liasel) lit-tifel il-malimug.
Mark (kines) I-art tad-dar il-kbira fil-kampanja .

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:
1. The Maltese flag is not yellow and green , but white and
red.
2. Francesco Pio u Carmen are not here but at their friends '
farm house.
3. Wh ile July is not a cold month, January is not hot but very
cold.
4. Francis is a friendly and studious boy.

55

5. A German student is not always studious.

6.
7.
S.
9.

Francis does not have a big car like Sean .

The son and the daughter are not hungry and thirsty.
The small children are not right.
The lesson is difficult and Maria does not understand the
teacher.
10. The old men in the square love the cheesecakes and the
sweets.
Exercise Four
Express in Maltese:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
S.

The man does not steal watches.

Maltese people do not spend a lot of money.
Joe sweeps his bedroom in the afternoon .
Maria and Carmen do not play football , but they play tennis.
The gardener does not give water to the trees in the garden.
The two boys do not understand the lesson.
In Malta we do not have a long winter.
The Maltese language is not difficult.

In Maltese, futurity is conveyed by means of the particle sejjer

(m), sejra (f) , sejrin (pi) . This particle carries the meaning of
shall and precedes the conjugated form of the present tense
of verbs as shown in the following examples:
Carmen sejra tixtri I-Iiaxix gliada.
Carmen will buy the vegetables tomorrow.
Francis u Sean sejrin jalislu I-platti wara I-pranzu .
Francis and Sean will wash the plates after lunch.
To BE AND To HAVE
The future of the verbs To Be and To Have is as follows:
To Have

To Be
jiena nkun
inti tkun
huwa jkun
hija tkun

I shall be
jiena jkolli
you (sing) will be inti jkollok
he will be
huwa jkollu
she will be
hija jkollha

alina nkunu we shall be

intom tkunu you (pi) will be
huma jkunu they will be

I shall have
you (sing) will have
he will have
she will have

alinajkollna
we shall have
intom ikollkom you (pi) will have
huma jkollhom they will have

The future forms of the verbs to be and to have may also be

followed by the present tense of the conjugated verb as in
following examples:
Gliada huma jkollhom jixtru Iiafna frott gliat-tifla I-marida.
Tomorrow they will have to buy a lot of fruit for the sick girl.
II-gimglia d-dielila jiena ser inkun nizfen fil-kamra tal-pranzu
ma'Mark.
Next week, I shall be dancing in the dining room with Mark.

56

57

SECTION A
Word List
Common Expressions denoting the Future:
is-sena d-dielila
sena olira
il-gimglia d-dielila
fil-gimgliat li gejjin
ix-xahar id-dieliel
fix-xhur li gejjin
fi ftit sigliat olira
fil-granet li gejjin
fis-snin Ii gejjin
fi ftit minuti olira
fi ftit sekondi olira
it-Tnejn li gej
dalwaqt

next year
next year
next week
in the weeks to come
next month
in the months to come
in the next few hours
in the next few days
in the years to come
in the next few minutes
in the next few seconds
next Monday
soon

Now try these exercises:

Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
1. In the next few days Mark will give a lesson at the
University.
2. She will write a letter to the boy in the next few hours.
3. Soon I shall give the book and the dress to a girl.
4. They will buy vegetables and fruit from the farmhouse.
5. We shall wash the dirty clothes next week.
6. I shall read the important book next month.
7. Mario shall work a lot next year.
8. Joe and Mario will have to cook the dinner for the family.
9. The children will be dancing in the garden in the afternoon.
10. The boys will have to understand the Maltese lessor;l soon.

58

Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Maria will not put the forks on the table.

John will not work in the months to come.
The small girl will not steal the doll.
The children will not play with the dog.
I shall read the book in the next few days.
The mother and father will cook the meal in the evening .

Exercise Three
Put the right part of the verb with these persons and then put
into the future :

e.g.

Anna (gnen)
Anna sejrin ngninu .

1. Huwa (wiegeb). 2. Jiena (mar). 3. In-nisa (zifen). 4. Anna

(gnazel) . 5. Intom (a66etta). 6. Inti. (gnen) : 7. Hija (qam) . 8. Intom
(wasal). 9 . Hija (gnazel). 10. It-tlfla (pogga).

pronouns are words used in place of nouns. Maltese has

pronominal suffixes which can be attached to nouns, verbs and
some of the prepositions:

Exercise Four
Express in Maltese:

1. -Mary will not wash the dirty clothes next week.

2. We will not accept the beautiful watch .
3. Joe does not help Maria in the evening.
4 . You (sing) and the boy will have to go near the church .
5. The children will have to work a lot next summer.
6. Maria will answer Joe's letter in the afternoon .
7. Pierre will buy the car next week.
8. I shall have to give the food to the small children .
9. The dog will bite the little boy's hand soon.
10. The husband will have to wake up the boy.
11 . Maria and Mario will work on an important project next year.
12. We shall be at home in the next few minutes.

-i
-ja

-ek/ok

-k

-u
-h
-ha
-na
-korn
-horn

1st pers. sing

1st pers. sing
(when joined to a vowel ending)
2nd pers. sing
(when joined to a vowel ending)
3rd pers. sing masc.
(when joined to a vowel ending)
3rd pers. sing fem
1st pers. pi
2nd pers pi
3rd pers . pi

-ni

-ek/ok
-k
-u
-h
-ha
-na
-kom
-horn

PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES WITH PREPOSITIONS

Some prepositions in Maltese can either stand alone or can

have a pronominal suffix attached to them as shown in the
following examples:
Lejn towards
It-tifel jigri lejn I-omm.

60

It-tifel jigri lejha.

The boy runs towards

the mother.
The boy runs towards her.

Fuq on/ upon

Marija sejra tmur fuq il-bejt
gnada.
Marija sejra tmur fuqu
gnada.

Maria will go on the roof

tomorrow.
Maria will go on it
tomorrow.

61

t"fdejn near/by the side of

Pierre jgliix M ejn it-tabib Abela.
Pierre jgliix Iidejh.
Fost among
Joe huwa I-kbir fost Iiafna tfal.
Joe huwa I-kbir fosthom .
Bhallike
II-fjura hija sabilia bhat-tifla .
II-fjura hija sabilia bhalha.
Minghajr without
Marija hija minghajr ir-ragel.
Marija hija minghajru .
Taht under/beneath
II-kelb huwa taht is-sodda.
II-kelb huwa tahtha.

Pierre lives near Or Abela.

Pierre lives near him.
Joe is the oldest among
many siblings.
Joe is the oldest among
them.
The flower is as beautiful as
the girl.
The flower is as beautiful as
her (the girl).
Maria is without the husband.
Maria is without him.
The dog is under the bed.
The dog is under it (the
bed).

Bi with (this preposition can also be linked with the definite

article 1-)
With money one can make
BiI-flus taglimel triq fil -banar.
(construct) a road in the sea
(one can do anything if one
has money).
With them (money) one can
Bihom taglimel triq fil-banar.
make (construct) a road in
the sea.
Ghand at the place of/ to
Huma jagnmlu I-pastizzi ghand il-nbieb.
They make cheesecakes at their friends ' (houses) .
Huma jaglimlu I-pastizzi ghandhom.
They make cheesecakes at their friends ' (houses) .

prepositions and their pronominal suffixes as these are very

often used in Maltese.
Ma'
Mieglii
Miegnek
Miegliu
Magnha
Maglina
Maglikom
Magnhom

With
with
with
with
with
with
with
with

me
you (sing)
him
her
us
you (pI)
them

Mario jmur I-iskola ma' Joe.

Mario jmur I-iskola miegliu .
Ta'

Of

Tieglii
Tiegnek
Tiegnu
Tagliha
Taglina
Tagnkom
Tagnhom

mine
yours (sing)
his
hers
ours
yours (pI)
theirs

Mario goes to school with Joe.

Mario goes to school with him.

Fil-gnien ta' Marija hemm nafna fjuri sbieli .

In Maria 's garden there are a lot of beautiful flowers.
FiI-gnien tagnha hemm nafna fjuri sbien .
In her garden there are a lot of beautiful flowers.
PRONOMINAL SUFFI XES WITH NOUNS

In Maltese there are some nouns to which may be added the

pronominal suffixes. These nouns usually refer to parts of the
bOdy (head , ear, mouth) and to relationships such as close
relatives. However, there are also a few other nouns which may
have the suffix attached to them .

The prepositions ma' with and ta' of are given below with the
affixation of the pronominal suffixes. It is best to learn these

62

63

Nouns denoting Parts of the Body

Rasu hija kbira nafna.
Gnajnek gnandha infezzjoni .
Idi hija zgnira.

His head is very big.

Your (sing) eye has an infection.
My hand is small.

Nouns denoting Relatives

Missieri jnobb I-Gnid u I-Milied . My father loves Easter and
Christmas.
Huna u ontna huma fernanin .
Our brother and our sister
are happy.
Ommi gnandha pacenzja kbira. Our mother is very patient.
Other Nouns
Xognolhom hu diffiCli nafna.
Darna hija zgnira izda nadifa.
Hajtu hija mimlija dwejjaq.

Their work is very difficult.

Our house is small but clean.
His life is full of sorrow.

SECTION A

Word List
infezzjoni (f) , infezzjon ijiet (pi)
fuq
fost
mingnajr
gnand
pacenzja (f)
xognol (m) , xognlijiet (pi)
najja (f)
skola (f) , skejjel (pi)
tal-naxix (m & f)
tal-nobz (m & f)
tal-pastizzi (m & f)
tal-nelu (m & f)
Provid enza (f)
tramuntana (f)
nofs in-nhar (m)
Ivant (m)

64

infections
on
among
without
at the house of/ at
patience
works
life
schools
the green-grocer
the bread vendor
the cheesecakes seller
the c onfectioner
Providence
north
south
east

punent (m)
gnalqa (f), gnelieqi (pi)
specjali (m & f, sing & pi)
mhux biss
il-nin

west
fields
special
not only
the time

Now try these exercises:

Exercise One
First translate the following words and then attach the
pronominal suffixes to the following prepositions and nouns
as shown in the following:
Mingnajr

Without

Mingnajri
Mingnajrek
Mingliajru
Mingnajrha
Mingnajrna
Mingnajrkom
Mingnajrhom

without me
without you (sing)
without him
without her
without us
without you (pi)
without them

On ; like; under; with ; of; head ; eye ; hand ; house ; sister; mother;
father.

Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:
1. Joe runs towards the house with Maria's dog .
2. The teacher will go to school with them (the children) .
3. Our dresses are red like Maria's. Ours (dresses) are like
hers.
4. The old man lives by the sea. His son lives with him.
5. The dog goes on the black box. The dog goes on it (the box) .
6. The girl will have the book with her.

65

Exercise Three
~

Express in English:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Joe jigri d-dar mal-kelb tiegni.

L-gnalliema sejra tmur I-iskola magnhom .
II-libsa tagnha hija namra bnal tat-tfa!.
Ix-xin jgnix Mejn il-banar mal-mara tiegnu u mat-tfal ta' ontu .
It-tifla sejra jkollha I-ktieb magnha .
AgM I-ktieb liI Joe.
In-nisa sejrin ikunu mingnajr flus dalwaqt.
II-Malti gnandu nafna kliem Taljan u Inglii.

SECTION B
Word Ust
nandikappat (m) nandikappati (pi)
kumpanija (f)
fil-fatt
daqs
ckejken (m), ckejkna (f), ckejknin (pi)
kapitali (f)
gnalkemm
iiiejjed
qaddis patrun (m)
barra
atmosfera (f)
tiijin (pi)
fortunatament
sfortunatament
favorit (m), favorita (f), favoriti (pi)
murtal (m), murtali (pi)
Mura (f)
biex
temp
kullimkien
liaga
paci
poplu
kulnadd
noss (m), nsejjes (pi)
bionn (m), bionnijiet (pi)
kif ukoll

86

handicapped
company
in fact
size
small/young
capital
.although
too much
patron saint
outside
atmosphere
decorations
fortunately
unfortunately
favourite
. petards
greenery
in order to
weather
everywhere
thing
peace
people
everyone
s'ounds
needs
as well

mar
mur! (sing); morru! (pi)

to go
go!

gawda
gawdil (sing); gawdu! (pi)

to enjoy
enjoy!

qaleb
aqlebl (sing); aqilbul (pi)

to turnlchange
turn/change!

seta'
ista'! (sing); istgnu! (pi)

to be able
be able!

qal
gnid! (sing) ; gnidul (pi)

to say
say!

daqq
doqql (sing); doqqu! (pi)

to play (an instrument)

play!

gab
gib! (sing); gibu! (pi)

to bring
bring!

naseb
anseb! (sing); ansbu! (pi)

to think
think!

