Maltese is the strangest and most interesting thing about the country, linguistically speaking. It is a Semitic language, descended from the Arabic spoken in Sicily a thousand years ago. It is written in the Latin alphabet and contains a lot of Italian and English.
It is the only language of its kind in the world. It is an official language of the European Union.
How much do you need?
You can live here without a word of it
English is an official language and you can live here for years without a word of Maltese. Nobody will make it difficult for you.
But the response you get when you try is out of all proportion to how little you need to know.
50 phrases worth learning
Semitic grammar written in Latin script
The structure is Arabic, so the verbs and plurals behave in ways no European language prepares you for. The vocabulary is a mix of Arabic, Sicilian and English.
The spelling is at least consistent, which is more than English manages.
Meeting people
Free courses exist
The government runs subsidised and free courses for residents, and several private schools teach it. Class sizes are small because demand is modest.
Starting is the hard part. Most people who put it off never begin.
Schools
Do you need it?
To live here, no. English is an official language, it is used in government, business, education and the courts, and essentially everyone speaks it. You can spend years here without a word of Maltese and never be stuck.
To belong here, it helps enormously. Maltese is the language of the village, the family and the bar. People treat you differently when you make an effort, even if you learn very little. Some public sector roles require it outright.
What makes it hard
And what makes it easier than it looks
- The grammar is Semitic
- Words are built from three-consonant roots, the way Arabic and Hebrew work. If you have studied a European language, none of your instincts transfer.
- A third of the vocabulary is not
- Centuries of Sicilian, Italian and English have layered on top. A great deal of everyday vocabulary is recognisable if you know any Romance language.
- The spelling is regular
- Unlike English, Maltese is written more or less as it sounds once you learn the alphabet. The letters gh, h, q and z are the ones to get right early.
- Code-switching is normal
- Maltese speakers mix English into Maltese constantly and without embarrassment. You will understand more of an overheard conversation than you expect.
Bongu (good morning), bonswa (good evening), grazzi (thank you), jekk joghgbok (please), skuzi (excuse me), iva and le (yes and no), saħħa (goodbye, literally health). Six words will change how a village bar responds to you.
Courses run at the University of Malta and through adult learning centres, and free or subsidised classes are periodically offered to residents. For a language with under half a million speakers, the teaching materials are better than you would expect.
Nobody expects you to speak Maltese. English is an official language and you can live here for years without a word of it.
But a village bar, a market stall or a neighbour will respond warmly when you try, even if you learn very little. These are the phrases worth the effort.
Why it is worth twenty minutes
Trying a few words changes the room
Trying, badly, gets a warmer response than speaking perfect English does. It shows respect, and that matters more than getting the words right.
You will be corrected, cheerfully, and that is how you learn the next one.
About the language
How the letters sound
Maltese spelling is consistent once you know the letters. Two letters cause most of the trouble: għajn, which is silent and lengthens the vowel, and h, which is silent unless it carries a bar.
Read the phrases below out loud once each. That is most of the preparation.
Meeting people
Village bars and markets
It works best where there are no tourists. Try a village bar, the Ta’ Qali market, or a bakery counter at seven in the morning.
Start with bongu and grazzi. Those two alone will change how people talk to you.
The markets
Say these six and nothing else
The short list
- Bonġu
- Good morning. BON-joo. Used as a general hello until early afternoon.
- Bonswa
- Good evening. bon-SWA.
- Grazzi
- Thank you. GRAT-tsi.
- Jekk jogħġbok
- Please. yek YOJ-bok.
- Skużi
- Excuse me, and also sorry. SKOO-zee.
- Saħħa
- Goodbye. Literally health, and also used as cheers. SAH-ha.
How the letters sound
Maltese is written in the Latin alphabet and spelled far more consistently than English. Learn six letters and you can read almost anything aloud well enough to be understood.
The six phrases that matter
- ħ (Ħ)
- A strong breathy H, further back than the English one. ħobz, bread, is hobz.
- għ
- Almost silent. It stretches the vowel next to it. Għawdex, Gozo, comes out close to AW-desh.
