Beginning Maltese.

Lydia Sciriha
MALTA UNIVERSITY PUBLISHERS Ltd.
2
nd
Edition 2004
scanned for uz-translations, 2009
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS ......... ....... .......... ...... ..... ... ............... .. ....... .... .. ix
NAME LIST ... .... .............. .... ...... .......... .. .. ......... ..... .... ....... .... ...... xi
PREFACE .. .. .. ... ..... .... ... .. ... .... .... ..... ... .. .. ....... ..... .. ......... .... ..... .... xi ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..... .. ...... .. ... .. ..... .. ....... .. ... ... .. ... .. ... .. .... xvi
INTRODUCTION
Aims of the Course; Structure of the Course .. .. .. .... .......... ... xvi i
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 Pronominal 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
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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 loan-
words 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
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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.
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
xvi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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.
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.
I am also indebted to Professor Mario Vassallo for his
and technical support, especially in the
final stages of this work.
Finally, I gratefullyacknowleged the support cA Professor
Robert Ghirlando, Ms Tita Bonnici , Mr Reginald Bartolo and
Mr Kenneth Mizzi.
INTRODUCTION
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 thei r own language group. Thus,
as a member of the Semitic 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.
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 (1090-
1266) ; the Angevins (1266-1283) ; the Aragonese (1283-
1410) ; 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 loan-
words derived from the diverse linguistic backgrounds of
these rulers.
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
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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
s t ~ e ~ 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. .
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 this fact , it is therefore
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
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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 CONSONANTS
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 INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
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.
1
2
Orthographic
Letter IPA
b [b] Qag
d [d] Qog
f [f] flower
9 [g] girl
j
U] yellow
k
[k] ~ i n g
I
[I] lamb
m [m] man
n [n] no
p [p] Qlane
r [r] ring
s [s] .Qun
t [t] ten
v
[v] ~ i n
w
[w] .'t{ater
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)
SECTION A
Word List
Maltese consonants in initial position of the word.
B [b)
baliar a sea
bieb a door
C [t ]
cavetta a key
cikkulata a chocolate
D [d)
dar a house
dan this
F [f]
fjura a flower
familja a family
G [g)
grazzi thank you
gzira an island
G [dz]
gurdien a mouse
gnien a garden
GH [ ] unpronounced
gliada tomorrow
gliasfur a bird
H [ ] unpronounced
hekk thus; so
huwa he
3
H [h]
T [t]
nobza a loaf of bread
tifla a girl
nalib milk
tifel a boy
J [j]
V [v]
jum a day
vazun a vase
jiena I
vapur a ship
K [k]
W [w]
kelb a dog
widna an ear
kamra a room
wicc a face
L [I]
X [ ]
le no
xemx sun
libsa a dress
xita rain
M [m]
Z [t5]
mara a woman
zija an aunt
mejda a table
ziju an uncle
N [n]
i [z]
nannu a grandfather
zarbun
a pair of shoes
nanna a grandmother
zunzana a wasp
P [p]
pastizz a cheesecake
periklu danger
a [1]
qattus a cat
qalb a heart
R [r]
ragel a man
ras a head
S [5]
sodda a bed
siggu a chair
4
5
6
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
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. u n ~ a n a a wasp (zebra; hits)
2. Qavetta a key (cake; cheese)
3. Zija an aunt (zero; bits)
4. .G.nien a garden (justice; golf)
5. .!1obza a loaf of bread (horse; heir)
6. Gflasfur a bird (dough; ghost)
7. Grazzi thank you (job; good)
8. tiuwa he (hair; heir)
9 . .!1alib milk (ham; honest)
10. Ziju an uncle (zodiac; kits)
11 . Qzira an island (juice; gold)
12. 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?
3. Give eight Maltese consonants which are identical with IPA?
pultruna
curkett
dak
fenek
galletti na
gurnata
gflaref
hanut
jew
karrotta
laringa
missier
nies
patata
qamar
rih
sena
tieqa
warda
xitla
zokkor
zball
SECTION B
Word List
an armchair hija she
a ring cena supper/dinner
that dejjem always
a rabbit vaganza a holiday
a biscuit gallarija a balcony
a day gakketta a jacket
a wise man gflax because
a shop hu a brother
or Jannar January
a carrot karrozza a car
an orange langasa a pear
a father/dad malajr soon
people nar a fire
a potato basla an onion
a moon qawl a proverb
wind ritratt a photo
a year sikkina a knife
a window tabib a doctor
a rose wied a valley
a plant xaghar hair
sugar zalza tomato sauce
a mistake zejt oil
7
8
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)
Exercise Four
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.
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
Word List
A [a]
anmar red
arja air
E le]
ezempju an example
hen a happiness
I [i]
ilma water
id a hand
ienor
iebes
ont
omm
ukoll
but
lE [i]
another
hard
0[0]
a sister
a mother/mummy
U [u]
also
a Docket
9
10
Now try this exercise:
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. Aflmar red (father; pat)
2. Qmm mother/mum (on; work)
3. i d hand (ship; sheep)
4. Ukoll also (butcher; cut)
5 . .Elf one thousand (sell ; neat)
6. Bieb a door (sheet; hit)
7. ilma water (bill ; heat)
SECTION B
Word List
barmil a bucket pranzu a lunch
medicina a medicine presepju a Christmas crib
kif how iva yes
kiesafl cold posta mail
roza pink gobon cheese
sema a sky dundjan a turkey
pupa a doll luminata a lemonade
isfar yellow uniformi a uniform
Now try these exercises:
Exercise Two
Match the underlined Maltese vowel with its sound equivalent
in the English example.
1. LMminata a lemonade (put ; boot)
2. Kif how (lick; leak)
3. Gnien a garden (it; seat)
4. RQza pink (over; cot)
5. ~ d i c i n a medicine (let; seat)
6. Arja air (car; black)
Exercise Three
Express in English:
isfar; sema; kiesafl ; iva; kif ; pranzu; barmil ; pupa; luminata; but;
arja; posta; ilma; presepju; dundjan; hena.
Exercise Four
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.
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 semi-
vowels 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
14
SECTION A
Word List
[AJ] [aj]
bajda an egg
tieglii mine
[EJ] [ei]
tieglii mine
bejt a roof
[AW] [awl
qawsalla a rainbow
miegliu with him
[OWl [owl
miegliu with him
gliuda wood
[EW] [ew]
lewza an almond
kewkba
mija
lumija
liwja
[IJ] [ij]
a star
one hundred
a lemon
[IW] [iw]
a bend
Now try this exercise:
Exercise One
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
dgliajsa a boat
fejn where
hawn here
sewda black
Exercise Two
Express in English:
(nice; bit)
(now; show)
(know; dice)
(sew; eye)
(day; low)
SECTION B
Word List
dija a light, brightness
liamrija soil
lilewwa sweetness
tiegliu his
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;
zokkor; zunzana.
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.
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 the key
id-dar the house
in-nanna the grandmother
ir-ragel the man
is-sikkina the knife
it-tifel the boy
ix-xemx the sun
iz-ziju the uncle
iz-zarbun the 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 the air arja
il-Iumija the lemon lumija
il-kelb the dog kelb
id-dar the house dar
I-ikrah the ugly (person) ikrah
is-sabili the beautiful sabili
air
a lemon
a dog
a house
ugly
beautiful
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PREPOSITIONS AND THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
The most commonly used prepositions in Maltese are:
quddiem in front of
wara behind
Iidejn near
lejn towards
fuq on
tant under
fejn where
bejn between
minn from
lil to
bnal like
gnal for
ta' of
ma' with
fi in
bi with
CONTRACTIONS OF PREPOSITIONS
When the prepositions 1iI, bnal, gnal, ta', ma', fi and bi (but not
the other prepositions) immediately precede the definite article,
they are linked to the definite article, thus forming one word as
in the following examples:
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
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
pi
Also, the preposition which is joined to the definite article,
assimilates with the following word which starts with C, d, r, n,
S t
x z and z as in the following examples:
, , ,
IiI + it-tifla = lit-tifla
ta' + ic-Cikkulata = tat-Cikkulata
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:
quddiem iI-mara
wara I-bieb
tant it-tu rkett
Iidejn il-banar
lejn id-dar
bejn in-nies
bi
ma'
ta'
bejn
Iidej n
quddiem
SECTION A
Word List
with
with
of
between
near
in front
in front of the woman
behind the door
under the ring
near the sea
towards the house
between the people
fi in
gnal for
bnal like
tant under
lejn towards
wara behind
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20
Now try these exercises:
Exercise One
First insert the definite article, then translate into English.
e.g. bejt 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
Answer the following questions
1. Which prepositions can be linked to the definite article to
form one word?
2. Which prepositions cannot be linked to the definite article?
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?