67

Exercise Four
First express in English and then answer in Maltese the
questions set:

Ir-Rebbiegfla f'Malta
Wielied mill-istaguni tas-sena huwa r-rebbieglia u glial Iiafna
Maltin dan huwa I-istagun favorit taglihom .
F'dan I-istagun it-tfal gliandhom il-vaganzi ta' I-Gliid u glialhekk
gliandhom il-Iiin kollu biex igawdu n-natura meta jmorru f'xi
glialqa biex jaraw il-Iidura u I-fjuri bil-kuluri sbieli taglihom blial :
alimar, isfar, alidar, iklial , abjad u kannella.
Sfortunatament, I-istagun tar-rebbieglia mhux twil f'Malta gliax
wara x-xahar ta' April , it-temp jinbidel , u I-arja tislion u malajr jigi
s-sajf .
(a) Liema stagun huwa I-favorit ta' Iiafna Maltin?
(b) Liema vaganzi jkollhom it-tfal fir-rebbieglia?
(c) Kif igawdu n-natura I-Maltin?

Exercise Five
First translate into English and then answer in Maltese the
questions set:

II-Knejjes Maltin
Malta gliandha Iiafna knejjes kbar u sbieli. Fil-faU, gliad-daqs
tagliha, tista' tgliid Ii f'kull ralial hemm knisja sabilia u li gliandha
storja twila.

Sfortunatament, f'dawn il-festi jkun hem m wisq storbju mhux

tal-banda li ddoqq marci ferrielia , iida tal-murtali qawwija Ii
jinstemgliu tista' tgliid minn kullimkien. Glialkemm hi Iiaga
sabilia li wielied igawdi I-festa tal-patrun tar-ralial tiegliu , imma
hemm bionn wielied jiftakar Ii mhux kulliadd iliobb il-murtali
qawwija. Ix-xjuli u I-morda gliandhom bionn il-paCi u I-kwiet u
nafna drabi t-tfal igliar jibigliu mill-Iisejjes tal-murtali.
Gnalihom , il-murtali huma tal-biia' u mhux ta' ferli.
(a) X'jaglimel il-festa tar-ralial sabilia?
(b) X'hemm fil-festi li jdejqu lit-tfal u lix-xjuli?

Exercise Six
Express in English:

Id-Oar tal-Providenza
Ir-ralial igliir u kwiet tas-Siggiewi huwa fin-nofs in-nhar tal-giira
ta' Malta.
Hafna nies jafu b'dan ir-ralial glial dawn ir-ragunijiet: (i) is-Siggiewi
gliandu Iiafna glielieqi u sigar kbar u glialhekk, il-Maltin imorru
hemmhekk biex igawdu n-natura; (ii) f'dan ir-ralial hemm post
specjali - id-Oar tal-Providenza. Fiha jgliixu nies li gliandhom
bionnijiet specjali. Hemm bionn Iiafna flus glial din id-dar.
II-poplu Malti hu wielied generui u qalbu tajba. Glialdaqstant,
il-Maltin jaglitu Iiafna flus. lida n-nies jaglitu mhux biss il-flus ,
imma wkoll il-Iiin taglihom billi jgliinu lill-Iiandikappati bil-kumpanija
tagnhom .

Fost il-knejjes sbieli gliandna I-katidral fiI-belt qadima u kwieta

ta' I-Imdina, kif ukoll il-knisja ta' San Gwann fiI-belt kapitali ta'
Malta, Valletta.
II-poplu Malti hu wielied li jliobb iiejjen il-knejjes tiegliu ,
glialkemm xi drabi naliseb li jiejnu ftit iiiejjed.
Fis-sajf ikun hemm il-festi tradizzjonali tal-qaddis patrun talknisja tar-ralial jew tal-belt. F'jum il-festa, il-knisja jkollha Iiafna
nies minn barra r-ralial biex igawdu I-atmosfera ferrielia kif ukoll
it-tiijin .

68

69

Lesson Twelve
Numbers and How to Tell the Time
NUMBERS
The cardinal numbers in Maltese undergo some changes when
they are followed by a noun. Although in Section B of Lesson
Four the numbers from 1 to 12 were listed, yet no explanation
was given as regards the changes these numbers undergo
when followed by a noun. The following cardinal numbers
(1-20) do not precede nouns.
THE CARDINAL NUMBERS
1
2
3
4

5
6
7
8
9
10

wielied
tnejn
tlieta
erbglia
liamsa
sitta
sebglia
tmienja
disglia
gliaxra

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

lidax
tnax
tlettax
erbatax
limistax
sittax
sbatax
tmintax
dsatax
glioxrin

Some of the cardinal numbers undergo minor changes when

followed by a noun . Moreover, all the nouns following the
numbers (2-10) are in the plural as in the following examples:
A monosyllabic noun
. 1 wielied (m) , walida (f)

2. iewgt
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

tlett
erbat
liamest
sitt
sebat
tmint
disat
gliaxart

A polysyllabic noun
wielied (m) , walida (f)

iewg
tliet
erba'
liames
sitt
seba'
tmien
disa'
gliaxar

71

The numbers 11-19 remain the same when followed by either

a monosyllabic and/or polysyllabic nouns. It is also important
to note that: (i) the number is followed by -iI and (ii) the noun
which follows is in the singular and nO.t in the plural as for the
numbers 2-10:
e.g. lidax-il sigra (sing)
e.g. names siggijiet (pi)

eleven trees
five chairs

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

eleven women
twelve boys
thirteen dogs
fourteen houses
fifteen beds
sixteen men
seventeen tables
eighteen armchairs
nineteen gardens

lidax-il mara
tnax-il tifel
tlettax-il kelb
erbatax-il dar
nmistax-il sodda
sittax-il ragel
sbatax-il mejda
tmintax-il pultruna
dsatax-il gnien

The following are other commonly used cardinal numbers:

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
101
72

gnoxrin
wiened u gnoxrin
tnejn u gnoxrin
tlieta u gnoxrin
erbgna u gnoxrin
namsa u gnoxrin
sitta u gnoxrin
sebgna u gnoxrin
tmienja u glioxrin
disgna u glioxrin
tletin
wiened u tletin
erbgnin
namsin
sittin
sebgnin
tmenin
disgliin
mija
mija u wielied

102
103
1000
1,000,000
500,000
250,000

mija u tnejn
mija u tlieta
elf
miljun
nofs miljun (half a million)
kwart ta' miljun (a quarter of a million)

To sum up it is important to note that :

(i)

From 2-10 the noun that follows is in the plural;

e.g. sitt iqtates 6 cats

(ii)

From 11-19 the noun that follows is in the singular;

e.g . tnax-il gnien 12 gardens

(iii) From 20-101 the noun that follows is in the singular;

e.g . namsa u liamsin mara 55 women
(iv) From 102-110 the noun that follows is in the plural ;
e.g . mija u tliet siggijiet 103 chairs
(v) From 111-119 the noun that follows is in the singular;
e.g . mija u tmintax-il tifel 118 boys
How

TO T ELL THE TIME

Once you know the cardinal numbers it is not at all difficult to

learn how to go about telling the time in Maltese . In response
to the question X'hin huwa? What time is it? (What is the time?),
the answer may be for example: is-sitta six o'clock.
The first thing that one should notice about the Maltese answer
is that there is no equivalent for the English word o'clock.
Knowing the numbers from 1 to 60 will enable you to tell the time .
is-sieglia
is-saglitejn
it-tlieta
I-erbglia
il-liamsa
is-sitta
is-sebgna

one o'clock
two o'clock
three o'clock
four o'clock
five o'clock
six o'clock
seven o'clock

73

it-tmienja
id-disgna
I-gnaxra
il-Max
nofs in-nhar
nofs il-Iejl

eight o'clock
nine o'clock
ten o'clock
eleven o'clock
noon; mid-day
twelve o'clock; midnight

From the above it is evident that the only numbers which differ
from the cardinal numbers are: is-siegna one o'clock; is-sagntejn
two o'clock; nofs in-nhar noon; nofs il-Iejl midnight. In Maltese for
times before noon we say filgnodu (in the morning) ; for times after
noon , we say wara nofs in-nhar (in the afternoon) and we say
filgnaxija when it is after 6 p.m .
1 a.m.
e.g. is-siegna ta' filgnodu
e.g is-sagntejn ta' wara nofs in-nhar 2 p.m.
12.00 noon
e.g . nofs in-nhar
24.00
midnight
e.g. nofs il-Iejl
past
ten
minutes
e.g. I-gnaxra u gnaxra
ten o'clock (to. 10)
ten minutes to
e.g . I-gnaxra neqsin gnaxra
ten o'clock (9.50)

Learn this table:

Sittin sekonda jagnmlu minuta
Sittin minuta jagnmlu siegna
Erbgna u gnoxrin siegna
jagnmlu gurnata
Sebat ijiem jagnmlu gimgna
Erba' gimgnat jagnmlu xahar
Tnax-il xahar jagnmlu sena

60 seconds make a minute

60 minutes make an hour
24 hours make a day

7 days make a week

4 weeks make one month
12 months make one yea r

SECTION A

Word List
gnoxrin
tletin
erbgnin
namsin
sittin
sebgnin
tmenin
disgnin
mija
elf (m) , eluf (pi)
miljun (m), miljuni (pi)
nofs miljun
kwart ta' miljun

twenty
thirty
forty
fifty
sixty
seventy
eighty
ninety
hundred
thousands
millions
half a million
a quarter of a million

kiber
ikber! (sing) ; ikbru! (pi)

to grow up
grow up!

studja
studja! (sing) ; studjaw! (pi)

to study
study!

gnallem
to teach
gnallem! (sing); gnallmu! (pi) teach!
kien
kun! (sing) ; kunu! (pi)

to be
become!

emmen
to believe
emmen! (sing); emmnu! (pi) believe!

74

investa
investi! (sing); investu ! (pi)

to invest
invest!

nesa
insa! (sing); insew! (pi)

to forget
forget!

75

organizza
organizza! (sing); organizzaw! (pi)

to organise
organise!

biegli
bigli! (sing) ; bigliu! (pi)

to sell
se//!

Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
75 chairs; 121 dogs; 5 tomatoes ; 7 tables; half a kilo zucchini;
a kilo oranges; 18 cats; 45 pounds (currency) ; half a million
pounds ; one quarter of a million Italians; 103 rabbits .

Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:
1. Carmen and Charles have two children , while Maria and Joe
have seven .
2. There are five trees near the old tree in the small villag e.
3. The grocer does not have a kilo oranges and half a kilo
pears .
4. The two women go to (the) church .
5. The confectioner has a lot of sugared almonds and
chocolate .
6. There are three tailors , eleven teachers, nine architects, two
pharmacists and a doctor in the large village.
7. I shall go to the old woman next week.