- ġ (Ġ)
- Like the J in jam. Bonġu is BON-joo.
- g
- Always hard, as in go. Never soft.
- ċ (Ċ)
- Like the CH in church.
- x
- Like the SH in shop. Xemx, sun, is shemsh.
- ż and z
- ż with a dot is the Z in zoo. Plain z is the TS in cats.
- q
- A glottal stop, the catch in the middle of uh-oh. It is a real letter here, not a dropped K.
- j
- Like the Y in yes.
Getting by
Greetings and courtesy
- Kif int?
- How are you? keef int. Informal and friendly.
- Tajjeb, grazzi
- Good, thanks. TAI-yeb.
- U int?
- And you?
- Grazzi ħafna
- Thank you very much.
- Ta’ xejn
- You are welcome. Literally of nothing.
- Jiddispjaċini
- I am sorry. The full apology, rather than skużi.
- Merħba
- Welcome.
- Saħħa u ġid
- Health and prosperity. A warm sign-off.
Yes, no and I do not know
- Iva
- Yes. EE-va.
- Le
- No.
- Forsi
- Maybe.
- Ma nafx
- I do not know. ma NAFSH.
- Ma nifhimx
- I do not understand. ma nif-HIMSH.
- Titkellem bl-Ingliż?
- Do you speak English?
- Ftit
- A little. Useful on its own.
- Kollox sew
- All good, everything is fine.
Asking for things
- Fejn hu…?
- Where is…? fayn oo.
- Kemm jiswa?
- How much does it cost?
- Il-kont, jekk jogħġbok
- The bill, please.
- Nixtieq…
- I would like…
- Xi tixtieq?
- What would you like? You will hear this at a counter.
- Għandek…?
- Do you have…?
- Fejn hu l-banju?
- Where is the toilet?
- Nista’ ngħin?
- Can I help? Or offer it as ngħinek, I will help you.
Directions
- Lemin
- Right.
- Xellug
- Left. SHELL-oog.
- Dritt
- Straight on.
- Hawn
- Here.
- Hemm
- There.
- Viċin
- Near.
- Bogħod
- Far.
Food and drink
- Ħobz
- Bread. The centre of Maltese food.
- Ilma
- Water. ILL-ma.
- Kafè
- Coffee.
- Te
- Tea.
- Birra
- Beer.
- Inbid
- Wine.
- Bnin
- Delicious. Say it about someone’s cooking and watch what happens.
- Saħħa!
- Cheers, when glasses are involved.
Numbers and time
- Wieħed, tnejn, tlieta
- One, two, three.
- Erbgħa, ħamsa
- Four, five.
- Illum
- Today.
- Għada
- Tomorrow. ADA.
- Il-bieraħ
- Yesterday.
- Issa
- Now.
- Wara
- Later, after.
- Il-lejla
- This evening.
The words you will hear constantly
These are not textbook phrases. They are the ones that pepper actual conversation, and recognising them is worth more than another ten nouns.
Everyday filler
- Mela
- The most useful word in Maltese. Depending on tone it means of course, well then, indeed, obviously, or simply carries a pause. If you learn one word beyond hello, learn this one.
- Ejja
- Come on, let us go. Also used to hurry someone along.
- Isma
- Listen. How a sentence starts when someone wants your attention.
- Mhux hekk?
- Isn’t that so? Tagged onto the end of a statement.
- Ajma
- Ouch, or oh dear.
- Sabiħ
- Beautiful, lovely. Used about places, food and people.
- Bierek
- A blessing, and a very common exclamation.
- X’inhu dan?
- What is this?
It will not help you in a hotel or a seafront restaurant, where everyone speaks English all day. It helps in a village bar, a bakery, a market stall, or with a neighbour. Open with bonġu, close with grazzi and saħħa, and you stop being a tourist who happens to be standing there.
Got a correction?
Maltese spelling and usage are worth getting exactly right, and a written pronunciation guide is always a compromise. If something here is wrong, clumsy or would make a native speaker wince, we would like to know.
Why the language is the way it is, and where to learn it formally, is on the Maltese language.