SECTION B
Word List
u and
izda but
filwaqt
gnaldaqstant
marid
while
consequently
sick
II-Granet tal-gimgna
it-Tnejn
it-Tlieta
I-Erbgna
il-t=lamis
il-Gimglia
is-Sibt
il-t=ladd
In-Numri Kardinali
1 wiened
2 tnejn
3 tlieta
4 erbglia
In-Numri Ordinali
I-ewwel first
it-tieni second
it-tielet third
ir-raba' fourth
il-names fifth
is-sitt sixth
The days of the week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Cardinal Numbers
5 namsa
6 sitta
7 sebglia
8 tmienja
9 disglia
10 gliaxra
11 Iidax
12 tnax
Ordinal Numbers
is-se ba' seventh
it-tmien eighth
id-disa' ninth
I-gnaxar tenth
il-Iidax eleventh
it-tnax twelfth
21
22
Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:
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.
Exercise Four
Express in English:
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; it-
tielet ragel; I-gnaxar mara.
Exercise Five
Write these in Maltese:
e.g. 1 + 1 = 2
(i) 3 + 4 = 7;
(ii) 1 + 2 + 6 = 9;
(iii) 5 + 7 = 12;
(iv) 8 + 3 = 11 ;
(v) 10 + 2 = 12.
wiened u wiened = tnejn
Lesson Five
The Verbs To Be and To Have
PRONOUNS AND VERBS
The personal pronouns in Maltese are:
jiena
inti (sing)
huwa
hija
anna
intom (pi )
huma
I
you (sing)
he
she
we
you (pi)
they
The conjugated form of the verb To Be is as follows:
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
when followed by a noun or an adjective as in the following
examples:
hija mara sabina she i.s. a beautiful woman
huwa marid he i.s. sick
The verb To Have, an irregular functional verb, is conjugated
in the following way:
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24
To Have
jiena gfiandi
inti gfiandek (sing)
huwa gfiandu
hija gfiandha
afina gfiandna
intom gfiandkom (pi)
huma gfiandhom
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 pro-
nouns 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:
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)
ASKING QUESTIONS
In Maltese the following words are used to ask questions:
kemm?
min?
gfialfejn?
fejn?
how much/how many?
who?
why?
where?
kif?
how?
xi? what?
minn fejn? 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:
X'i nhu? What is he?
Kif inhija? How is she?
Kif inhuma? How are they?
25
26
SECTION A
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
Exercise One
Express in English
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
1. Marija gliandha dar fil -kampanja.
2. Mario gliandu qattus, kelb u papra fil-gnien tiegliu.
3. L-omm u I-missier huma fuq il-bejt tan-nanna.
4. It-tifla ta' Carmen gliandha kaxxa kbira talit is-sodda.
5. II-pipa tan-nannu hija fuq il -mejda fil-kCina.
6. Ir-ragel ta' Marija gliandu ragun.
7. Kif int ilium? Tajjeb, grazzi.
8. Min huwa dak it-tifel? II-kugin ta' Francesco.
9. Fejn huwa Mark? Huwa fis-salott ma' Mario.
SECTION B
Word List
Ix-xhur tas-sena
Jannar
Frar
Marzu
April
Mejju
Gunju
Lulju
Awissu
Settembru
Ottubru
Novembru
Di6embru
Espressjonijiet ta' Kuljum
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
The months of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Everyday Expressions
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 . I am hungry.
Gliandi I-gliatx. I am thirsty.
Gliandi ragun. I am right.
Gliandi tort. I am wrong.
Gliandha sena. She is one year old.
Gliandi x'naglimel. I am busy.
27
28
Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:
1. The boy is behind the chair.
2. The dog is on the roof.
3. Carmen and Francesco have a dog and a cat in the farm.
4. What is the matter with Sean (What does Sean have)?
Nothing.
5. I am hungry and they are thirsty.
6. We are wrong and you (singular) are right.
7. Where is Maria? She is in the dining room.
8. Who is Francis? He is the son of George and Simone and
the cousin of Francesco.
9. What does the mother have on the chair? She has an
orange and a lemon.
10. How much money do you have in the bank? A little.
11 . The months of the year are January, February, March, April ,
May, JU+le, July, August, September, October, November
and December.
12. The days of the week are seven: Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
13. 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 Feminine
il-missier the father I-omm the mother
iz-ziju the uncle iz-zija 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 t ~ 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 the shoe
is-siggu 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:
29
30
Masculine
Alia
ilma
is-sema
God
the water
the sky
Feminine
id-dar
il-qalb
I-omm
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
it-tifel iz-zgnir
it-tifla z-zgnira
a small/ young boy
a small/ young girl
the boy the small/young (the small/young boy)
the girl the small/young (the small/young girl)
From the above examples one notes that:
(i) the position of the adjective in Maltese is one which foll ows
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:
(i) 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 which are derived from the masculine adjectives by
adding the suffixes ja or the vowel a to the masculine adjective:
Masculine Feminine
nadif clean nadifa
qasir short qasira
qawwi fat/sturdy qawwija
raM . a villager ranlija
SECTION A
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)
il sien (m)
God
a friend
a tailor
a teacher
a dentist
a lawyer
a notary
a stone mason
an architect
a pharmacist
a writer
a bottle
a village
a language/ tongue
31
32
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)
Exercise One
a plate
a problem
a town
a groom
a lamp
a library
a glass
a cup
a teaspoon
a spoon
a bathroom
health/ strength
a (village) square
Mark the nouns which are masculine as M and those which are
feminine as F stating the reason for your choice.
The following example will show you how to go about working
the exercise:
II-Iampa the lamp F/ends in the vowel a
1. il-mara the woman
2. il-kelba the bitch
3. is-siggu the chair
4. il-problema the problem
5. il-wicc the face
6. I-ilma the water
7. is-sema the sky
8. I-avukat the lawyer
9. il-flajjat the tailor
10. Alia God
11. il-qawsalla the rainbow
12. I-isptar the hospital
13. il-tabiba the doctor
Exercise Two
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.
SECTION B
Word list
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
34
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)
Nazzjonalitajiet
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)
Exercise Four
Express in Maltese
lazy
active/ industrious
clean
dirty
old (inanimate object)
old (person)
new
foreigner
high
low
affable
bad
book
Nationalities
Maltese
Gozitan
English
American
Australian
Canadian
Spanish
Italian
Greek
French
Turk
Cypriot
Japanese
German
Arab
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.
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; tifel ; Tork; FranCiz; Kanadiz; Gliawdxi;
Awstaljan; Ciprijott; Grieg; Germaniz; Gliarbi.
Exercise Seven
Express in English:
1. Ir-ragel ta' Marija hu olixon u twi l.
2. Min huma Marija u Francis? It-tfal ta' Joe.
3. Sean huwa t-tifel iz-zgliir tal-familja Fenech.
4. Mario hu twil u sabili bliaz-ziju ta' Marija.
5. Mark u Mario gliandhom il-guli u I-gliatx.
6. Ir-ragel ix-xiii u I-mara x-xilia gliandhom ragun.
7. Carmen Marija gliandha sena biss u hija olit Francesco.
8. Id-dar is-sabilia gliandha kamra tal-pranzu kbira, 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:
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.
36
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 platti
bieb bibien
missier
sptar
omm
*siggu
*nannu/a
*Uajla
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 idejn hands
gliajn gliajnejn eyes
rigel riglejn legs
widna widnejn ears
spalla spallejn shoulders
37
38
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 wings
driegn dirgnajn arms
ADJECTIVES
Of particular note is the fact that adjectives generally take the
suffixes -in, -n, -i, and not the other suffixes. Adjectives ending
in a consonant are assigned plurality by affixing the suffix -in:
fernan fernanin happy
imdejjaq imdejqin unhappy
manmug manmugin dirty
tajjeb tajbin good
rieqed reqdin sleepy
gflazzien gnazzenin lazy
kiesan kesnin silly
Adjectives ending in the vowel i form their plural by adding the
suffix -n:
Malti Maltin Maltese
Gnawdxi Gliawdxin Gozitans
Sqalli Sqallin Sicilians
dliuli dliulin affable
barrani barranin 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:
bejt
bjut roofs
furketta
frieket forks
ragel
rgiel men/husbands
kitla
ktieli kettles
fenek
fniek rabbits
qalb
qlub hearts
zejt
zjut oils
Unfortunately, as is evident from the above examples, there are
no quick and easy rules which govern the formation of the
broken plurals 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 tfal boys
tifla tfal girls
mara nisa women
ragel rgiel men
tfajla tfajliet young adolescent females
missier missirijiet fathers
omm ommijiet mothers
genitur genituri parents
ziju zijiet uncles
zija zijiet aunts
kugin kugini male cousins
kugina kugini female cousins
flu
aliwa brothers
oflt aliwa sisters
barrani barranin foreigners
furketta frieket forks
mgflarfa mgliaref spoons
sikkina skieken knives
kuccarina kuccari ni teaspoons
sieq
saqajn feet
39
rigel riglejn legs
exercise One
gliajn gliajnejn eyes
First put into the plural and then translate into English as in the
spalla spallejn shoulders following example:
widna widnejn ears
e.g. omm ferliana
ommijiet ferlianin happy mothers
' gewnali gwinliajn wings
rkobba rkobbtejn knees
Tifel malimug; mara nadifa; nannu xiii ; ragel twil ; tifla gliaqlija;
id idejn hands
furketta qadima; kuccarina nadifa; spalla kbira; widna zgliira;
saba' swaba' fingers tifla gnazziena; Malti gliaqli ; missier kwiet; ragel tajjeb.
dliuli dliulin affable
gliaqli gliaqlin wise/ prudent
Exercise Two
nadif ndaf clean
twil twal tall Put these sentences into the plural and then translate into
kwiet kwieti quiet
English:
kbir kbar big
kburi kburin proud 1.