SECTION B
Word List
sekonda (f) , sekondi (pi)
minuta (f) , minuti (pi)
sieglia (f) , sigliat (pi)
gurnata (f) , granet (pi)
filgliodu
nofs il-Iejl

76

seconds
minutes
hours
days
(in the) morning
midnight

nofs in-nhar
il-Iiin
x'liin huwa
u kwart
u nofs
bringiela (f) , bringiel (pi)
neqsin
kilo (m), kilojiet (pi)
nofs kilo
metru (m), metri (pi)
tuiiana
baj da (f), bajd (pi)
tadama (f) , tadam (pi)
miljun (m) , miljuni (pi)
qargliabaglilija (f) , qargliabaglili (pi)
faio la (sing & pi)
Iijara (f), Iijar (pi)
lira (f) , liri (pi)
madwar
fakulta (f) , fakultajiet (pi)
ixxu.rtjat (m) , ixxurtjata (f) , ixxurtjati (pi)
dedlkat (m) , dedikata (f) , dedikati (pi)
dipendenti
indipendenti
genitu r (m & f) , genituri (pi)
investiment (m) , investimenti (pi)
edukazzjoni (f)
tajjeb/alijar/I-alijar
'il quddiem
popol azzjoni
maq rut (m) , imqaret (pi)
bionn
it-Ual tat-Ual
b'hekk
emigrazzjoni (f)
lingwa (f), lingwi (pi)

noon/twelve o'clock
the time
what is the time ?
quarter past
half past
aubergines
to (the hour)
kilo/s
half a kilo
metres
one dozen
eggs
tomatoes
millions
marrows
beans
cucumbers
pounds (currency)
about
faculties
lucky
dedicated
dependent
independent
parents
investments
education
good/better/best
in front of
population
date slices
need
the grand-children
in this way
emigration
languages

Exercise Three
Answer in Maltese the following questions as in the following
example:

e.g. How many minutes are there in half an hour? Tletin minuta.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

How
How
How
How
How
How

many
many
many
many
many
many

months are there in one year?

days are there in a week?
minutes are there in a quarter of an hour?
hours are there in one day?
minutes are there in half an hour?
months are there in two years?

Exercise Four
Write the time in Maltese:

e.g. 5.45 a.m.

is-sitta neqsin kwart ta' filgflOdu

4.00 pm ; 9.00 pm ; 2.00 am ; 3.30 pm; 6.15 pm; 11 .30 pm ;

1.30 pm; 7.50 am .

Exercise Five
Express in English:

L-Universita. ta' Malta

gnax I-Universita hi b'xejn u I-istudenti gnandhom stipendju kull

xahar biex jixtru I-kotba u biex ma jkunux dipendenti fuq
il-genituri tagnhom .
II-poplu Malti jinvesti nafna flus fuq dawn iz-zgnazagn gnax
jemmen li I-investiment fl -edukazzjoni hu I-aqwa investiment
f' pajjiz li jnares 'il quddiem!

Exercise Six
Express in English:

L-Emigrazzjoni
II-popolazzjoni ta' Malta u tal-gzira ta' fldejha, Gnawdex, hi ta'
anqas minn nofs miljun . Gnaldaqstant, hem m nafna Maltin u
Gnawdxin li jgnixu I-Awstalja, I-Amerika, il-Kanada u I-Ingilterra.
Gnalkemm dawn I-emigranti ma jgnixux f'pajjizhom , izda huma
qatt majinsew lil Malta. L-emigranti huma kburin bil-kultura Maltija
u gnalhekk jorganizzaw festi tradizzjonali Maltin bnall- Karnival ,
il-festa ta' San Pawl , il-Milied u I-Gnid.
L-attivitajiet kulturali Maltin huma importanti biex izommu I-kultura
najja, izda hemm bzonn li I-lingwa Maltija jitkellmuha mhux biss
ix-xjun izda wkoll it-tfal tagnhom u t-tfal tat-tfal. B'hekk, il-kultura
Maltija tkun b'sannitha, gnax hija I-lingwa Maltija dik Ii tagntina
I-identita tagnna.

L-Universita ta' Malta gnandha erba' mitt sena. Hija waflda

mill-eqdem universitajiet fiI-Commonwealth.
L-Universita tikber minn sena gnal onra . Tnax-il sena ilu kien
hem m biss madwar tmien mitt student jistudja, filwaqt li issa
hemm xi namest elef student. Hemm numru kbir ta' studenti
nisa Ii jistudjaw il-mediCina, il-farmaCija, ix-xjenza, u hemm
ukoll dawk li jistudjaw biex isiru inginiera.
II-fakultajiet ta' I-Arti, ta' I-Edukazzjoni u tal-Ligi huma kbar
u I-istudenti f'dawn il-fakultajiet jistudjaw nafna gnax hem m
kompetizzjoni kbira.
L-istudenti Maltin u Gnawdxin huma xxurtjati nafna mhux biss
gnax gnandhom professuri bravi biex jgnallmuhom , izda wkoll

78

79

KEY TO EXERCISES
LESSON ONE
Exercise One
1. Zunzana
2. Qavetta
3. Zija
4. Gnien
5. jjobza
6. Gflasfur
7 . Grazzi
8. tiuwa
9. jjalib
10. Ziju
11 . tiena
12. Gzira
13. Zarbun

~ebra

cheese
bi~

lustice
borse
dough
good
beir
bam
ki~

bonour
gold
~odiac

Exercise Two
1. Gfl ; h.
2. C; g; fl ; q; x; z; z
3. b; d; f; g; j; k; I; m; n; p; r; s; t; v; w.

Exercise Three
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.
9.
10

Zokkor
Qurkett
Zejt
Gallarija
jjanut
Gflax
Xagflar
turnata
jju
Jew

bits
child
~ebra

girl
bouse
though
shoe
lob
bair
t ellow

83

Exercise Four

Exercise Four

Gnasfur a bird; jiena I; mara a woman/wife; tifla a girl; pastizz a

cheesecake; karozza a car; langasa a pear, nannu a grandfather
periklu danger; pultruna an armchair, siggu a chair, bieb a door,
issa now; pranzu lunch; fenek a rabbit, festa a feast, gnada
tomorrow, gnax because; libsa a dress; le no; mejda a table;
malajr soon/quickly, nanna a grandmother, ziju an uncle; qalb a
heart, sodda a bed; ras a head; sena a year, ritratt a photo;
vaganza a holiday.

Cavetta a key, bieb a door, dan this; fjura a flower, 6urkett a ring;
Cikkulata a chocolate; gurnata a day, gnasfur a bird; gnax
because; nu brother, nalib milk; giira an island; grazzi thank
you; karozza a car, missier a father, qattus a cat; ragel a man/
husband; ziju an uncle; tifel a boy/son.

LESSON THREE
Exercise One

LESSON TWO

1. Tieg)}i

Exercise One

Qawsalla
MiegflU
Kewkba
TiegDi

nice
nQw
know
sew
day

1. 6nmar
2. Qmm
3. Id
4. Ukoll
5. .Elf

father
Qn
sheep
bytcher
s~11

Exercise Two

6. B~b
7 . Ilma

sheet
bill

A garden gnien; he hu/huwa; January Jannar, a room kamra ;

a dog kelb; a bird gflasfur, a mouse gurdien; a flower fjura ; this
dan; a chocolate cikkulata; a brother flu; because gflax; I jiena;
oil iejt, sun xemx; valley wied; shoe iarbuna ; a chair siggu; a
table mejda; bed sodda; a girl/daughter titla; hair xagflar, a knife
sikkina; an ear widna; rain xita; a grandfather nannu; a heart
qalb; sugar zokkor, a wasp iuniana.

Exercise Two
1. Lyminata
2. Kif
3. Gn~n
4. RQza

pyt
leak
seat
Qver

5. M~diCina
6. 6rja

car

I~t

Exercise Three
Yellow isfar, sky sema; cold kiesafl; yes iva; how kit, lunch
pranzu; bucket/pail barmil; doll pupa; lemonade luminata ;
pocket but, air arja; post posta; water ilma; crib presepju; turkey
dundjan; happiness hena.

84

2.
3.
4.
5.

Exercise Three
Iva yes; fern happiness; pranzu lunch ; medi6ina a medicine; kif
how, isfar yellow, eiempju example; anmar I red; luminata a
lemonade; bajda an egg; tiegni mine; tiegnu his; fejn where;
dgnajsa a boat, gnuda a wood; mija a hundred; dija brightness;
kewkba a star, qawsalla a rainbow.

85

LESSON FOUR

Exercise Five

Exercise One

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A vase vaiun; a table mejda; a chair siggu; a garden gnien; a

wasp iuniana ; a sea banar, a key cavetta; a boat dgflajsa ; a
flower fjura ; yellow isfa r, red anmar, a bird gnasfur, a shop
nanut, a fire nar, a man/husband ragel; sugar zokkor, oil iejt,
an ear widna; a girl/daughter titla ; a bed sodda.

tlieta u erbglia = sebglia

wielied u tnejn u sitta = disglia
Iiamsa u sebglia = tnax
tmienja u tlieta = Iidax
gliaxra u tnejn = tnax

LESSON FIVE
Exercise Two
1. Blial ; glial; ta'; ma'; fi ; bi ; fuq .
2. Quddiem ; wara; talit; Iidejn; lejn .
3. The definite article assimilates itself with these sounds .

Exercise Three
Glial vaganza for a holiday, fuq il-Iumija on the lemon ;
talit ic-cavetta under the key, bejn in-nies between/among the
people; maz-zija with the aunt, fuq is-siggu on the chair,
tat-tifel of the boy/the boy's; blial qawsalla like a rainbo w,
fil-karozza in the car, gliar-ragel for the man/husband; wara
I-vazun behind the vase; quddiem iz-ziju in front of the uncle;
bejn is-sodda u s-siggu between the bed and the chair, ta' tifla
of a girl/daughter or a girl's/ a daughter's; iI-kelb u I-q~ttus the
dog and the cat, il-but tat-tifel the boy's pocket, il-Gimglia,
is-Sibt, iH,add u t-Tnejn Friday, Saturday, Sunday and
Monday.

Exercise Four
Near Maria's chair ndejn is-siggu ta ' Marija; under the table tant
il-mejda; in the woman 's/wife's car fil-karozza tal-mara ; with
Joe ma ' Joe; towards the door lejn il-bieb; between the cat and
the dog bejn il-qattus u I-kelb; in Carmen's family fil-familja ta '
Carmen; for a boy/son gnal tifel; in the father's pocket
fil-but tal-missier; the first cat I-ewwel qattus; 5 and 10 namsa
u gnaxra ; 1 and 6 wiened u sitta; the third man/husband it-tielet
ragel; the tenth woman I-gnaxar mara.

86

Exercise One
1. Maria has a house in the countryside .
2. Mario has a cat, a dog and a duck in his garden .
3 . The mother and the father are on the grandmother's
roof.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Carmen 's daughter has a big box under the bed .

The grandfather's pipe is on the kitchen table.
Maria's husband is right.
How are you today? Fine thank you .
Who is that boy? He is Francesco's cousin.
Where is Mark? He is in Mario's sitting room.

Exercise Two
1. It-tifel hu wara s-siggu .
2. II-kelb hu fuq il-bejt.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

C,a rmen u Francesco gnandhom kelb u qattus fir-razzett.

X gliandu Sean? Xejn.
Jiena gliandi I-guli u huma gliandhom I-gliatx.
Anna gliandna tort u inti gnandek ragun.
F~jn hi Marija? Hija fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tifel ta ' Mark.
Mm hu Francis? Hu t-tifel ta' George u Simone u I-kugin ta'
Francesco u Carmen .
9. X'gliandha I-om m fuq is-siggu? Gliandha laringa u lumija.
10. Kemm gliandek flus fiI-bank? Ftit.
11. I~-xhu r tas~sena huma: Jannar, Frar, Marzu, April , Mejju,
GunJu , LulJu , Awissu , Settembru , Ottubru Novembru u
'
Dicembru .

87

12. II-granet tal-gimgna huma sebgna: it-Tnejn , it-Tlieta,

I-Erbgna, il-l9amis, il-Gimgna, is-Sibt u 1-l9add.
13. Mario: X'hemm , I-gnodwa t-tajba, Mark. Kif int?
Mark: Tajjeb grazzi u int?
Mario: Hekk u hekk, bnal xin .
Mark: Sanna Mario.
Mario: Is-sliem Mark.
Mark: Narak!

LESSON SIX

8.
9.
10.
11 .
12.
13.

The woman/wife
The bitch
The chair
The problem
The face
The wate r
The sky
The lawyer
The tailor
God
The rainbow
The hospital
The doctor (f)

F/a
F/a
M/u
F/a
M/consonant
M/exception
M/exception
M/consonant
M/consonant
M/exception
F/a
M/consonant
F/a

Exercise Two
Ix-xemx (f) the sun; iz-zejt (m) oil; it-tazza (f) the glass; ilpjazza (f) the square; il-Iumija (f) the lemon; il-knisja (f) the
church; id-dar (f) the house; in-nar (m) the fire; il-belt (f) the
town ; il-libsa (f) the dress; iI-lampa (f) the lamp; il-nalib (m)
the milk; il-librerija (f) the bookcase/ library, I-imgnarfa (f) the
spoon; il-platt (m) the plate.