Iz-ziju hu fil-gnfen iz-zgliir mat-tifla I-kwieta.
liazin liziena bad 2.
In-nanna u n-nannu huma fid-dar taz-ziju.
sliun slian hot 3.
Iz-ziemel u I-limar huma fir-razzett il -kbir tan-nannu.
sinjur sinjuri rich 4.
II-qattus u I-kelb huma fuq il-bjut tar-ralilin.
qadim qodma old (inanimate objects) 5.
II-bandiera tal -pajjiz gliandha ft it kuluri.
xiii xjuli old (persons)
sabili sbieli beautiful/handsome
malimug malimugin dirty
SECTION B
tajjeb tajbin good
ferlian ferlianin happy
Word List
qasir qosra short
gliazzien gliazzenin lazy
sptar sptarijiet hospitals
giddieb giddibin liars
siggu siggijiet chairs
zgflir zgflar small
mejda mwejjed tables
gnien gonna gardens kamra kmamar rooms
ziemel zwiemel horses kcina kcejjen kitchens
limar limir donkeys knisja knejjes churches
dar djar houses ralial rliula vii/ages
qattus qtates cats iejt zjut oils
kelb klieb dogs libsa Ibiesi dresses
razzett rziezet farms
qalziet qliezet trousers
bandiera bnadar flags
dublett dbielet skirts
flokk flokkijiet sweaters
glekk glekkijiet jackets
klassi klassijiet classes
poeta poeti poets
'----
40 41
42
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
Exercise Three
Express in Maltese:
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
1. The grandfather is with an old woman in the big house.
2. The boy and the girl are on the chai r.
3. The wise uncle is on the small bed.
4. Carnival and Easter are big feasts.
5. The horses and the donkeys are in the big garden with
children.
6.
7.
8.
9.
In the farm there are horses, donkeys, big cats and small
dogs.
On the tables there are forks, knives and spoons.
The villagers have rabbits and dogs in the square.
The churches in Malta are old but beautiful.
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 (2nd person singular) buy!
ixtru! (2nd person plural) buy!
jiena nixtri I buy
inti tixtri you (sing) buy
huwa jixtri he buys
hija tixtri she buys
anna
intom
huma
nixtru
tixtru
jixtru
we buy
you (pI) buy
they buy
45
48
xtara
ixtri! (sing) ; ixtru! (pi)
lagnab
ilgnab! (sing) ; ilagnbu! (pi)
ta
agnti! (sing) ; agntu! (pi)
fehem
ifhem! (sing) ; ifhmu! (pi)
Exercise One
to buy
buy!
to play
play!
to give
give!
to understand
understand!
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.
Exercise Three
put the correct form of the verb in the present tense as in the
following example:
e.g. Anna (fehem) nifhmu.
1. Huwa (nadem). 2. Hija (nabb). 3. Inti (seraq) . 4. Anna (Iibes) .
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) .
12. In-nisa (pogga) . 13. Intom (gnamel).
SECTION B
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
50
II-kuluri
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)
L-istaguni
ir-rebbiegna (f)
is-sajf (m)
il-narifa (f)
ix-xitwa (f)
Exercise Four
Express in English:
the colours
red
green
black
white
yellow
blue
gray
brown
pink
the seasons
spring
summer
autumn
winter
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. I t-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.
Exercise Five
Express in Maltese:
1. Every week the boy reads a book.
. 2. Mary cooks dinner for the boys.
3. Simone's husband is very sturdy and tall.
4. Every day the children eat a lot of sweets.
5. The pretty girl wears the red dress.
6. I love Christmas and Easter.
7. I have a brown dog and a black tom-cat.
8. The four seasons are: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
9. Every evening Maria and Joe dance together.
10. They have a large house and a beautiful garden.
11. Every Monday, Mark buys oranges, carrots and pears.
12. 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. While 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:
e.g. Jien nonfoq I spend; jien rna nonfoqx I do not spend
e.g. Alina nixtru we buy; alina ma nixtrux 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 lam rn'iniex I am not
inti you are rn'intix you (sing) are not
huwa he is m'huwiex he is not
hija she is m'hijiex she is not
alina we are rn'aliniex we are not
intom you are m'intomx you (pI) are not
huma they are m'humiex they are not
Verb To Have
jiena gliandi I have m'gliandix I do not have
inti gliandek you have m'gliandekx you (sing) do not have
huwa gliandu he has m'gliandux he does not have
hija gliandha she has m'gliandhiex she does not have
alina gliandna we have m'gliandniex we do not have
intom gliandkom you have m'gliandkomx you (pI) do not have
huma gliandhom they have m'gliandhomx they do not have
53
54
storja (f) , stejjer (pi)
filgliaxija
wara nofs in-nhar
mar
SECTION A
Word list
mur! (sing); morru! (pi)
wiegeb
wiegeb! (sing) ; wiegbu! (pi)
gidem
igdem! (sing) ; igdmu! (pi)
acceUa
acceUa! (sing); acceUaw! (pi)
fetali
iftali! (sing) ; iftliu! (pi)
Now try these exercises:
Exercise One
stories
in the evening
in the afternoon

to go
go!
to answer
answer!
to bite
bite!
to accept
accept!
to open
open!
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.
4. Huwa gliandu dar sabilia bi gnien kbir.
5. Hija spizjara anzjana u gliarfa.
6. Huma nisa tajbin.
7. Inti gliandek liafna guli u gliatx.
8. It-tfal (fehem) I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti.
9. Marija u Mario huma fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tfal.
10. Pierre (xtara) liafna froU u lielu gliat-tifel ta' Marija.
11 . It-tfal (gliamel) liafna storbju meta huma (Iagliab) I-futbol
fi t-triq.
Exercise Two
Put in the correct form of the verb and then translate into
English:
e.g. Alina (kiteb) iUra lill-mara ta' Mario.
Alina niktbu iUra lill -mara ta' Mario.
We write a letter to Mario's wife.
1. Inti (zifen) tajjeb liafna.
2. Huma (liabb) lill-qtates u I-klieb.
3. Marija (xtara) libsa twila.
4. It-tfal (gera) fir-razzeU tan-nanniet.
5. Jiena (kiteb) ktieb dwar I-istorja ta' Malta.
6. II-missier (liadem) fl-glialqa tan-nannu.
7. In-nisa (sajjar) kuljum gliall-familji.
8. Carmen (nefaq) liafna flus fil-kotba ta' I-iskola.
9. Huwa (liasel) lit-tifel il-malimug.
10. 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'
farmhouse.
3. While July is not a cold month, January is not hot but very
cold.
4. Francis is a friendly and studious boy.
55
56
5. A German student is not always studious.
6. Francis does not have a big car like Sean.
7. The son and the daughter are not hungry and thirsty.
S. The small children are not right.
9. 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. The man does not steal watches.
2. Maltese people do not spend a lot of money.
3. Joe sweeps his bedroom in the afternoon.
4. Maria and Carmen do not play football , but they play tennis.
5. The gardener does not give water to the trees in the garden.
6. The two boys do not understand the lesson.
7. In Malta we do not have a long winter.
S. 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 Be To Have
jiena nkun I shall be jiena jkolli I shall have
inti tkun you (sing) will be inti jkollok you (sing) will have
huwa jkun he will be huwa jkollu he will have
hija tkun she will be hija jkollha she will have
alina nkunu we shall be alinajkollna we shall have
intom tkunu you (pi) will be intom ikollkom you (pi) will have
huma jkunu they will be 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.
57
58
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
Now try these exercises:
Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
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
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.
Exercise Two
Express in Maltese:
1. Maria will not put the forks on the table.
2. John will not work in the months to come.
3. The small girl will not steal the doll.
4. The children will not play with the dog.
5. I shall read the book in the next few days.
6. The mother and father will cook the meal in the evening.
60
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).
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.
pronouns are words used in place of nouns. Maltese has
pronominal suffixes which can be attached to nouns, verbs and
some of the prepositions:
-i
-ja
-ek/ok
-k
-u
-h
-ha
-na
-korn
-horn
1 st pers. sing
1 st 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
1 st pers. pi
2nd pers pi
3rd pers. pi
PRONOMI NAL SUFFIXES WITH PREPOSITIONS
-ni
-ek/ok
-k
-u
-h
-ha
-na
-kom
-horn
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 lej n I-omm.
It-tifel jigri lejha.
Fuq on/ upon
Marija sejra tmur fuq il-bejt
gnada.
Marija sejra tmur fuqu
gnada.
The boy runs towards
the mother.
The boy runs towards her.
Maria will go on the roof
tomorrow.
Maria will go on it
tomorrow.
61
62
t"fdejn near/by the side of
Pierre jgliix M ejn it-tabib Abela. Pierre lives near Or Abela.
Pierre jgliix Iidej h. Pierre lives near him.
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.
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-)
BiI-flus taglimel triq fil -banar.
Bihom taglimel triq fil-banar.
Ghand at the place of/ to
With money one can make
(construct) a road in the sea
(one can do anything if one
has money).
With them (money) one can
make (construct) a road in
the sea.
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) .
The prepositions ma' with and ta' of are given below with the
affixation of the pronominal suffixes. It is best to learn these
prepositions and their pronominal suffixes as these are very
often used in Maltese.
Ma' With
Mieglii
Miegnek
Miegliu
Magnha
Maglina
Maglikom
Magnhom
with me
with you (sing)
with him
with her
with us
with you (pI)
with them
Mario jmur I-iskola ma' Joe.
Mario jmur I-iskola miegliu.
Ta' Of
Tieglii mine
Tiegnek yours (sing)
Tiegnu his
Tagliha hers
Taglina ours
Tagnkom yours (pI)
Tagnhom 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.
63
64
Nouns denoting Parts of the Body
Rasu hija kbira nafna.
Gnajnek gnandha infezzjoni .
Idi hija zgnira.
Nouns denoting Relatives
His head is very big.
Your (sing) eye has an infection.
My hand is small.
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) , infezzj onijiet (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)
Providenza (f)
tramuntana (f)
nofs in-nhar (m)
Ivant (m)
infections
on
among
without
at the house of/ at
patience
works
life
schools
the green-grocer
the bread vendor
the cheesecakes seller
the confectioner
Providence
north
south
east
punent (m)
gnalqa (f), gnelieqi (pi)
specjali (m & f, sing & pi)
mhux biss
il-nin
Now try these exercises:
Exercise One
west
fields
special
not only
the time
First translate the following words and then attach the
pronominal suffixes to the following prepositions and nouns
as shown in the following:
Mingnajr
Mingnajri
Mingnajrek
Mingliajru
Mingnajrha
Mingnajrna
Mingnajrkom
Mingnajrhom
Without
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.
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86
Exercise Three
Express in English:
1. Joe jigri d-dar mal-kelb tiegni.
2. L-gnalliema sejra tmur I-iskola magnhom.
3. II-libsa tagnha hija namra bnal tat-tfa!.
4. Ix-xin jgnix Mejn il-banar mal-mara tiegnu u mat-tfal ta' ontu.
5. It-tifla sejra jkollha I-ktieb magnha.
6. AgM I-ktieb liI Joe.
7. In-nisa sejrin ikunu mingnajr flus dalwaqt.
8. 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
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)
gawda
gawdil (sing); gawdu! (pi)
qaleb
aqlebl (sing); aqilbul (pi)
seta'
ista'! (sing); istgnu! (pi)
qal
gnid! (sing) ; gnidul (pi)
daqq
doqql (sing); doqqu! (pi)
gab
gib! (sing); gibu! (pi)
naseb
anseb! (sing); ansbu! (pi)

to go
go!
to enjoy
enjoy!
to turnlchange
turn/change!
to be able
be able!
to say
say!
to play (an instrument)
play!
to bring
bring!
to think
think!
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68
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.
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 tal-
knisja 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.
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
qawwij a. 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.
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 wielied 11 lidax
2 tnejn 12 tnax
3 tlieta 13 tlettax
4 erbglia 14 erbatax
5 liamsa 15 limistax
6 sitta 16 sittax
7 sebglia 17 sbatax
8 tmienja 18 tmintax
9 disglia 19 dsatax
10 gliaxra 20 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 A polysyllabic noun
. 1 wielied (m) , walida (f) wielied (m) , walida (f)
2. iewgt iewg
3 tlett tliet
4 erbat erba'
5 liamest liames
6 sitt sitt
7 sebat seba'
8 tmint tmien
9 disat disa'
10 gliaxart gliaxar
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72
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) eleven trees
e.g. names siggijiet (pi) five chairs
11 lidax-il mara eleven women
12 tnax-il tifel twelve boys
13 tlettax-il kelb thirteen dogs
14 erbatax-il dar fourteen houses
15 nmistax-il sodda fifteen beds
16 sittax-il ragel sixteen men
17 sbatax-il mejda seventeen tables
18 tmintax-il pultruna eighteen armchairs
19 dsatax-il gnien nineteen gardens
The following are other commonly used cardinal numbers:
20 gnoxrin
21 wiened u gnoxrin
22 tnejn u gnoxrin
23 tlieta u gnoxrin
24 erbgna u gnoxrin
25 namsa u gnoxrin
26 sitta u gnoxrin
27 sebgna u gnoxrin
28 tmienja u glioxrin
29 disgna u glioxrin
30 tletin
31 wiened u tletin
40 erbgnin
50 namsin
60 sittin
70 sebgnin
80 tmenin
90 disgliin
100 mija
101 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 one o'clock
is-saglitejn two o'clock
it-tlieta three o'clock
I-erbglia four o'clock
il-liamsa five o'clock
is-sitta six o'clock
is-sebgna seven o'clock
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74
it-tmienja
id-disgna
I-gnaxra
il-Max
eight o'clock
nine o'clock
ten o'clock
eleven o'clock
noon; mid-day nofs in-nhar
nofs il-Iejl 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.
e.g. is-siegna ta' filgnodu
e.g is-sagntejn ta' wara nofs in-nhar
e.g. nofs in-nhar
e.g. nofs il-Iejl
e.g. I-gnaxra u gnaxra
e.g. I-gnaxra neqsin gnaxra
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
1 a.m.
2 p.m.
12.00 noon
24.00 midnight
ten minutes past
ten o'clock (to. 10)
ten minutes to
ten o'clock (9.50)
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 year
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

kiber
ikber! (sing) ; ikbru! (pi)
studja
studja! (sing) ; studjaw! (pi)
twenty
thirty
forty
fifty
sixty
seventy
eighty
ninety
hundred
thousands
millions
half a million
a quarter of a million

to grow up
grow up!
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!
investa
investi! (sing); investu! (pi)
nesa
insa! (sing); insew! (pi)
to invest
invest!
to forget
forget!
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76
organizza to organise
organizza! (sing); organizzaw! (pi) organise!
biegli
bigli! (sing) ; bigliu! (pi)
Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
to sell
se//!
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 village.
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
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)
milj un (m) , miljuni (pi)
qargliabaglilija (f) , qargliabaglili (pi)
faiola (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
genitur (m & f) , genituri (pi)
investiment (m) , investimenti (pi)
edukazzjoni (f)
tajjeb/alijar/I-alijar
'il quddiem
popol azzjoni
maqrut (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
n
78
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. How many months are there in one year?
2. How many days are there in a week?
3. How many minutes are there in a quarter of an hour?
4. How many hours are there in one day?
5. How many minutes are there in half an hour?
6. How many 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
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
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.
79
KEY TO EXERCISES
LESSON ONE
Exercise One
1. Zunzana
2. Qavetta cheese
3. Zija
4. Gnien lustice
5. jjobza borse
6. Gflasfur dough
7. Grazzi good
8. tiuwa beir
9. jjalib bam
10. Ziju
11 . tiena bonour
12. Gzira gold
13. Zarbun
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. Zokkor bits
2. Qurkett child
3. Zejt
4. Gallarija girl
5. jjanut bouse
6. Gflax though
7. Xagflar shoe
8. turnata lob
9. jju bair
10 Jew
t
ellow
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84
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.
LESSON TWO
Exercise One
1. 6nmar father
2. Qmm Qn
3. Id sheep
4. Ukoll bytcher
5. .Elf
6. sheet
7. Ilma bill
Exercise Two
1. Lyminata pyt
2. Kif leak
3. seat
4. RQza Qver
5.
6. 6rja car
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.
Exercise Four
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
1. Tieg)}i nice
2. Qawsalla nQw
3. MiegflU know
4. Kewkba sew
5. TiegDi day
Exercise Two
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 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.
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86
LESSON FOUR
Exercise One
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 isfar, 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.
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 rainbow,
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 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.
Exercise Five
1. tlieta u erbglia = sebglia
2. wielied u tnejn u sitta = disglia
3. Iiamsa u sebglia = tnax
4. tmienja u tlieta = Iidax
5. gliaxra u tnejn = tnax
LESSON FIVE
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. Carmen's daughter has a big box under the bed.
5. The grandfather's pipe is on the kitchen table.
6. Maria's husband is right.
7. How are you today? Fine thank you.
8. Who is that boy? He is Francesco's cousin.
9. 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. C,armen u Francesco gnandhom kelb u qattus fir-razzett.
4. X gliandu Sean? Xejn.
5. Jiena gliandi I-guli u huma gliandhom I-gliatx.
6. Anna gliandna tort u inti gnandek ragun.
7. hi Marija? Hija fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tifel ta' Mark.