Exercise Three
Id-dentist (m) dentist id-dentista; il-kelb (m) the dog il-kelba;
it-tabib (m) the doctor it-tabiba; il-najjat (m) tailor il-najjata;

88

Exercise Four
Ragel qasir a short man; tifel kwiet a quiet boy; sema sabin a
beautiful sky, mara noxna a fat woman; karozza zgliira a small
car, tifel qasir a short boy, mara biezla an industrious womantifla samra a dark girl; kcina malimuga a dirty kitchen; kamr~
tal-banju nadifa a clean bathroom; kugin gliazzien a lazy cousin.

Exercise Five

Exercise One
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6
7.

I-gnalliem (m) the teacher I-gnalliema; il-qattus (m) the tom-cat

il-qattusa ; il-perit (m) the architect il-perit; il-kittieb (m) the writer
il-kittieba; I-ispizjar (m) the pharmacist I-ispizjara.

It-tifl.a z-zgliira the small girl; it-tifel iI-mistlii the shy boy, it-tifla
I-kwleta the quiet girl; ir-ragel is-sabili the handsome manil-k~lb il-mali~ug the dirty dog; the good orange il-Iaring~
t-tajba; II-famllJa s-sinjura the wealthy family.

Exercise Six
Talja~.~

Italian; mistliija shy, tifla girl; Torka Turk; Maltija Maltese;

French; Kanadi~a Canadian; Gliawdxija Gozitan;
~ wstralJana Australian; Ciprijotta Cypriot, Griega Greek;
Germaniza German; Gliarbija Arab.
Fra nclz~

Exercise Seven
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Maria's husband is fat and tall.

Who are Maria and Francis? They are Joe's children .
Sean is the young son of the Fenech family .
Mario is tall and handsome like Maria's uncle.
Mark and Mario are hungry and thirsty.
The old man and th e tall woman are right.
Carmen Maria is only one year old and is Francesco's sister.
The beautiful house has a big dining room , a bedroom, a
small kitchen, a bathroom and a big garden .
9. The Maltese girl and the Japanese boy are in the poor
man's small house.
10. How much money do the woman and the man of the poor
family have? A little.

89

Exercise Eight
1. II-Griega, it-Taljan , il-Germaniza u I-Malti huma fis-salott

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

10.

ma' nies onra .

Fir-ranal hemm pjazza kbira u sigra zgliira.
L-ilsien tat-tifel I-Amerikan hu I-Ingliz.
Joe hu ragel gliani imma hu generuz mat-tifel il-fqir.
II-mara s-sabina gliandha ragel gnazzien u tifla biezla.
II-Kanadiz it-twil hu bjond , dnuli u fernan .
II-problema ta' Marija hija gdida.
Fil-librerija hemm lampa kbira u tazza malimuga.
L-isptar il-qadim hu zgliir izda nadif.
L-gliarus u I-gnarusa huma hawn .

LESSON SEVEN
Exercise One
Tfal manmugin dirty children; nisa ndaf clean women; nanniet
xjun old grandparents; rgiel twal tall men; tfal gnaqlin wise
children; frieket qodma old forks ; kuccarini ndaf clean
teaspoons; spallejn kbar big shoulders; widnejn zgnar small
ears; tfal gnazzenin lazy children; Maltin gnaqlin wise Maltese;
missirijiet kwieti quiet fathers; rgiel tajbin good men.

Exercise Three
1. In-nannu hu ma' mara xina fid-dar il-kbira.
2. It-tifel u t-tifla huma fuq is-siggu .
3. Iz-ziju I-gnaref hu fuq is-sodda z-zgnira.
4. II-Karnival u I-Gnid huma festi kbar.
5. Iz-zwiemel u I-nmir huma fil-gnien il-kbir mat-tfa!.
6. Fir-ra~zett ~emm zwiemel , nmir, qtates kbar u klieb zgnar.
7. Fuq 1-lmweJjed hem m frieket , skieken u mgnaref.
8. Ir-raflliala gliandhom fniek u klieb fiI-pjazza .
9. II-knejjes f'Malta huma qodma izda sbien .

LESSON EIGHT
Exercise One
Tansel to wash
~iena nansel , inti tansel , huwa jansel , hija talisel , anna nanslu ,
Into m tanslu , huma janslu .

t=tabb to love
~iena nliobb , inti tnobb, huwa jliobb , hija tliobb , alina nnobbu ,

Intom tnobbu, huma jnobbu.

t=tadem to work

Exercise Two

1. Iz-zijiet huma fil-gonna z-zgnar mat-tfal il-kwieti. The uncles

Jien nandem , inti tandem , huwa jalidem , hija tandem , alina

nalidmu , intom tandmu , huma jandmu .

and the aunts are in the small gardens with the quiet children.
2. In-nanniet huma fid-djar taz-zijiet. The grandparents are in
the uncles' and aunts ' houses.
3. Iz-zwiemel u I-nmir huma fl-irziezet il-kbar tan-nanniet. The
horses and the donkeys are in the grandparents' big
farmhouses.

4. II-qtates u I-klieb huma fuq il-bjut tar-ranlin. The cats and

dogs are on the villagers ' roofs.

Gnamel to do/to make

Jiena naglimel , inti tagnmel , huwa jagnmel , hija tagnmel , alina
nagnmlu , intom tagnml u, huma jaglimlu.
Ta to give
~iena nagnti , inti tagliti , huwa jagnti , hija tagliti , anna nagntu ,
Into m tagntu , huma jagntu .

5. II-bnadar tal-pajjizi gnandhom nafna kuluri. The countries '

flags have many colours.

90

91

Fehem to understand
Jiena nifhem, inti tifhem , huwa jifhem , hija tifhem , afma nifhmu,
intom tifhmu , huma jifhmu .
Kines to sweep
Jiena niknes , inti tiknes , huwa jiknes , hija tiknes, alina nikinsu,
intom tikinsu , huma jikinsu.
Xtara to buy
Jiena nixtri, inti tixtri , huwa jixtri , hija tixtri , alina nixtru, intom
tixtru, huma jixtru.

Exercise Four
1. The seasons of the year are four: spring, summer, autumn, winter.
2. T~e colours that I love/like are eight: black, green , brown ,
pink, blue , white , gray and yellow.
3. The Italian flag is green , white and red.
4. The red dress is dirty.
5. The clean boy is sturdy.
6. A Greek woman is a beautiful woman .
7. The wise old man is near the shy woman.
8. The big tree is very beautiful.
9. Simone loves a big garden with flowers.
10. While Mario is the eldest son of the Borg family, Maria is
the youngest daughter of the Fenech family .

Exercise Two
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Hija taqra Iiafna kotba. She reads many/a lot of books.

Alina nizfnu fiI-pjazza. We dance in the square.
Huma jaglimlu Iiafna storbju . They make a lot of noise.
Jiena nixtri Iiafna laring. I buy many oranges.
Huwa jliobb is-sigar il-kbar. He loves the big trees.
Hija tpoggi s-siggijiet fiI-kamra tal-banju. She puts the
chairs in the bathroom.
7. Alina nalidmu kuljum . We work every day.
8. Jiena nsajjar kull nhar ta' Sibt. I cook every Saturday.
9. Huwa jisraq Iiafna flus . He steals a lot of money.
10. Alina naglitu Iiafna laring u langas. We give a lot of oranges
and pears.
11. Huma jnobbu I-klieb u I-qtates. They love the dogs and the
cats.
12. Alina nifhmu I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti . We understand the
Maltese lesson.

Exercise Three
1. Huwa jalidem (liadem) . 2. Hija tIiobb (liabb) . 3. Inti tisraq
(seraq) . 4. Alina nilbsu (Iibes). 5. Intom issajru (sajjar) . 6. Jiena
nixtri (xtara). 7. Huma jilaglibu (Iagliab). 8. Marija u Mario
jaglitu (ta). 9. It-tfal jifhmu (fehem). 10. II-kelb jigri (gera).
12. In-nisa jpoggu (pogga). 13. Intom taglimlu (gliamel) .

92

Exercise Five
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

9.
10.
11 .
12.

Kul l gimglia t-tifel jaqra ktieb.

Marija ssajjar pranzu gliat-tfal.
Ir-rag el ta' Simone hu qawwi Iiafna u twil.
Kuljum, it-tfal jieklu Iiafna Iielu.
It-tifla s-sabilia tilbes il-libsa I-Iiamra.
Jiena nliobb il-Milied u I-Gliid.
Jiena gliandi kelb kannella u qattus iswed.
L-erb~' staguni huma: ir-rebbieglia, is-sajf, il-Iiarifa u x-xitwa.
Kull fllgliaxija , Marija u Joe jizfnu flimkien .
Huma gliandhom dar kbira bi gnien sabili .
Kull nhar ta' Tnejn , Mark jixtri laring , karrotti , u langas.
Kull xahar Carmen talisel is-siggu I-qadim fil-kcina .

Exercise Six
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

II-bandiera Maltija hija bajda u Iiamra.

F~ancesco Pio u Carmen huma fil -gni en tan-nannu.
Fllwaqt Ii Dicembru huwa xahar kiesali , Lulju hu sliun Iiafna.
Sean huwa tifel kwiet u wkoll mistlii .
Student Kanadiz huwa studjuz u gliaref.
~ra~cis gliandu karozza kbira, filwaqt li jiena gliandi kelb
zglilr u qattusa kbira.
7. L-~mm u I~missier gliandhom il-guli u I-gliatx.
8. It-tlfel u t-tlfla gliandhom ragun .

93

LESSON NINE
Exercise One

2
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

10.
11 .

Hija m'gliandhiex tifla u tifel. She does not have a son and
a daughter.
Alina ma nigrux lejn il-baliar. We do not run towards the sea.
Jiena m'iniex mara bjonda u twila. I am not a blond and tall
woman .
Huwa m'gliandux dar sabilia bi gnien kbir. He does not
have a beautiful house with a big garden.
Hija m'hijiex spizjara anzjana u gliarfa. She is not an
elderly and wise pharmacist.
M'humiex nisa tajbin. They are not good women .
Inti m'gliandekx liafna guli u gliatx. You are not very
hungry and thirsty.
.
.
It-tfal ma fehmux il-Iezzjoni tal-Malti. The children dId not
understand the Maltese lesson.
Marija u Mario m'humiex fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tfal.
Maria and Mario are not in the dining room with the
children.
Pierre ma jixtrix liafna laring u langas. Pierre does not buy
a lot of fruit and sweets.
It-tfal ma jaglimlux liafna storbju meta huma jilaglibu
I-futbol fit-triq. The children do not make a lot of noise when
they play football in the street.

Exercise Two
1. Inti tizfen tajjeb liafna. You dance very well.
2. Huma jliobbu lill-qtates u I-klieb. They love the cats and the dogs.
3. It-tfal jigru fir-razzett tan-nanniet. The children run in the
grandparents' farmhouse.
4. Marija tixtri libsa twila. Maria buys a long dress.
5. Jiena nikteb ktieb dwar I-istorja ta' Malta. I write a book on
the history of Malta.
.
6. II-missier jalidem fil-glialqa tan-nannu. The father works In
the grandfather's field.
7. In-nisa jsajru kuljum gliall-familji. The women cook every
day for the families.

94

8. Carmen tonfoq liafna flus fil-kotba ta' I-iskola. Carmen

spends a lot of money on school books.
9. Huwa jalisel lit-tifel il-malimug . He washes the dirty boy.
10. Mark jiknes I-art tad-dar il-kbira fil-kampanja . Mark sweeps
the floor of the big house in the countryside.

Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:

1. II-bandiera Maltija m'hijiex safra u liadra, izda bajda u

liam ra.
2. Francesco Pio u Carmen m'humiex hawn izda fir-razzett
tal -li bieb.
3. Filwaqt li Lulju m'hux xahar kiesali , Jannar m'hux sliun
izda kiesali liafna.
4. Francis huwa tife l biezel u studjuz.
5. Student German iz m'huwiex dejjem kwiet.
6. Francis m'gliandux karozza kbira blial Sean .
7. It-tifel u t-tifla ta' Mario m'humiex bil-guli u bil-gliatx.
8. It-tfal iz-zgliar m'gliandhomx ragun .
9. Glialkemm il-Iezzjoni m'hijiex diffiCli, Marija ma tifhemx
I-glialliem .
10. Ix-xjuli fil-pjazza jliobbu I-pastizzi u I-lielu.