8. 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. huma: Jannar, Frar, Marzu, April , Mejju,
GunJu, LulJu, Awissu, Settembru, Ottubru Novembru u
Dicembru. '
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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
Exercise One
1. The woman/wife F/a
2. The bitch
F/a
3. The chair
M/u
4. The problem
F/a
5. The face
M/consonant
6 The water
M/exception
7. The sky
M/exception
8. The lawyer
M/consonant
9. The tailor
M/consonant
10. God
M/excepti on
11 . The rainbow
F/a
12. The hospital
M/consonant
13. The doctor (f)
F/a
Exercise Two
Ix-xemx (f) the sun; iz-zejt (m) oil; it-tazza (f) the glass; il-
pjazza (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;
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.
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 woman-
tifla samra a dark girl; kcina malimuga a dirty kitchen;
tal-banju nadifa a clean bathroom; kugin gliazzien a lazy cousin.
Exercise Five
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 man-
the dirty dog; the good orange
t-tajba; II-famllJa s-sinjura the wealthy family.
Exercise Six
Italian; mistliija shy, tifla girl; Torka Turk; Maltija Maltese;
French; Canadian; Gliawdxija Gozitan;
Australian; Ciprijotta Cypriot, Griega Greek;
Germaniza German; Gliarbija Arab.
Exercise Seven
1. Maria's husband is fat and tall.
2. Who are Maria and Francis? They are Joe's children.
3. Sean is the young son of the Fenech family.
4. Mario is tall and handsome like Maria's uncle.
5. Mark and Mario are hungry and thirsty.
6. The old man and the tall woman are right.
7. Carmen Maria is only one year old and is Francesco's sister.
8. 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.
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Exercise Eight
1. II-Griega, it-Taljan, il-Germaniza u I-Malti huma fis-salott
ma' nies onra.
2. Fir-ranal hemm pjazza kbira u sigra zgliira.
3. L-ilsien tat-tifel I-Amerikan hu I-Ingliz.
4. Joe hu ragel gliani imma hu generuz mat-tifel il-fqir.
5. II-mara s-sabina gliandha ragel gnazzien u tifla biezla.
6. II-Kanadiz it-twil hu bjond, dnuli u fernan.
7. II-problema ta' Marija hija gdida.
8. Fil-librerija hemm lampa kbira u tazza malimuga.
9. L-isptar il-qadim hu zgliir izda nadif.
10. 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 Two
1. Iz-zijiet huma fil-gonna z-zgnar mat-tfal il-kwieti. The uncles
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.
5. II-bnadar tal -pajjizi gnandhom nafna kuluri. The countries'
flags have many colours.
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. 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
nansel , inti tansel , huwa jansel , hija talisel , anna nanslu,
Into m tanslu, huma janslu.
t=tabb to love
nliobb, inti tnobb, huwa jliobb, hija tliobb, alina nnobbu,
Intom tnobbu, huma jnobbu.
t=tadem to work
Jien nandem, inti tandem, huwa jalidem, hija tandem, alina
nalidmu, intom tandmu, huma jandmu.
Gnamel to do/ to make
Jiena naglimel , inti tagnmel , huwa jagnmel , hija tagnmel , alina
nagnmlu, intom tagnml u, huma jaglimlu.
Ta to give
nagnti , inti tagliti , huwa jagnti , hija tagliti , anna nagntu,
Into m tagntu, huma jagntu.
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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 Two
1. Hija taqra Iiafna kotba. She reads many/a lot of books.
2. Alina nizfnu fiI-pjazza. We dance in the square.
3. Huma jaglimlu Iiafna storbju. They make a lot of noise.
4. Jiena nixtri Iiafna laring. I buy many oranges.
5. Huwa jliobb is-sigar il-kbar. He loves the big trees.
6. 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) .
Exercise Four
1. The seasons of the year are four: spring, summer, autumn, winter.
2. 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 Five
1. Kul l gimglia t-tifel jaqra ktieb.
2. Marija ssajjar pranzu gliat-tfal.
3. Ir-ragel ta' Simone hu qawwi Iiafna u twil.
4. Kuljum, it-tfal jieklu Iiafna Iielu.
5. It-tifla s-sabilia tilbes il-libsa I-Iiamra.
6. Jiena nliobb il-Milied u I-Gliid.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11 .
12.
Jiena gliandi kelb kannella u qattus iswed.
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. II-bandiera Maltija hija bajda u Iiamra.
2. Pio u Carmen huma fil -gni en tan-nannu.
3. Fllwaqt Ii Dicembru huwa xahar kiesali , Lulju hu sliun Iiafna.
4. Sean huwa tifel kwiet u wkoll mistlii .
5. Student Kanadiz huwa studjuz u gliaref.
6. gliandu karozza kbira, filwaqt li jiena gliandi kelb
zglilr u qattusa kbira.
7. u gliandhom il-guli u I-gliatx.
8. It-tlfel u t-tl fla gliandhom ragun.
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LESSON NINE
Exercise One
Hija m'gliandhiex tifla u tifel. She does not have a son and
a daughter.
2 Alina ma nigrux lejn il-baliar. We do not run towards the sea.
3. Jiena m'iniex mara bjonda u twila. I am not a blond and tall
woman.
4. Huwa m'gliandux dar sabilia bi gnien kbir. He does not
have a beautiful house with a big garden.
5. Hija m'hijiex spizjara anzjana u gliarfa. She is not an
elderly and wise pharmacist.
6. M'humiex nisa tajbin. They are not good women.
7. Inti m'gliandekx liafna guli u gliatx. You are not very
hungry and thirsty. . .
8. It-tfal ma fehmux il-Iezzjoni tal-Malti. The children dId not
understand the Maltese lesson.
9. Marija u Mario m'humiex fil-kamra tal-pranzu mat-tfal.
Maria and Mario are not in the dining room with the
children.
10. Pierre ma jixtrix liafna laring u langas. Pierre does not buy
a lot of fruit and sweets.
11 . 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.
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
liamra.
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 tifel biezel u studjuz.
5. Student Germaniz 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.
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LESSON TEN
Exercise One
Express in Maltese:
1. Fi ftit granet onra Mark ser jagnti lezzjoni fl-universita.
2. Hija sejra tikteb ittra lit-tifel fi ftit ..
3. Dalwaqt jiena sejra nagnti I-ktieb u 1-lIbsa III tlfla.
4. Huma sejrin jixtru I-naxix u I-frott mir-razzett. .
5. Anna sejrin nanslu I-nwejjeg il-manmugin d-dlenla.
6. Jiena sejjer naqra ktieb importanti x-xahar Id-dlenel.
7. Mario sejjer jafldem nafna s-sena d-dienla. . .
8. Joe u Mario ikollhom isajru I-pranzu gnall-familJa.
9. It-tfal serjin jizfnu fil-gnien wara nofs in-nhar.
10. It-tfal sejrin jifhmu I-Iezzjoni tal-Malti dalwaqt.
Exercise Two
1. Marija m'hijiex sejra tpoggi I-frieket fuq il-mejda.
2. John m'huwiex sejjer jafldem fix-xhur Ii gejjin.
3. It-tifla z-zgnira m'hijiex sejra tisraq il-pupa.
4. It-tfal m'humiex sejrin jilagnbu mal-kelb.
5. Jiena sejra naqra I-ktieb fi ftit granet onra.
6. 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 taccetta,,:,: 6.
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.
6. Marija sejra twiegeb I-ittra ta' Joe wara nofs in-nhar.
7. Pierre sejjer jixtri I-karozza I-gimgna Ii gejja.
8. Jiena sejjer ikolli nagnti I-ikel lit-tfal iz-zgnar.
9. II-kelb sejjer jigdem I-id tat-tifel iz-zgnir dalwaqt.
10. Ir-ragel ikollu jqajjem it-tife\.
11. 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
fuqi on me
fuqek on
you (sing)
fuqu on him
fuqha on her
fuqna on us
fuqkom on
you (pI)
fuqhom on them
Ma' with
miegni with me
miegliek with
you (sing)
miegnu with him
magnha with her
magnna with us
maglikom with
you (pi)
magnhom with
them
Bnallike
bnali like me
bnalek like
you (sing)
bnalu like him
bnalha like her
bnalna like us
bnalkom like
you (pI)
bnalhom like them
Ta' of
tiegni mine
tieghek yours (sing)
tiegnu his
tagnha hers
tagnna ours
taghkom yours (pi)
tagnhom theirs
Tant under
tanti under me
talitek under
you (sing)
tantu under him
tantha under her
tantna under us
tantkom under
you (pI)
tanthom under them
Ras head
rasi my head
rasek your head (sing)
rasu his head
rasha her head
rasna our head
raskom your head (pI)
rashom their head
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Gflajn eye
Id hand
Oar house
gnajni my eye
idi my hand
dari my house
gnajnek your
idek your
darek your
eye (sing)
hand (sing)
house (sing)
gnajnu his eye
idu his hand
daru his house
gnajnha her eye
idha her hand
darha her house
gnajnna our eye
idna our hand
darna our house
gnajnkom your
idkom your
darkom your
eye (pI)
hand (pI)
house (pI)
gnajnhom their
idhom their hand
darhom their house
eye
Oht sister
Omm mother
Missier father
onti my sister
ommi my mother
missieri my father
ontok your
ommok your
missierek your
sister (sing)
mother (sing)
father (sing)
ontu his sister
ommu his mother
missieru his father
ontha her sister
ommha her mother
missierha her father
ontna our sister
ommna our mother
missierna our father
ontkom your
ommkom your
missierkom your
sister (pI)
mother (pI)
father (pI)
onthom their
ommhom their
missierhom their
sister
mother
father
Exercise Two
1. Joe jigri lejn id-dar mal-kelb ta' Marija.
2. L-gnalliem sejjer imur 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
f
lilxhmlegliu.