Exercise Four
1. Ir-ragel ma jisraqx arloggi.
2. II-Maltin ma jonfqux liafna flus.
3. Joe ji knes il-gnien wara nofs in-nhar.
4. Marija and Carmen ma jilaglibux futbol , imma huma jilaglibu
tennis .
5. II-gardinar ma jaglitix ilma lis-sigar fil-gnien .
6. It-tfal ma jifhmux il-Iezzjoni.
7. F'Malta ma jkollniex xitwa twila.
8. II-lingwa Maltija m'hijiex diffi61i.

95

LESSON TEN
Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Fi ftit granet onra Mark ser jagnti lezzjoni fl-universita.

Hija sejra tikteb ittra lit-tifel fi ftit sign~t onr~ ..
Dalwaqt jiena sejra nagnti I-ktieb u 1-lIbsa III tlfla.
Huma sejrin jixtru I-naxix u I-frott mir-razzett.
.
Anna sejrin nanslu I-nwejjeg il-manmugin il-gi~gna d-dlenla.
Jiena sejjer naqra ktieb importanti x-xahar Id-dlenel.
Mario sejjer jafldem nafna s-sena d-dienla.
..
Joe u Mario ikollhom isajru I-pranzu gnall-familJa.
It-tfal serjin jizfnu fil-gnien wara nofs in-nhar.
It-tfal sejrin jifhmu I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti dalwaqt.

Exercise Two
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Marija m'hijiex sejra tpoggi I-frieket fuq il-mejda.

John m'huwiex sejjer jafldem fix-xhur Ii gejjin.
It-tifla z-zgnira m'hijiex sejra tisraq il-pupa.
It-tfal m'humiex sejrin jilagnbu mal-kelb .
Jiena sejra naqra I-ktieb fi ftit granet onra.
L-omm u I-missier ser ikollhom isajru I-ikla filgnaxija.

Exercise Three
1. Huwa sejjer iwiegeb. 2. Jiena sejjer immur. 3. In-nisa sejrin
jizfnu. 4. Anna sejrin nagnzlu . 5. Intom s~j~in taccetta,,:,: 6. I~tl
sejjer tgnin . 7. Hija sejra tqum. 8. Intom seJnn taslu. 9. HIJa seJra
tagnzel. 10. It-tifla sejra tpoggi.

Exercise Four
1. Marija m'hijiex sejra tansel il-nwejjeg il-manmugin il-gimgna
d-dienla.
2. Anna m'anniex sejrin naccettaw I-arlogg is-sabin .
3. Joe ma jgninx lil Marija filgnaxija.
4. Inti u t-tifel ikollkom tmorru fldejn il-knisja.
5. It-tfal sejrin ikollhom jafldmu nafna fis-sajf Ii gej.

96

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Marija sejra twiegeb I-ittra ta' Joe wara nofs in-nhar.

Pierre sejjer jixtri I-karozza I-gimgna Ii gejja.
Jiena sejjer ikolli nagnti I-ikel lit-tfal iz-zgnar.
II-kelb sejjer jigdem I-id tat-tifel iz-zgnir dalwaqt.
Ir-ragel ikollu jqajjem it-tife\.
Marija u Mario sejrin jandmu fuq progett importanti s-sena
d-dienla.
12. Anna sejrin inkunu fid-dar fil-ftit minuti Ii gejjin.

LESSON ELEVEN
Exercise One
Fuq on

Bnallike

Tant under

fuqi on me
fuqek on
you (sing)
fuqu on him
fuqha on her
fuqna on us
fuqkom on
you (pI)
fuqhom on them

bnali like me
bnalek like
you (sing)
bnalu like him
bnalha like her
bnalna like us
bnalkom like
you (pI)
bnalhom like them

tanti under me
talitek under
you (sing)
tantu under him
tantha under her
tantna under us
tantkom under
you (pI)
tanthom under them

Ma' with

Ta' of

Ras head

miegni with me
miegliek with
you (sing)
miegnu with him
magnha with her
magnna with us
maglikom with
you (pi)
magnhom with
them

tiegni mine

rasi my head

tieghek yours (sing) rasek your head (sing)

tiegnu his
rasu his head
tagnha hers
rasha her head
tagnna ours
rasna our head
taghkom yours (pi)
tagnhom theirs

raskom your head (pI)

rashom their head

97

Gflajn eye

Id hand

Oar house

gnajni my eye
gnajnek your
eye (sing)
gnajnu his eye
gnajnha her eye
gnajnna our eye
gnajnkom your
eye (pI)
gnajnhom their
eye

idi my hand
idek your
hand (sing)
idu his hand
idha her hand
idna our hand
idkom your
hand (pI)
idhom their hand

dari my house
darek your
house (sing)
daru his house
darha her house
darna our house
darkom your
house (pI)
darhom their house

Oht sister

Omm mother

Missier father

onti my sister
ontok your
sister (sing)
ontu his sister
ontha her sister
ontna our sister
ontkom your
sister (pI)
onthom their
sister

ommi my mother
ommok your
mother (sing)
ommu his mother
ommha her mother
ommna our mother
ommkom your
mother (pI)
ommhom their
mother

missieri my father
missierek your
father (sing)
missieru his father
missierha her father
missierna our father
missierkom your
father (pI)
missierhom their
father

Exercise Four
Spring in Malta
One of the seasons of the year is spring and for many Maltese
this is their favourite season .

Exercise Two
1. Joe jigri lejn id-dar mal-kelb ta' Marija.
2. L-gnalliem sejjer imu r I-iskola maglihom. ,
..
3. L-ilbiesi taglina huma liomor blial dawk ta ManIa. Huma
..,
blial tagliha.
.
,
4. Ir-ragel ix-xiii jgliix lidejn iI-baliar. IHlfel tIe.gliu Ig lilxhmlegliu .
5. II-kelb imur fuq il-kaxxa s-sewda. II-kelb Imur f uq a.
6. It-tifla sejra jkollha I-ktieb magliha.

Exercise Three
1. Joe runs home with his dog.
2. The teacher will go to school with them.
3. Her dress is red like the children 's.

98

4. The old man lives near the sea with his wife and his sister's
children.
5. The girl will have her own book.
6. Give the book to Joe.
7. The women will soon be without money.
8. Maltese has many Italian and English words .

During this season , the children have their Easter holidays and
thus have all the time to enjoy nature when they go in some field
to see the greenery and the flowers with their beautiful colours
like: red , yellow, green, blue, white and brown.
Unfortunately, spring is not a long season in Malta because after
the month of April , the climate changes and it becomes hot and
soon there is summer.
(a) L-istagun favorit tal-Maltin huwa r-rebbieglia.
(b) Fir-rebbieglia, it-tfal ikollhom il-vaganzi ta' I-Gliid.
(c) II-Maltin igawdu n-natura billi jmorru f'xi glialqa mimlija fjuri
b'liafna kuluri .
Exercise Five
Maltese Churches
Malta has many big and beautiful churches. In fact , for its size ,
one can say that in in every village there is a beautiful church
with a long history.
Among the beautiful churches , we have the cathedral in the old
and quiet city of Mdina, as well as the church of St John in
Vall etta, the capital city of Malta
The Maltese love decorating their churches, although , at times ,
I think that they overdecorate.

99

In summer the traditional feasts of the patron saint of the village

or city are held . On the feast day , the church attracts a lot of
people from outside the village who enjoy the happy
atmosphere as well as the decorations.
Unfortunately, these feasts are too noisy not because of the
band which plays joyful marches , but rather because of the
powerful petards which are heard , from practically everywhere.
Although it is a good thing for one to enjoy his village patron
saint's feast , yet it is important to remember that not everyone
enjoys the powerful petards. The old and the sick people need
peace and quiet, and very often small children are afraid of
the noises of the petards. For them, these petards instill fear
and not happiness.
(a) In-nies jiefldu gost bit-tizjin tal-knisja u tar-ranal , kif ukoll
bil-banda li ddoqq il-marci.
(b) Hafna tfal u xjun ma jnobbux il-nsejjes li jagnmlu I-murtali
fiI-festa.

LESSON TWELVE
Exercise One
Hams~ u sebgnin fenek ; mija wiened u gnoxrin kelb ; names
ta~amle~ ; sebat imwejjed; nofs kilo qargnabagnli; kilo laring ;
t~l.ntax-11 qattus; namsa u erbgnin lira; nofs miljun lira; kwart ta'

mllJun Taljani ; mija u tliet siggijiet.

Exercise Two
1. Carmen u Charles gnandhom zewgt itfal , filwaqt Ii Marija u
Joe gnandhom sebgna.
2. Hemm names sigriet fldejn is-sigra I-qadima fir-ranal iz-zgnir.
3. ~al.-naxix .m 'gnandux kilo laring u nofs kilo langas.
4. Iz-zewg nlsa jmorru I-knisja.
5. Tal-nelu gnandu nafna perlini u Cikkulata.
6. Hemm tliet najjata, fldax-iI gnalliem , disa' periti , zewg
spizjara u tabib fir-ranal il-kbir.
7. Jiena sejra mmur gnand in-nisa x-xjun il-gimgna d-dienla.

Exercise Six
The House of Providence
The small and quiet village of Siggiewi is in the south of the
island of Malta.
A lot of people know about this village for these reasons: (i)
Siggiewi has a lot of fields and big trees and thus, the Maltese
go there in order to enjoy nature ; (ii) in this village there is a
special place - The House of Providence. People with special
needs live in this house . A lot of money is needed to run this
house.
The Maltese people are generous and kind hearted. Thus, the
Maltese donate a lot of money. Yet it is not only money that
people give , but they also give their time by keeping company
to these handicapped people.

100

Exercise Three
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Hemm
Hemm
Hemm
Hemm
Hemm
Hemm

tnax-il xahar f'sena .

seba' granet f'gimgna .
nmistax-il minuta fi kwarta ta' siegna.
erbgna u gnoxrin siegna f'gurnata.
tletin minuta f'nofs siegna.
erbgna u gnoxrin xahar f'sentejn.

Exercise Four
L-erbgna ta' wara nofs in-nhar; id-disgna ta' filgnaxija; issagntejn ta' filgnodu ; it-tlieta u nofs ta' wara nofs in-nhar; is-sitta
u kwart ta' filgnaxija ; il-fldax u nofs ta' filgnaxija ; is-siegna u nofs
ta' wara nofs in-nhar; it-tmienja neqsin gnaxra ta' filgnodu.

101

Exercise Five

VERB LIST
The University of Malta

The University of Malta is four hundred years old . It is one of

the oldest universities in the Commonwealth .

The following is a list of verbs stems together with their

imperative forms :

The University grows from one yearto another. Twelve years ago
there were only about eight hundred students, while now there
are five thousand students. There are many female students who
study medicine, pharmacy, science and there are those who study
to become engineers.

To Accept
Accept!

accetta
accetta! (sing); accettaw! (pi)

To Arrive
Arrive!

wasal
asal! (sing) ; aslu! (pi)

To Be Able
Be Able!

seta'
ista'! (sing); istgliu! (pi)

To Become
Become!

sar
sir! (sing); siru! (pi)

To Believe
Believe!

em men
emmen! (sing) ; emmnu! (pi)

To Bite
Bite !

gidem
igdem! (sing) ; igdmu (pi)

To Bring
Bring !

gab
gib! (sing); gibu (pi)

To Buy
Buy!

xtara
ixtri! (sing); ixtru! (pi)

To Cook
Cook!

sajjar
sajjar! (sing); sajru! (pi)

To Do
Do!

gliamel
aglimel! (sing) ; aglimlu! (pi)

To Dance
Dance!

zifen
izfen! (sing); izfnu! (pi)

To Dress
Dress!

libes
IIbes! (sing); ilbsu (pi)

To Enjoy
Enjoy!

gawda
gawdi! (sing) ; gawdu ! (pi)

To Feel
Feel!

liass
lioss! (sing); liossu! (pi)

The faculties of Arts, Education and Law are big and the students
in these faculties study hard because they face a stiff competition .
Maltese and Gozitan students are very lucky not only because
they have good professors teaching them, but also because there
are no tuition fees and the students are given a monthly stipend
so as to buy books. In this way they will not be dependent on their
parents.
The Maltese invest a lot of money on these young people
because they believe that investing in education is the best
investment for a country that looks to the future.
Exercise Six
Emigration
The population of Malta and that of its neighbouring island, Gozo,
is less than half a million people , yet there are many Maltese and
Gozitans who live in Australia , America, Canada and the United
Kingdom.
Although these emigrants do not live in their countries, yet they
never forget Malta. The emigrants are proud of the Maltese
culture and thus organise traditional Maltese feasts like
Carnival , 8t. Paul's feast, Christmas and Easter.
The Maltese cultural activities are important because they keep
the Maltese culture alive, however, it is necessary for the Maltese
language to be spoken not only by the elderly but also by their
children and their grandchildren. In this way, the Maltese culture
will be strong, because it is the Maltese language that gives us
our identity as Maltese.

02

103

04

To Find
Find!

sab
sib! (sing); sibu! (pi)

To Forget
Forget!

nesa
insa! (sing) ; insew! (pi)

To Give
Give!

ta
agliti! (sing) ; aglitu! (pi)

ToGa
Go!

mar
mur! (sing) ; morru! (pi)

To Grow Up
Grow Up!

kiber
ikber! (sing); ikbru! (pi)

To Invest
Invest!

investa
investi! (sing) ; investu! (pi)

To Love
Love!

liabb
liobb! (sing) ; liobbu! (pi)

To Make
Make!

gliamel
aglimel! (sing); aglimlu! (pi)

To Open
Open !

fetali
iftali! (sing); iftliu! (pi)

To Organise
Organize!

organizza
organizza! (sing); organizzaw! (pi)

To Play (games)
Play!

lagliab
ilgliab! (sing) ; ilaglibu! (pi)

To Play (music)
Play!

daqq
doqq! (sing) ; doqqu! (pi)

To Read
Read!

qara
aqra! (sing); aqraw! (pi)

To Run
Run!

gera
igri! (sing) ; igru! (pi)

To Say
Say!

qal
gliid! (sing) ; gliidu! (pi)

To See
See!

ra
ara! (sing) ; araw! (pi)

To Sell
Sell!

biegli
bigli! (sing); bigliu! (pi)

To Sit Down
Sit Down!

pogga
poggi! (sing) ; poggu! (pi)

To Spend
Spend !

nefaq
onfoq! (sing) ; onfqu! (pi)

To Steal
Steal !

seraq
israq! (sing); isirqu! (pi)

To Study
Study!

studja
studja! (sing) ; studjaw! (pi)

To Sweep
Sweep!

kines
iknes! (sing); ikinsu! (pi)

To Think
Think!

liaseb
aliseb! (sing) ; alisbu! (pi)

To Turn
Turn!

qaleb
aqleb! (sing) ; aqilbu! (pi)

To Understand
Understand!

fehem
ifhem! (sing); ifhmu! (pi)

To Wake Up
Wake Up!

qam
qum! (sing) ; qumu! (pi)

To Wash
Wash!

liasel
alisel! (sing); alislu! (pi)

To Work
Work!

liadem
alidem! (sing); alidmu! (pi)

To Write
Write!

kiteb
ikteb! (sing) ; iktbu! (pi)

105

MALTESE - ENGLISH WORD LIST

A
abjad (m), bajda (f) , bojod (pi)
white
accetta to accept
afidar (m), fiadra (f) , fiodor (pi)
green
afimar (m), fiamra (f),
fiomor (pi) red
Alia (m) God
April (m) April
ara to see
arja (f) air
atmosfera (f) atmosphere
avukat (m) , avukatessa (f) ,
avukati (pi) lawyer
Awissu (m) August

B
b'hekk in this way
bafiar (m), ibfira (pi) sea
bajda (f) , bajd (pi) egg
bandiera (f) , bnadar (pi) flag
bank (m) , banek (pi) bank
barmil (m) , bramel (pi) bucket
barra outside
barrani (m) , barranija (f) ,
barranin (pi) foreigner
basla (f) , basal (pi) onion
baxx (m) , baxxa (f) , baxxi (pi)
low
bejn between
bejt (m) , bjut (pi) roof
belt (f) , bliet (pi) city
bennej (m) , bennejja (pi) mason
bfial like
bi with
bieiel (m) , bieila (f) , biilin (pi)
industrious/ busy

bieb (m) , bibien (pi) door

biegfi to sell
biex in order to
biss only
bjond (m) , bjonda (f),
bjondi (pi) blond
bringiela (m) , bringiel (pi)
aubergine
but (m) , bwiet (pi) pocket
bionn (m) , bionnijet (pi) need

c
cavetta (f) , cwievet (pi) key
cena (f) dinner
cikkulata (f) , cikkulati (pi)
chocolate
curkett (m) , crieket (pi) ring

o
dak (m) , dik (f) , dawk (pi) that
dawk (pi) those
dan (m) , din (f) this
dawn these
daqq to play (music)
dar (f) , djar (pi) house
dedikat (m) , dedikata (f) ,
dedikati (pi) dedicated
dejjem always
dentist (m) , dentista (f) ,
dentisti (pi) dentist
Dicembru (m) December
disgfia nine
disgfiin ninety
dgfiajsa (f) , dgfiajjes (pi) boat
dfiuli (m) , dfiulija (f) , dfiulin
(pi) affable/ friendly
diffiCli (m & f, sing & pi) difficult

107

dija (f) glow/ray

dipendenti (m & f, sing & pi)
dependent
driegfi (m) , dirgfiajn (pi) arm
dsatax nineteen
dublett (m) , dbielet (pi) skirt
dundjan (m) , dundjani (pi)
turkey

E
edukazzjoni (f) education
elf (m) , eluf (pi) thousand
emmen to believe
erbatax fourteen
erbgfia four
Erbgfia (f) Wednes day
erbgfiin forty
ezami (m) , ezamijiet (pi)
examination
ezempju (m) , ezempji (pi)
example

F
fazola (f sing & pi) bean
fakulta (f) , fakultajiet (pi)
facu lty
familja (f) , familji (pi) family
favorit (m) , favorita (f) ,
favoriti (pi) favo urite
fehem to understand
fejn where
fenek (m) , fenka (f) , fniek (pi)
rabbit
fernan (m) , fernana (f) ,
fernanin (pi) happy
festa (f) , festi (pi) feast
fetan to open
fi in
filgfiaxija in th e evening

filgfiodu in the morning

filwaqt while
fjura (f) , fjuri (pi) flower
flimkien toge th er
flixkun (m), fliexken (pi) bottle
flokk (m) , flokkijiet (pi) swea ter
flus (pi) money
fortunatament fortunately
fost among
frotta (f), frott (pi) fruit
fqir (m) , fqira (f) , fqar (pi) poor
Frar (m) February
ftit a little
fubol (m) football
fuq on
furketta (f) , frieket (pi) fork

gawda to enjoy
giddieb (m) , giddieba (f),
giddibin (pi) liar
gidem to bite
grazzi thank you
griz (m) , griza (f), grizi (pi) gray
gzira (f) , gzejjer (pi) island

Gt=t
gfiada tomorrow
gfiaref (m) , gfiarfa (f) , gfiorrief
(pi) wise
gfiasfur (m) , gfiasafar (pi) bird
gfiaxra ten
gfioxrin twenty

gab to bring
gdid (m), gdida (t), godda (pi) new
generuz (m) , generuza (f) ,
generuzi (pi) generous
genitur (m & f) , genituri (pi) parent
gewnan (m) , gwienan (pi),
gwinnajn (pi) wing
Gimgna (f) Friday
glekk (m) , glekkijiet (pi) jacket
gnien (m) , gonna (pi) garden
gobon (m) , gobna (f) ,
gobniet (pi) cheese
gun (m) hunger
Gunju (m) June
gurdien (m) , gurdiena (f) ,
grieden (pi) mouse
gurnata (f) , granet (pi) day

hawn here
hekk so; thus
hemmhekk over there
hena (m) happiness
hekk u hekk so-so
hija (f) she; she is
huwa (m) he; he is

G
gallarija (f) , gallariji (pi) balcony
gallettina (f), gallettini (pi) biscuit

Ftamis (m) Thursday

fiamsa five
fiamsin fifty
fiandikappat (m) , fiandikappata (f) handicapped
fiandikappati (pi) handicapped
fianut (m) , fiwienet (pi) shop
fiarifa (f) autumn
fiaseb to think
fiasel to wash
fiass to feel
fiaxix (m) vegetable
fidax eleven
fidejn near
fidura (f) greenery
fielwa (f) , fielwin (pi) nice;
sweet
fiin (m), fiinijiet (pi) time
fijara (f) , fijar (pi) cucumber
filewwa (f) sweetness
nmar (m) , nmara (f) , nmir (pi)
donkey
nmistax fifteen
nobza (f), nobz (pi ) loaf of
bread
nu (m) , anwa (pi) brother
nwejjeg (pi) clothes

t=t
naga (f) thing
nazin (m) , nazina (f) , nziena (pi)
bad
nabb to love
Ftadd (m) Sunday
nadem to work
nafna a lot of
najja (f) , najjiet (pi) life
najjat (m), najjata (f), najjatin (pi)
tailor
nalib (m) milk
namrija (f) soil

izda however
id (m) , idejn (pi) hand
ienor (m) , onrajn (pi) another
iebes (m), iebsa (f) , ibsin (pi)
hard
iknal (m), kanla (t), konol (pi) blue
ikrah (m) , kerha (f) , koroh (pi)
ugly
ilium today
ilma (m) , ilmijiet (pi) water
imdejjaq (m ), imdejqa (f) ,
imdejqin (pi) sad

109

importanti (m & f, sing & pi)

important
imqareb (m) , imqarba (f),
imqarbin (pi) naughty
indipendenti (m & f, sing & pi)
independent
investa to invest
investiment (m),
investimenti (pi) investment
isfar (m), safra (t), sofor (pi) yellow
ismar (m) , samra (f),
somor (pi) dark
iswed (m) , sewda (f),
suwed (pi) black
ittra (m) , ittri (pi) letter
iva yes
ixxurtjat (m) , ixxurtjata (f),
ixxurtjati (pi) lucky

J
Jannar (m) January
jekk if
jewor
jiena I; I am
jum (m) , jiem (pi) day

K
kCina (f), kcejjen (pi) kitchen
kampanja (f) , kampanji (pi)
countryside
kamra (f), kmamar (pi) room
kamra tal-banju (f), kmamar
tal-banju (pi) bathroom
kamra tal-pranzu (f) , kmamar
tal-pranzu (pi) dining room
kamra tas-sodda (f) , kmamar
tas-sodda (pi) bedroom
kannella (m & f, sing & pi)
brown

kapitali (f sing & pi) capital

karrotta (f), karrotti (pi) carrot
karrozza (f) , karrozzi (pi) car
kaxxa (f) , kaxxi (pi) box
kburi (m) , kburija (f), kburin (pi)
proud
kelb (m), kelba (f) , klieb (pi)
dog
kemm? how much? how many?
kewkba (f), kwiekeb (pi) star
kiber to grow up
kien to be
kiesafl (m) , kiesfla (f) , kesflin
(pi) cold
kif? how
kif ukoll as well
kikkra (f) , kikkri (pi) cup
kilo (m), kilojiet (pi) kilo
kines to sweep
kiteb to write
kitla (f), ktieli (pi) kettle
kittieb (m) , kittieba (f) , kittieba
(pi) writer
klassi (f) , klassijiet (pi) class
knisja (f) , knejjes (pi) church
ktieb (m), kotba (pi) book
kugin (m) , kugina (f) , kugini (pi)
cousin
kuccarina (f), kuccarini (pi)
teaspoon
kulfladd everybody
kullimkien everywhere
kwiet (m) , kwieta (f), kwieti (pi)
quiet