5. II-kelb imur fuq il-kaxxa s-sewda. II-kelb Imur 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.
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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.
Exercise Four
Spring in Malta
One of the seasons of the year is spring and for many Maltese
this is their favourite season.
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
Mal ta 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.
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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.
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.
LESSON TWELVE
Exercise One
u sebgnin fenek; mija wiened u gnoxrin kelb; names
sebat imwejjed; nofs kilo qargnabagnli; kilo laring;
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. .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 Three
1. Hemm tnax-il xahar f'sena.
2. Hemm seba' granet f'gimgna.
3. Hemm nmistax-il minuta fi kwarta ta' siegna.
4. Hemm erbgna u gnoxrin siegna f'gurnata.
5. Hemm tletin minuta f'nofs siegna.
6. Hemm erbgna u gnoxrin xahar f'sentejn.
Exercise Four
L-erbgna ta' wara nofs in-nhar; id-disgna ta' filgnaxija; is-
sagntejn 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
02
Exercise Five
The University of Malta
The University of Malta is four hundred years old. It is one of
the oldest universities in the Commonwealth.
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.
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.
VERB LIST
The following is a list of verbs stems together with their
imperative forms:
To Accept accetta
Accept!
accetta! (sing); accettaw! (pi)
To Arrive wasal
Arrive!
asal! (sing) ; aslu! (pi)
To Be Able seta'
Be Able!
ista'! (sing); istgliu! (pi)
To Become sar
Become!
sir! (sing); siru! (pi)
To Believe em men
Believe!
emmen! (sing) ; emmnu! (pi)
To Bite gidem
Bite!
igdem! (sing) ; igdmu (pi)
To Bring gab
Bring!
gib! (sing); gibu (pi)
To Buy xtara
Buy! ixtri! (sing); ixtru! (pi)
To Cook sajjar
Cook!
sajjar! (sing); sajru! (pi)
To Do gliamel
Do!
aglimel! (sing) ; aglimlu! (pi)
To Dance zifen
Dance! izfen! (sing); izfnu! (pi)
To Dress libes
Dress! IIbes! (sing); ilbsu (pi)
To Enjoy gawda
Enjoy! gawdi! (sing) ; gawdu! (pi)
To Feel liass
Feel! lioss! (sing); liossu! (pi)
103
To Find
sab
To See
ra
Find!
sib! (sing); sibu! (pi)
See!
ara! (sing) ; araw! (pi)
To Forget
nesa
To Sell
biegli
Forget!
insa! (sing) ; insew! (pi)
Sell!
bigli! (sing); bigliu! (pi)
To Give
ta
To Sit Down
pogga
Give!
agliti! (sing) ; aglitu! (pi)
Sit Down!
poggi! (sing) ; poggu! (pi)
ToGa
mar
To Spend
nefaq
Go!
mur! (sing) ; morru! (pi)
Spend!
onfoq! (sing) ; onfqu! (pi)
To Steal
seraq
To Grow Up
kiber
Steal !
Grow Up!
ikber! (sing); ikbru! (pi)
israq! (sing); isirqu! (pi)
To Invest
investa
To Study
studja
Study!
studja! (sing) ; studjaw! (pi)
Invest!
investi! (sing) ; investu! (pi)
To Sweep
kines
liabb
To Love
Sweep!
iknes! (sing); ikinsu! (pi)
Love!
liobb! (sing) ; liobbu! (pi)
To Think
liaseb
To Make
gliamel Think!
aliseb! (sing) ; alisbu! (pi)
Make!
aglimel! (sing); aglimlu! (pi)
To Turn
qaleb
To Open
fetali
Turn!
aqleb! (sing) ; aqilbu! (pi)
Open!
iftali! (sing); iftliu! (pi)
To Understand
fehem
To Organise
organizza
Understand!
ifhem! (sing); ifhmu! (pi)
Organize!
organizza! (sing); organizzaw! (pi)
To Wake Up
qam
To Play (games)
lagliab
Wake Up!
qum! (sing) ; qumu! (pi)
Play!
ilgliab! (sing) ; ilaglibu! (pi)
To Wash
liasel
To Play (music) daqq
Wash!
alisel! (sing); alislu! (pi)
Play!
doqq! (sing) ; doqqu! (pi)
To Work
liadem
To Read
qara
Work!
alidem! (sing); alidmu! (pi)
Read!
aqra! (sing); aqraw! (pi) To Write
kiteb
Write!
ikteb! (sing) ; iktbu! (pi)
To Run
gera
Run!
igri! (sing) ; igru! (pi)
To Say
qal
Say!
gliid! (sing) ; gliidu! (pi)
04
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
filgfiodu in the morning
gawda to enjoy Ftamis (m) Thursday
dipendenti (m & f, sing & pi) filwaqt while
giddieb (m) , giddieba (f), fiamsa five
dependent
fjura (f) , fjuri (pi) flower
giddibin (pi) liar fiamsin fifty
driegfi (m) , dirgfiajn (pi) arm flimkien together
gidem to bite fiandikappat (m) , fiandi-
dsatax nineteen
flixkun (m), fliexken (pi) bottle
grazzi thank you kappata (f) handicapped
dublett (m) , dbielet (pi ) skirt
flokk (m) , flokkijiet (pi) sweater
griz (m) , griza (f), grizi (pi) gray fiandikappati (pi) handicapped
dundjan (m) , dundjani (pi) flus (pi) money
gzira (f) , gzejjer (pi) island fianut (m) , fiwienet (pi) shop
turkey
fortunatament fortunately
fiarifa (f) autumn
fost among
Gt=t
fiaseb to think
frotta (f), frott (pi) fruit
fiasel to wash
E
fqir (m) , fqira (f) , fqar (pi) poor
fiass to feel
Frar (m) February
gfiada tomorrow fiaxix (m) vegetable
edukazzjoni (f) education
ftit a little
gfiaref (m) , gfiarfa (f) , gfiorrief fidax eleven
elf (m) , eluf (pi) thousand
fubol (m) football
(pi) wise fidejn near
emmen to believe
fuq on
gfiasfur (m) , gfiasafar (pi) bird fidura (f) greenery
erbatax fourteen
furketta (f) , frieket (pi) fork
gfiaxra ten fielwa (f) , fielwin (pi) nice;
gfioxrin twenty sweet
erbgfia four fiin (m), fiinijiet (pi) time
Erbgfia (f) Wednesday
G
erbgfiin forty H
fijara (f) , fijar (pi) cucumber
ezami (m) , ezamijiet (pi)
filewwa (f) sweetness
nmar (m) , nmara (f) , nmir (pi)
examination gab to bring
hawn here
ezempju (m) , ezempji (pi) gdid (m), gdida (t) , godda (pi) new
hekk so; thus
donkey
example
generuz (m) , generuza (f) ,
nmistax fifteen
hemmhekk over there
generuzi (pi) generous
hena (m) happiness
nobza (f), nobz (pi ) loaf of
genitur (m & f) , genituri (pi) parent
bread
hekk u hekk so-so nu (m) , anwa (pi) brother
F
gewnan (m) , gwienan (pi),
hija (f) she; she is
gwinnajn (pi) wing
huwa (m) he; he is
nwejjeg (pi) clothes
fazola (f sing & pi) bean
Gimgna (f) Friday
fakulta (f) , fakultajiet (pi)
glekk (m) , glekkijiet (pi) j acket
faculty
gnien (m) , gonna (pi) garden t=t
familja (f) , familji (pi) family
gobon (m) , gobna (f) ,
favorit (m) , favorita (f) ,
gobniet (pi) cheese
naga (f) thing
izda however
favoriti (pi) favourite
gun (m) hunger nazin (m) , nazina (f) , nziena (pi )
id (m) , idejn (pi ) hand
fehem to understand
Gunju (m) June
bad
ienor (m) , onrajn (pi ) another
fejn where
gurdien (m) , gurdiena (f) ,
nabb to love
iebes (m), iebsa (f) , ibsin (pi )
fenek (m) , fenka (f) , fniek (pi)
grieden (pi) mouse
Ftadd (m) Sunday
hard
rabbit
gurnata (f) , granet (pi) day
nadem to work
iknal (m) , kanla (t), konol (pi) blue
fernan (m) , fernana (f) ,
nafna a lot of
ikrah (m) , kerha (f) , koroh (pi)
fernanin (pi) happy
najja (f) , najjiet (pi) life
ugly
festa (f) , festi (pi) feast G
najjat (m), najjata (f), najjatin (pi )
ilium today
fetan to open
tailor
ilma (m) , ilmij iet (pi) water
fi in
gallarija (f) , gallariji (pi) balcony
nalib (m) milk
imdejjaq (m), imdejqa (f) ,
filgfiaxija in the evening
gallettina (f), gallettini (pi) biscuit
namrija (f) soil
imdejqin (pi) sad
109