L
lagflab to play
lampa (f) , lampi (pi) lamp
langasa (f) , langas (pi) pear
laringa (f), laring(pl) orange
le no

lejl (m) night

lejn towards
lezzjoni (f) , lezzjonijiet (pi)
lesson
librerija (f) , libreriji (pi) library;
bookcase
libsa (f) , ilbiesi (pi) dress
lira (f) , liri (pi) pound (currency)
liwja (f), liwjiet (pi) bend
Lulju (m) , July
luminata (f) , luminati (pi)
lemonade

M
ma' with
maflmug (m), maflmuga (f),
maflmugin (pi) dirty
madwar around
magflha with her
magflhom with them
magflkom with you (pi)
magflna with us
malajr soon; quickly
mar to go
mara (f) , nisa (pi) woman
marid (m), marida (f) ,
morda (pi) sick
maqrut (m), imqaret (pi) date cake
Marzu (m) March
mediCina (t), medicini (pi) medicine
mejda (f) , mwejjed (pi) table
meta when
metru (m), metri (pi) metre
Mejju (m) May
mgflarfa (f) , mgflaref (pi) spoon
mhux not
miegflek with you (sing)
miegfli with me
miegflu with him
mija (f), mijiet (pi) hundred
Milied (m) Christmas

miljun (m) , miljuni (pi) million

min who
mingflajr without
minn from
minuta (f), minuti (pi) minute
missier (m) , missirijiet (pi)
father
mistfli (m), mistflija (f) ,
mistflijin (pi) shy

N
nadif (m) , nadifa (f),
nodfa (pi) clean
nannu (m) , nanna (f) ,
nanniet (pi) grandparent
nar (m) , nirien (pi) fire
nefaq to spend
neqsin to (the hour)
nesa to forget
nies (pi) , people
nofs half
nofs il-Iejl (m) midnight
nofs in-nhar (m) midday
Novembru (m) November
numru (m) , numri (pi) number
nutar (m), nutara (f & pi) notary

0
oflt (f) , aflwa (pi) sister
omm (f) , ommijiet (pi) mother
organizza to organize
ottubru (m) October

p
pacenzja (f) patience
paCi (f) peace
papra (f) , papri (pi) duck

111

pastizz (m), pastizzi (pi)

Maltese cheesecake
patata (f sing & pi) potato
periklu (m) , perikli (pi) danger
perit (m & f) , periti (pi)
architect
pipa (f) , pi pi (pi) pipe
pjazza (f) , pjazez (pi) village
square
platt (m), platti (pi) plate
pogga to sit down
poeta (m) , poetessa (f) ,
poeti (pi) poet
poplu (m) , popli (pi) people
popolazzjoni (f) , popolazzjonijiet (pi) population
posta (f) , posta (pi) mail
pranzu (m) , pranzi (pi) lunch
presepju (m) , presepji (pi)
crib
progett (m), progetti (pi)
project
problema (f), problemi (pi)
problem
professur (m & f) ,
professuri (pi) professor
Providenza (f) Providence
pultruna (f), pultun i (pi)
armchair
pupa (f) , pupi (pi) doll

a
qaddis (m), qaddisa (f) ,
qaddisin (pi) saint
qaddis patrun (m) , qaddisa
patruna (f) patron saint
qaddisin patruni (pi) patron
saints
qadim (m) , qadima (f) , qodma
(pi) old (inanimate objects)
qal to say

qalb (f) , qlub (pi) heart

qaleb to turn
qalziet (m) , qliezet (pi) trousers
qam to wake up
qamar (m), qmura (pi) moon
qara to read
qargnabagnalija (f),
qargnabagnli (pi) marrow
qasir (m) , qasira (f), qosra (pi)
short
qattus (m), qattusa (f) ,
qtates (pi) cat
qawsalla (f), qawsalli (pi)
rainbow
qawwi (m) , qawwija (f) ,
qawwijin (pi) sturdy; fat
quddiem in front of

R
ra to see
ragel (m), rgiel (pi) man
ragun (m) , ragunijiet (pi)
reason
ralial (m), rliula (pi) village
ras (f) , rjus (pi) head
razzett (m), rziezet (pi)
farmhouse
rigel (m), rig lej n (pi) leg
rebbieglia (f) spring
rili (m), irjieli (pi) wind
ritratt (m), ritratti (pi) photo
roza (f sing & pi) pink
rqiq (m) , rqiqa (f), rqaq (pi) thin

S
sliun (m) , sliuna (f) , slian (pi)
warm
salilia (f) health
sab to find

sabin (m) , sabina (f) , sbien (pi)

beautiful; handsome
sajf (m) summer
sajjar to cook
salott (m), salotti (pi) sitting room
sar to become
sebgna seven
sejjer shall leave
sekonda (f), sekondi (pi) second
sebgnin seventy
sena (f), snin (pi) year
seraq to steal
seta' to be able
Settembru (m) September
sfortunatament unfortunately
Sibt (m) Saturday
siggu (m) , siggijiet (pi) chair
sigra (f), sigar (pi) tree
siegna (f) , signat (pi) hour
sieq (f) , saqajn (pi) foot
sikkina (f) , skieken (pi) knife
sinjur (m) , sinjura (f) , sinjuri (pi)
Mr
sinjur (m) , sinjura (f) , sinjuri (pi)
wealthy; rich
sitta six
sittax sixteen
sittin sixty
skola (f) , skejje l (pi) school
sodda (f) , sodod (pi) bed
spal la (f) , spallejn , spalel (pi)
shoulder
specjali (m sing & pi) special
spizjar (m) , spizjara (f) , spizjara
(pi) pharmacist
sptar (m) , sptarijiet (pi) hospital
stagun (m) , staguni (pi) season
storbju (m & pi) noise
storja (f) , stejjer (pi) story
student (m) , studenta (f) ,
studenti (pi) student
studja to study
studjuz (m) , studjuza (f) ,
studjuzi (pi) studious

T
ta' of
tant under
tabib (m), tabiba (f) ,
tobba (pi) doCtor
tagnha hers
tagnhom theirs
tagnkom (pi) yours
tagnna ours
tajjeb good
tal-naxix (m) green-grocer
tal-nelu (m) confectioner
tal-pastizzi (m) cheescake
vendor
tazza (f) , tazzi (pi) glass
temp (m) weather
tfajjel (m), tfaj la (f) , tfal (pi)
small child
tfal tat-tfal (pi) grandchildren
tiegliek (sing) yours
ferlian in (pi) happy
tieglii mine
tiegliu his
tieqa (f) , twieqi (pi) window
tifel (m) , tfal (pi) boy
tifla (f) , tfal (pi) girl
tizjin (m) festoons;
decorations
tlettax thirteen
tletin thirty
tlieta three
Tlieta (f) Tuesday
tmenin eighty
tmienja eight
tnax twelve
tnejn two
Tnejn (m) Monday
tort (m) wrong
twil (m) , twila (f), twal (pi) tall

113

v
vazun (m) , vazuni (pi) vase
vaganza (f), vaganzi (pi)
holiday
vapur (m), vapuri (pi) ship

w
wara after
warda (f), ward (pi) rose
wasal to arrive
wicc (m), ucun (pi) face
widna (f) , widnejn (pi) ear
wied (m), widien (pi) val/ey
wiened (m), waflda (f) one

x
xagnar (m) hair
xahar (m), xhur (pi) month
xejn nothing
xemx (f) sun
xi some
xin (m), xina (f) , xjun (pi)
old man

xita (f) rain

xitla (f), xtieli (pi) plant
xitwa (f) winter
xognol (m) , xognlijiet (pi) work
xtara to buy

ENGLISH - MALTESE WORD LIST

A

i
zarbun (m), zraben (pi) a pair
of shoes
zunzana (f & sing) , zunzanl
znazan (pi) wasp
zball (m), zbalji (pi) mistake
zejjed too much
zejt (m) , zjut (pi) oil
ziemel (m), zwiemel (pi) horse
zifen to dance

z
zalza (f) , zlazi (pi) sauce
zija (f), zijiet (pi) aunt
ziju (m) , zijiet (pi) uncle
zokkor (m) sugar

accept (to accept) a66etta

affable dfwli (m), dfwlija (f),
dnulin (pi)
after wara
afternoon wara nofs in-nhar (m)
air arja (f)
always dejjem
among fost
another ienor (m), onra (f),
onrajn (pi)
April April (m)
architect perit (m & f), periti (pi)
arm driegn (m), dirgnajn (pi)
armchair pultruna (f), pultruni (pi)
around madwar
arrive (to arrive) wasal
as well kif ukol/
atmosphere atmosfera (f),
atmosferi (pi)
aubergine bringiela (f), bringiel (pI)
August Awissu (m)
aunt zija (sing), zijiet (pi)

B
bad natin (m), natina (f), fliiena (pI)
balcony gal/arija (f), gal/ariji (pi)
bank bank (m), bankijiet (pi)
bathroom kamra (f) tal-banju,
kmamar (pi) tal-banju
be (to be) kien
bean fatola (f sing & pI)
beautiful sabin (m), sabifla (f),
sbien (pi)
become (to become) sar

bed sodda (f), sodod (pi)

bedroom kamra tas-sodda (f),
kmarar tas-sodda (pi)
believe (to believe) emmen
bend (n) liwja (f)
between bejn
bird gnasfur (m), gnasafar (pi)
biscuit gal/ettina (f),
gal/ettini (pi)
bite (to bite) gidem
black iswed (m), sewda (f),
suwed (pi)
blond bjond (m), bjonda (f),
bjondi (pi)
blue iknal (m), kaflla (f), konol (pi)
boat dgnajsa (f), dgnajjes (pi)
book ktieb (m), kotba (pi)
bookcase librerija (f),
libreriji (pI)
bottle flixkun (m), fliexken (pi)
box kaxxa (f), kaxxi (pi),
kaxex (pi)
boy tifel (m), tfal (pi)
bread nobta (f), nobtiet (pi)
bring (to bring) gab
brother nu (m), anwa (pi)
brown kannel/a (m & f, sing &pi)
bucket barmil (m), bramel (pi)
buy (to buy) xtara

c
capital kapitali (m sing & pi)
car karrozza (f), karrozzi (pi)
carrot karrotta (f), karrotti (pi)
cat qattus (m) , qattusa (f),
qtates (pi)

115

chair siggu (m), siggijiet (pI)

cheese gobon (m), gobna (f),
gobniet (pI)
cheesecake (Maltese)
pastizz (m), pastizzi (pI)
cheesecake vendor
tal-pastizzi (m)
child (small child) tfajjel (m),
tfajla (f), tfal (pI)
chocolate cikkulata (f),
cikkulati (pI)
Christmas Milied (m)
church knisja (f), knejjes (pi)
city belt (f), bliet (pi)
class klassi (m), klassijiet (pI)
clean nadif (m), nadifa (f),
ndaf (pi)
clothes nwejjeg (pi), ilbiesi
cold (adj) kiesan (m),
kiesna (f), kesnin (pi)
colour kulur (m), kuluri (pi)
confectioner tal-nelu (m)
cook (to cook) sajjar
countryside kampanja (f)
cousin kugin (m), kugina (f),
kugini (pi)
crib (a Christmas crib)
presepju (m), presepji (pI)
cucumber njara (f), fljar (pi)
cup kikkra (f), kikkri (pI)

D
dance (to dance) iifen
danger periklu (m), perikli (pi)
dark ismar (m), samra (f),
somor (pi)
datecake maqrut (m),
imqaret (pi)
day gurnata (f), granet (pi),
jum (m), jiem (pi)
December Dicembru (m)
decorations tiijin (m)

dedicated dedikat (m), dedikata (f),

dedikati (pI)
dentist dentist (m), dentista (f),
dentisti (pI)
dependent dipendenti (m & pI)
difficult diffi6li (m sing & pI)
dining room kamra tal-pranzu (f),
kmamar tal-pranzu (pI)
dinner cena (f)
dinner pranzu (m), pranzijiet (pi)
do (to do) gnamel
doctor tabib (m), tabiba (f),
tobba (pi)
dog kelb (m), klieb (pI)
doll pupu (m), pupa (f), pupi (pi)
donkey nmar (m), nmara (f),
nmir (pi)
door bieb (m), bibien (pi)
dress libsa (f), ilbiesi (pI)
dress (to dress) libes
duck papra (f), papri (pi)