importanti (m & f, sing & pi) kapitali (f sing & pi) capital lejl (m) night miljun (m) , miljuni (pi) million
important karrotta (f), karrotti (pi) carrot lejn towards min who
imqareb (m) , imqarba (f), karrozza (f) , karrozzi (pi) car lezzjoni (f) , lezzjonijiet (pi) mingflajr without
imqarbin (pi) naughty kaxxa (f) , kaxxi (pi) box lesson minn from
indipendenti (m & f, sing & pi) kburi (m) , kburija (f), kburin (pi) librerija (f) , libreriji (pi) library; minuta (f), minuti (pi) minute
independent
proud bookcase
missier (m) , missirijiet (pi)
investa to invest kelb (m), kelba (f) , klieb (pi) libsa (f) , ilbiesi (pi) dress father
investiment (m),
dog lira (f) , liri (pi) pound (currency) mistfli (m), mistflija (f) ,
investimenti (pi) investment
kemm? how much? how many? liwja (f), liwjiet (pi) bend mistflijin (pi) shy
isfar (m), safra (t), sofor (pi) yellow kewkba (f), kwiekeb (pi) star Lulju (m) , July
ismar (m) , samra (f),
kiber to grow up luminata (f) , luminati (pi)
somor (pi) dark
kien to be lemonade
N
iswed (m) , sewda (f), kiesafl (m) , kiesfla (f) , kesflin
suwed (pi) black
(pi) cold
nadif (m) , nadifa (f),
ittra (m) , ittri (pi) letter
kif? how
M
nodfa (pi) clean
iva yes kif ukoll as well
nannu (m) , nanna (f) ,
ixxurtjat (m) , ixxurtjata (f),
kikkra (f) , kikkri (pi) cup
ma' with nanniet (pi) grandparent
ixxurtjati (pi) lucky kilo (m), kilojiet (pi) kilo
maflmug (m), maflmuga (f), nar (m) , nirien (pi) fire
kines to sweep
maflmugin (pi) dirty nefaq to spend
kiteb to write
madwar around neqsin to (the hour)
J
kitla (f), ktieli (pi) kettle
magflha with her nesa to forget
kittieb (m) , kittieba (f) , kittieba
magflhom with them nies (pi) , people
Jannar (m) January
(pi) writer
magflkom with you (pi) nofs half
jekk if
klassi (f) , klassijiet (pi) class
magflna with us nofs il-Iejl (m) midnight
jewor
knisja (f) , knejjes (pi) church
malajr soon; quickly nofs in-nhar (m) midday
jiena I; I am
ktieb (m), kotba (pi) book
mar to go Novembru (m) November
jum (m) , jiem (pi) day
kugin (m) , kugina (f) , kugini (pi)
mara (f) , nisa (pi) woman numru (m) , numri (pi) number
cousin
marid (m), marida (f) , nutar (m), nutara (f & pi) notary
kuccarina (f), kuccarini (pi)
morda (pi) sick
K
teaspoon
maqrut (m), imqaret (pi) date cake
kulfladd everybody
Marzu (m) March
0
kCina (f), kcejjen (pi) kitchen
kullimkien everywhere
mediCina (t) , medicini (pi) medicine
kampanja (f) , kampanji (pi)
kwiet (m) , kwieta (f), kwieti (pi)
mejda (f) , mwejjed (pi) table
oflt (f) , aflwa (pi) sister
countryside
quiet
meta when
omm (f) , ommijiet (pi) mother
kamra (f), kmamar (pi) room
metru (m), metri (pi) metre
organizza to organize
kamra tal-banju (f), kmamar
Mejju (m) May
ottubru (m) October
tal-banju (pi) bathroom
L mgflarfa (f) , mgflaref (pi) spoon
kamra tal-pranzu (f) , kmamar
mhux not
tal-pranzu (pi) dining room
lagflab to play miegflek with you (sing)
p
kamra tas-sodda (f) , kmamar
lampa (f) , lampi (pi) lamp miegfli with me
tas-sodda (pi) bedroom
langasa (f) , langas (pi) pear miegflu with him
pacenzja (f) patience
kannella (m & f, sing & pi)
laringa (f), laring(pl) orange mija (f), mijiet (pi) hundred
paCi (f) peace
brown
le no Milied (m) Christmas
papra (f) , papri (pi) duck
111
pastizz (m), pastizzi (pi) qalb (f) , qlub (pi) heart sabin (m) , sabina (f) , sbien (pi)
T
Maltese cheesecake qaleb to turn beautiful; handsome
patata (f sing & pi) potato qalziet (m) , qliezet (pi) trousers sajf (m) summer
ta' of
periklu (m) , perikli (pi) danger qam to wake up sajjar to cook
tant under
perit (m & f) , periti (pi) qamar (m), qmura (pi) moon salott (m), salotti (pi) sitting room
tabib (m), tabiba (f) ,
architect qara to read sar to become
tobba (pi) doCtor
pipa (f) , pi pi (pi) pipe qargnabagnalija (f), sebgna seven
tagnha hers
pjazza (f) , pjazez (pi) village qargnabagnli (pi) marrow sejjer shall leave
tagnhom theirs
square
qasir (m) , qasira (f), qosra (pi) sekonda (f), sekondi (pi) second
tagnkom (pi) yours
pl att (m), platti (pi) plate short sebgnin seventy
tagnna ours
pogga to sit down qattus (m), qattusa (f) , sena (f), snin (pi) year
tajjeb good
poeta (m) , poetessa (f) , qtates (pi) cat seraq to steal
tal-naxix (m) green-grocer
poeti (pi) poet
qawsalla (f), qawsalli (pi) seta' to be able
tal-nelu (m) confectioner
poplu (m) , popli (pi) people rainbow Settembru (m) September
tal-pastizzi (m) cheescake
popolazzjoni (f) , popol- qawwi (m) , qawwija (f) , sfortunatament unfortunately
vendor
azzjonijiet (pi) population qawwijin (pi) sturdy; fat Sibt (m) Saturday
tazza (f) , tazzi (pi) glass
posta (f) , posta (pi) mail quddiem in front of siggu (m) , siggijiet (pi) chair
temp (m) weather
pranzu (m) , pranzi (pi) lunch sigra (f), sigar (pi) tree
tfajjel (m), tfaj la (f) , tfal (pi)
presepju (m) , presepji (pi) siegna (f) , signat (pi) hour
small child
crib R
sieq (f) , saqajn (pi) foot
tfal tat-tfal (pi) grandchildren
progett (m), progetti (pi ) sikkina (f) , skieken (pi) knife
tiegliek (sing) yours
project
ra to see
sinjur (m) , sinjura (f) , sinjuri (pi)
ferlianin (pi) happy
probl ema (f), problemi (pi)
ragel (m), rgiel (pi) man
Mr
tieglii mine
problem
ragun (m) , ragunijiet (pi)
sinjur (m) , sinjura (f) , sinjuri (pi)
tiegliu his
professur (m & f) ,
reason
wealthy; rich
tieqa (f) , twieqi (pi) window
professuri (pi) professor
ralial (m), rliula (pi) village
sitta six
tifel (m) , tfal (pi) boy
Providenza (f) Providence
ras (f) , rjus (pi) head
sittax sixteen
tifla (f) , tfal (pi) girl
pultruna (f), pultuni (pi)
razzett (m), rziezet (pi)
sittin sixty
tizjin (m) festoons;
armchair
farmhouse
skola (f) , skejjel (pi) school
decorations
pupa (f) , pupi (pi) doll
rigel (m), riglej n (pi) leg
sodda (f) , sodod (pi) bed
tlettax thirteen
rebbieglia (f) spring
spal la (f) , spallejn, spalel (pi)
tletin thirty
rili (m), irji eli (pi) wind
shoulder
tlieta three
a ritratt (m), ritratti (pi) photo
specjali (m sing & pi) special
Tlieta (f) Tuesday
roza (f sing & pi) pink
spizjar (m) , spizjara (f) , spizjara
tmenin eighty
qaddis (m), qaddisa (f) , rqiq (m) , rqiqa (f), rqaq (pi) thin
(pi) pharmacist
tmienja eight
qaddisin (pi) saint
sptar (m) , sptarijiet (pi) hospital
tnax twelve
qaddis patrun (m) , qaddisa
stagun (m) , staguni (pi) season
tnejn two
patruna (f) patron saint
S
storbju (m & pi) noise
Tnejn (m) Monday
qaddisin patruni (pi) patron
storja (f) , stejjer (pi) story
tort (m) wrong
saints
sliun (m) , sliuna (f) , sli an (pi)
student (m) , studenta (f) ,
twil (m) , twila (f), twal (pi) tall
studenti (pi) student
qadim (m) , qadima (f) , qodma
warm
studja to study
(pi) old (inanimate objects)
salilia (f) health
studjuz (m) , studjuza (f) ,
qal to say
sab to find
studjuzi (pi) studious
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
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
ENGLISH - MALTESE WORD LIST
A
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) dedicated dedikat (m), dedikata (f), family familja (f), familji (pI)
God Alia (m)
cheese gobon (m), gobna (f), dedikati (pI) farmhouse razzett (m),
good tajjeb (m), tajba (f),
gobniet (pI) dentist dentist (m), dentista (f), rziezet (pI)
tajbin (pI)
cheesecake (Maltese) dentisti (pI) father missier (m), missirijiet (pI)
good afternoon il-wara nofs
pastizz (m) , pastizzi (pI) dependent dipendenti (m & pI) favourite favorit (m), favorita (f), in-nhar it-tajjeb (m)
cheesecake vendor difficult diffi6li (m sing & pI) favoriti (pI)
good morning l-gflOdwa t-
tal-pastizzi (m) dining room kamra tal-pranzu (f), feast festa (f), festi (pI)
tajba (f)
child (small child) tfajjel (m), kmamar tal-pranzu (pI) February Frar (m)
good night il-Iejl it-tajjeb (m)
tfajla (f), tfal (pI) dinner cena (f) feel (to feel ) nass
good-bye sanna
chocolate cikkulata (f) , dinner pranzu (m), pranzijiet (pi) festoons tiijin (m)
grandfather nannu (m),
cikkulati (pI) do (to do) gnamel fifteen nmistax
nanniet (pI)
Christmas Milied (m) doctor tabib (m), tabiba (f), fifty namsin
grandmother nanna (f),
church knisja (f), knejjes (pi) tobba (pi) find (to find) sab
nanniet (pi)
city belt (f), bliet (pi) dog kelb (m), klieb (pI) fire nar (m), nirien (pI)
green afldar (m), nadra (f),
class klassi (m), klassijiet (pI) doll pupu (m), pupa (f), pupi (pi) five namsa
nodor (pI)
clean nadif (m), nadifa (f), donkey nmar (m), nmara (f), flag bandiera (f), bnadar (pi)
greenery ndura (f sing)
ndaf (pi) nmir (pi) flower fjura (m), fjuri (pi)
green-grocer tal-naxix (m)
clothes nwejjeg (pi), ilbiesi door bieb (m), bibien (pi) foot sieq (m), saqajn (pi)
grandchildren tfal tat-tfal (pi)
cold (adj) kiesan (m), dress libsa (f), ilbiesi (pI) football futbol (m)
grow (to grow) kiber
kiesna (f), kesnin (pi) dress (to dress) libes foreigner barrani (m),
colour kulur (m), kuluri (pi) duck papra (f), papri (pi) barranija (f), barranin (pi)
confectioner tal-nelu (m) forget (to forget) nesa
H
cook (to cook) sajjar fork furketta (f), frieket (pi)
countryside kampanja (f)
E
fortunately fortunatament hair xagnar (pi)
cousin kugin (m), kugina (f), forty erbgnin half nofs
kugini (pi) ear widna (f), widnejn (pi) four erbgna hand id (m), idejn (pi)
crib (a Christmas crib) education edukazzjoni (f sing & pI) fourteen erbatax handsome sabin (m),
presepju (m), presepji (pI) egg bajda (m), bajd, bajdiet (pi) Friday il-Gimgna (f) sbien (pi)
cucumber njara (f), fljar (pi) eight tmienja friendly dnuli (m), dnulija (f), handicapped nandikappat (m &
cup kikkra (f), kikkri (pI) eighteen tmintax dnulin (pi) f), nandikappati (pi)
eighty tmenin from minn happiness hena (f)
eleven ndax front (in front of) quddiem happy fernan (m), fernana (f),
D
enjoy (to enjoy) gawda fruit frotta (f), frott (pi) fernanin (pi)
dance (to dance) iifen
evening (in the evening) filgnaxija hard iebes (m), iebsa (f),
everybody kulf1add
G
ibsin (pi)
danger periklu (m), perikli (pi)
everywhere kullimkien have (to have) gnandu
dark ismar (m), samra (f),
examination eiami (m), eiamijiet (pI)
garden gnien (m), gonna (pi)
he huwa
somor (pi)
example eiempju (m), eiempji (pi)
generous generui (m),
head ras (f), rjus (pi)
datecake maqrut (m),
generuia (f), generuii (pi)
health sanna (f)
imqaret (pi)
girl tifla (f), tfal (pi)
heart qalb (f), qlub (pI)
day gurnata (f), granet (pi),
F
glass tazza (f), tazzi (pi)
hello x'hemm
jum (m), jiem (pi)
glow dija (f)
here hawn
December Dicembru (m) face wicc (m), ucun (pi)
go (to go) mar
hers tagflha
decorations tiijin (m) faculty fakulta (f), fakultajiet (pi)
his tiegnu
117
holiday vaganza (m), kilo kilo (m), kilojiet (pi)
midnight nofs il-Iejl (m)
old (inanimate object)
vaganzi (pi) kitchen k6ina (f), k6ejjen (pi)
milk nalib (m)
qadim (m), qadima (f),
hospital sptar (m), knife sikkina (f), skieken (pi)
million mi!jun (m), mi!juni (pI)
qodma (pi)
sptarijiet (pi)
mine tiegni
old (person) xin (m), xina (f),
hour siegna (f), signat (pi)
L
minute minuta (f), minuti (pI)
xjun (pI)
house dar (f), djar (pi)
miss sinjorina (f), sinjorini (pi)
on fuq
how kif
Monday it-Tnejn (m)
one wiened (m), waflda (f)
how much kemm
lamp lampa (f), lampi (pi) money f/us (pi)
onion basla (f), basal (pi)
however iida
lawyer avukat (m), month xahar (m), xhur (pi)
only biss
hundred mija (f), mijiet (pi)
avukatessa (f), avukati (pI) moon qamar (m), qmura (pi)
open (to open) fetan
hunger gun
leg rigel (m), riglejn (pi) morning (in the morning)
or Jew
lemonade luminata (f), filgnodu
orange laringa (f), la ring (pi)
luminati (pi) mother omm (f), ommijiet (pi)
organise (to organise)
lesson lezzjoni (f), mouse gurdien (m), grieden (pi)
organizza
lezzjonijiet (pi) Mr sinjur (m), sinjuri (pi)
ours tagnna
I jiena
letter ittra (f), ittri (pi) Mrs sinjura (f), sinjuri (pi)
outside barra
if jekk
liar giddieb (m), giddieba (f), much iejjed
over there hemmhekk
important importanti (m sing
giddibin (pi)
& pi)
library librerija (f), libreriji (pi)
in fi
life najja (f), najjiet (pi)
N
P
in order to biex
like bfJal
in this way b'hekk
little (a little of) ftit
naughty mqareb (m), mqarba (f),
parent genitur (m),
independent indipendenti (m,
a loaf of bread nobia (f), nobiiet (pi)
mqarbin (pi)
genituri (pi)
sing & pi)
lot (a lot of) nafna need bionn
patience pa6enzja (f)
industrious bieiel (m),
love (to love) nabb
new gdid (m), gdida (f), godda (pi)
patron sai nt qaddis patrun (m),
bieila (f), biilin (pi)
low baxx (m), baxxa (f),
nice nelu (m), nelwa (f), nelwin (pI)
qaddisin patruni (pi)
invest (to invest) investa
baxxi (pi) night lejl (m)
peace pa6i (f)
investment investiment (m),
lucky ixxurtjat (m), ixxurtjata (f), nine disgna
pear langasa (f), langas (pi)
investimenti (pi)
ixxurtjati (pI) nineteen dsatax
people nies (pI)
island giira (f), giejjer (pi) ninety disgnin
people poplu (m), popli (pi)
M
no le
pharmacist spiijar (m),
J
noise storbju (m)
spiijara (f, sing & pi)
not mhux
photo ritratt (m), ritratti (pi)
mail posta (f)
notary nutar (m), nutara (f),
pink roia (f, sing & pi)
jacket glekk (m), glekkijiet (pI)
man ragel (m), rgiel (pi)
nutara (pi)
pipe pipa (f), pipi (pi)
January Jannar (m)
March Marzu (m)
nothing xejn
plant pjanta (f), pjanti (pi)
July Lu!ju (m)
marrow qargnabagnalija (f),
November Novembru (m)
plate platt (m), platti (pi)
June Gunju (m)
qargnabagnli (pi)
number numru (m), numri (pi)
play (to play games) lagnab
mason bennej (m), 'bennejja (pi)
May Mejju (m)
play (to play music) daqq
K
medicine medi6ina (f),
please il'1kk ioqngbok
medi6ini (pi)
pocket
kettle kit/a (f), ktieli (pi)
metre metru (m), metri (pi) October
poet
key 6avetta (f), 6wievet (pi)
midday nofs in-nhar (m) of
poor fqir (m), fqar (pi)
population 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
rabbi t 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 1-
theirs 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
122
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
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