E
ear widna (f), widnejn (pi)
education edukazzjoni (f sing & pI)
egg bajda (m), bajd, bajdiet (pi)
eight tmienja
eighteen tmintax
eighty tmenin
eleven ndax
enjoy (to enjoy) gawda
evening (in the evening) filgnaxija
everybody kulf1add
everywhere kullimkien
examination eiami (m), eiamijiet (pI)
example eiempju (m), eiempji (pi)

F
face wicc (m), ucun (pi)
faculty fakulta (f), fakultajiet (pi)

family familja (f), familji (pI)

farmhou se razzett (m),
rziezet (pI)
father missier (m), missirijiet (pI)
favourite favorit (m), favorita (f),
favoriti (pI)
feast festa (f), festi (pI)
February Frar (m)
feel (to feel ) nass
festoons tiijin (m)
fifteen nmistax
fifty namsin
find (to find) sab
fire nar (m), nirien (pI)
five namsa
flag bandiera (f), bnadar (pi)
flower fjura (m), fjuri (pi)
foot sieq (m), saqajn (pi)
football futbol (m)
foreigner barrani (m),
barranija (f), barranin (pi)
forget (to forget) nesa
fork furketta (f), frieket (pi)
fortunately fortunatament
forty erbgnin
four erbgna
fourteen erbatax
Friday il-Gimgna (f)
friendly dnuli (m), dnulija (f),
dnulin (pi)
from minn
front (in front of) quddiem
fruit frotta (f), frott (pi)

G
garden gnien (m), gonna (pi)
generous generui (m),
generuia (f), generuii (pi)
girl tifla (f), tfal (pi)
glass tazza (f), tazzi (pi)
glow dija (f)
go (to go) mar

God Alia (m)

good tajjeb (m), tajba (f),
tajbin (pI)
good afternoon il-wara nofs
in-nhar it-tajjeb (m)
good morning l-gflOdwa ttajba (f)
good night il-Iejl it-tajjeb (m)
good-bye sanna
grandfather nannu (m),
nanniet (pI)
grandmother nanna (f),
nanniet (pi)
green afldar (m), nadra (f),
nodor (pI)
greenery ndura (f sing)
green-grocer tal-naxix (m)
grandchildren tfal tat-tfal (pi)
grow (to grow) kiber

H
hair xagnar (pi)
half nofs
hand id (m), idejn (pi)
handsome sabin (m),
sbien (pi)
handicapped nandikappat (m &
f), nandikappati (pi)
happiness hena (f)
happy fernan (m), fernana (f),
fernanin (pi)
hard iebes (m), iebsa (f),
ibsin (pi)
have (to have) gnandu
he huwa
head ras (f), rjus (pi)
health sanna (f)
heart qalb (f), qlub (pI)
hello x'hemm
here hawn
hers tagflha
his tiegnu

117

holiday vaganza (m),

vaganzi (pi)
hospital sptar (m),
sptarijiet (pi)
hour siegna (f), signat (pi)
house dar (f), djar (pi)
how kif
how much kemm
however iida
hundred mija (f), mijiet (pi)
hunger gun

I jiena
if jekk
important importanti (m sing
& pi)
in fi
in order to biex
in this way b'hekk
independent indipendenti (m,
sing & pi)
industrious bieiel (m),
bieila (f), biilin (pi)
invest (to invest) investa
investment investiment (m),
investimenti (pi)
island giira (f), giejjer (pi)

kilo kilo (m), kilojiet (pi)

kitchen k6ina (f), k6ejjen (pi)
knife sikkina (f), skieken (pi)

L
lamp lampa (f), lampi (pi)
lawyer avukat (m),
avukatessa (f), avukati (pI)
leg rigel (m), riglejn (pi)
lemonade luminata (f),
luminati (pi)
lesson lezzjoni (f),
lezzjonijiet (pi)
letter ittra (f), ittri (pi)
liar giddieb (m), giddieba (f),
giddibin (pi)
library librerija (f), libreriji (pi)
life najja (f), najjiet (pi)
like bfJal
little (a little of) ftit
a loaf of bread nobia (f), nobiiet (pi)
lot (a lot of) nafna
love (to love) nabb
low baxx (m), baxxa (f),
baxxi (pi)
lucky ixxurtjat (m), ixxurtjata (f),
ixxurtjati (pI)

M
J
jacket glekk (m), glekkijiet (pI)
January Jannar (m)
July Lu!ju (m)
June Gunju (m)

K
kettle kit/a (f), ktieli (pi)
key 6avetta (f), 6wievet (pi)

mail posta (f)

man ragel (m), rgiel (pi)
March Marzu (m)
marrow qargnabagnalija (f),
qargnabagnli (pi)
mason bennej (m), 'bennejja (pi)
May Mejju (m)
medicine medi6ina (f),
medi6ini (pi)
metre metru (m), metri (pi)
midday nofs in-nhar (m)

midnight nofs il-Iejl (m)

milk nalib (m)
million mi!jun (m), mi!juni (pI)
mine tiegni
minute minuta (f), minuti (pI)
miss sinjorina (f), sinjorini (pi)
Monday it-Tnejn (m)
money f/us (pi)
month xahar (m), xhur (pi)
moon qamar (m), qmura (pi)
morning (in the morning)
filgnodu
mother omm (f), ommijiet (pi)
mouse gurdien (m), grieden (pi)
Mr sinjur (m), sinjuri (pi)
Mrs sinjura (f), sinjuri (pi)
much iejjed

old (inanimate object)

qadim (m), qadima (f),
qodma (pi)
old (person) xin (m), xina (f),
xjun (pI)
on fuq
one wiened (m), waflda (f)
onion basla (f), basal (pi)
only biss
open (to open) fetan
or Jew
orange laringa (f), la ring (pi)
organise (to organ ise)
organizza
ours tagnna
outside barra
over there hemmhekk

naughty mqareb (m), mqarba (f),

mqarbin (pi)
need bionn
new gdid (m), gdida (f), godda (pi)
nice nelu (m), nelwa (f), nelwin (pI)
night lejl (m)
nine disgna
nineteen dsatax
ninety disgnin
no le
noise storbju (m)
not mhux
notary nutar (m), nutara (f),
nutara (pi)
nothing xejn
November Novembru (m)
number numru (m), numri (pi)

parent genitur (m),

genituri (pi)
patience pa6enzja (f)
patron sai nt qaddis patrun (m),
qaddisin patruni (pi)
peace pa6i (f)
pear langasa (f), langas (pi)
people nies (pI)
people poplu (m), popli (pi)
pharmacist spiijar (m),
spiijara (f, sing & pi)
photo ritratt (m), ritratti (pi)
pink roia (f, sing & pi)
pipe pipa (f), pipi (pi)
plant pjanta (f), pjanti (pi)
plate platt (m), platti (pi)
play (to play games) lagnab
play (to play music) daqq
please il'1kk ioqngbok
pocket
poet

October
of

poor fqir (m), fqar (pi)

popu lation popolazzjoni (m),
popolazzjonijiet (pi)
potato patata (f, sing & pi)
pound (currency) lira (f),
liri (pI)
problem problema (f),
problemi (pI)
professor professur (m & f),
professuri (pi)
project progett (m),
progetti (pi)
proud kburi (m), kburija (f) ,
kburin (pi)
Providence Providenza (f)

a
quiet kwiet (m), kwieta (f),
kwieti (pI)

R
rabbit fenek (m), fenka (f),
fniek (pi)
rain xita (f)
rainbow qawsalla (f),
qawsa/li (pi)
read (to read) qara
reason raguni (f), ragunijiet (pi)
red afimar (m) , fiamra (f),
fiomor (pi)
rich sinjur (m), sinjura (f),
sinjuri (pi)
ring 6urkett (m), 6rieket (pi)
roof bejt (m), bjut (pi)
room kamra (f), kmamar (pi)
rose warda (f), ward (pi)

s
sad mdejjaq (m), mdejqa (f),
mdejqin (pi)

saint qaddis (m), qaddisa (f),

qaddisin (pi)
Saturday is-Sibt (m)
sauce zalza (f), zlazi (pi)
say (to say) qal
school skola (f) skejjel (pi)
sea bafiar (m), ibfira (pi)
season stagun (m), staguni (pi)
second sekonda (f), sekondi (pi)
see (to see) ra
see you narak
sell (to sell) biegfi
September Settembru (m)
seven sebgfia
seventeen sbatax
seventy sebgfiin
shall sejjer (m), sejra (f),
sejrin (pI)
she/she is hija
ship vapur (m), vapuri (pi)
shop fianut (m), fiwienet (pi)
short qasir (m), qasira (f), qosra (pi)
shoulder spalla (f), spallejn (pi)
shy mistfii (m), mistfiija (f),
mistfiijin (pi)
sick marid (m), marida (f),
morda (pI)
sister ofit (f), afiwa (pi)
sit down (to sit down) pogga
six sitta
sixteen sittax
sixty sittin
skirt dublett (m), dbielet (pi)
small igfiir (m), igfiira (f),
igfiar (pi)
so hekk
so-so hekk u hekk
sofa sufan (m), sufanijiet (pi)
soil fiamrija (f, sing)
some xi
special spe6jaJi (m, sing & pi)
spend (to spend) nefaq
spoon mgfiarfa (f), mgfiaref (pi)

star kewkba (f), kwiekeb (pi)

steal (to steal) seraq
story storja (f), stejjer (pi)
student student (m),
studenta (f), studenti (pi)
studious studjui (m), studjuia (f),
studjuii (pi)
study (to study) studja
sturdy qawwi (m), qawwija (f),
qawwijin (pi)
sugar zokkor (m)
sun xemx (f), xmux (pi)
Sunday il-Hadd
sweater flokk (m), flokkijiet (pi)
sweep (to sweep) kines
sweetness filewwa (f),
filewwiet (pi)

T
table mejda (f), mwejjed (pi)
tailor fiajjat (m), fiajjata (f & pi)
tall twil (m), twila (f), twal (pi)
teaspoon ku66arina (f), ku66arini
ten gfiaxra (f)
thank you grazzi
that dak (m), dik (f)
those dawk (pi)
the 1theirs tagfihom
there hem m
thin rqiq (m), rqiqa (f), rqaq (pi)
thing fiaga (f)
think (to think) fiaseb
thirteen tlettax
thirty tie tin
this dan (m), dawn (pi)
thousand elf (m), eluf (pi)
three tJieta
Thursday il-Hamis (m)
to (the hour) neqsin
today ilium (m)
together flimkien

tomorrow gfiada (f)

towards lejn
tree sigra (f), sigar (pI)
trouser qalziet (m), qliezet (pi)
Tuesday it- TJieta (f)
turkey dundjan (m),
dundjani (pi)
turn (to turn) qaleb
twelve tnax
twenty gfioxrin
two tnejn

u
ugly ikrah (m), kerha (f),
koroh (pi)
uncle ziju (m), zijiet (pi)
under tafit
understand (to understand)
fehem
unfortunately sfortunatament

v
valley wied (m), widien (pi)
vase vaiun (m), vaiuni (pi)
vegetable fiaxix (m)
village rafial (m), rfiula (pi)
village square pjazza (f),
pjazez (pi)

w
wake (to wake up) qam
warm sfiun (m), sfiuna (t),
sfian (pi)
wash (to wash) fiasel
wasp iuniana (t & sing),
iunian / inaian (pi)
water ilma (m), ilmijiet (pi)
way (in this way) hekk

121

wealthy sinjur (m), sinjura (f) ,

sinjuri (pi)
Wednesday I-Erbgna (f)
when meta
where fejn
while filwaqt
white abjad (m), bajda (f),
bojod (pI)
who min
window tieqa (f), twieqi (pi)
wing gewnan (m),
gwinnajn (pi)
wise gnaref (m), gnarfa (f),
gnorrief (pi)
with ma '
with her magMa
with him miegnu
with me miegni

122

with them magMom

with us magnna
with you (sing) miegnek
with you (pi) magnkom
without mingnajr
woman mara (f), nisa (pI)
work xognol (m), xognlijiet (pi)
work (to work) nadem
write (to write) kiteb
wrong tort

y
yellow isfar (m), safra (f),
sofor (pi)
yes iva