Beginner Maltese vocabulary
100+ Maltese Words & Phrases (With English Translation)
Learn Maltese vocabulary for beginners with English translations: numbers, days, months, colours, family, animals, food, drinks, body parts, home, technology, seasons, planets, zodiac and common phrases.
How to use this guide
Browse each topic, compare the English and Maltese words, and use the extra information column to notice word origins, spelling patterns, grammar notes and useful cultural details.
Useful Maltese word patterns
- Maltese uses a Latin alphabet but has distinctive letters such as ħ, għ, ġ, ż and ċ.
- Many everyday words are Semitic, while many food, culture and modern words show Romance or English influence.
- The definite article changes form before some sounds, as in il-, it-, is- and id-.
Search by English word, Maltese word or extra information.
No matching vocabulary rows found. Try another word or clear the search box.
Family in Maltese — 12 essentials
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| mother | omm | A core Semitic Maltese family word. |
| father | missier | A core Maltese family word; compare the affectionate feel of family terms in everyday Maltese. |
| daughter | bint | Also means “girl” in some contexts. |
| son | iben | Related to Semitic words for “son”. |
| brother | ħu | Very short Maltese word with the letter ħ. |
| sister | oħt | Contains ħ, one of the distinctive Maltese letters. |
| grandmother | nanna | Common affectionate family word. |
| grandfather | nannu | Masculine pair of nanna. |
| aunt | zija | Family word with Romance-style spelling but fully integrated in Maltese. |
| uncle | ziju | Masculine pair of zija. |
| cousin male | kuġin | Usually a Romance-derived word; feminine form is kuġina. |
| cousin female | kuġina | Feminine form of kuġin. |
Numbers — 0 to 100 in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | żero | International / Romance-style word; note the Maltese letter ż. |
| 1 | wieħed | The masculine form; Maltese number forms can change with gender. |
| 2 | tnejn | The weekday it-Tnejn is connected with “two”. |
| 3 | tlieta | The weekday it-Tlieta is connected with “three”. |
| 4 | erbgħa | The weekday l-Erbgħa is connected with “four”. |
| 5 | ħamsa | The weekday il-Ħamis is connected with “five”. |
| 6 | sitta | Basic Semitic number word. |
| 7 | sebgħa | Contains għ, one of the most recognisable Maltese letters. |
| 8 | tmienja | Basic number; note the consonant cluster at the start. |
| 9 | disgħa | Contains għ. |
| 10 | għaxra | Contains għ; a useful word for recognising Maltese spelling. |
| 20 | għoxrin | Related to the Maltese pattern for tens. |
| 30 | tletin | Connected with tlieta “three”. |
| 40 | erbgħin | Connected with erbgħa “four”. |
| 50 | ħamsin | Connected with ħamsa “five”. |
| 100 | mija / mitt | Mija and mitt are both useful forms connected with “hundred”. |
Colours in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| red | aħmar / ħamra | Masculine/feminine forms are common with Maltese colour adjectives. |
| blue | blu | A short colour word borrowed into Maltese usage. |
| yellow | isfar / safra | Masculine/feminine pair. |
| green | aħdar / ħadra | Masculine/feminine pair. |
| white | abjad / bajda | Masculine/feminine pair. |
| black | iswed / sewda | Masculine/feminine pair. |
| pink | roża | A Romance-style colour word. |
| purple | vjola | Related to Romance colour vocabulary. |
| grey | griż / griża | Contains the Maltese letter ż. |
| orange | oranġjo | Modern colour word; note the Maltese letter ġ. |
Days of the Week in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | it-Tnejn | Connected with tnejn, “two”. |
| Tuesday | it-Tlieta | Connected with tlieta, “three”. |
| Wednesday | l-Erbgħa | Connected with erbgħa, “four”. |
| Thursday | il-Ħamis | Connected with ħamsa, “five”. |
| Friday | il-Ġimgħa | Important word in Maltese weekly vocabulary; contains ġ and għ. |
| Saturday | is-Sibt | Related to Semitic words for Sabbath/Saturday. |
| Sunday | il-Ħadd | Also linked to the idea of “one” or “the first” in Semitic patterns. |
Months of the Year in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| January | Jannar | European calendar month name adapted in Maltese. |
| February | Frar | Short Maltese month name. |
| March | Marzu | Similar to Romance/European month names. |
| April | April | International-looking form. |
| May | Mejju | Maltese spelling with jj. |
| June | Ġunju | Contains the Maltese letter ġ. |
| July | Lulju | Maltese spelling with lj. |
| August | Awwissu | Distinctive Maltese spelling with ww and ss. |
| September | Settembru | European calendar name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| October | Ottubru | European calendar name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| November | Novembru | European calendar name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| December | Diċembru | Contains the Maltese letter ċ. |
Food — Vegetables in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| tomato | tadam | Everyday Maltese food word. |
| potato | patata | Romance-style food word also found widely around the Mediterranean. |
| carrot | karrotta | Romance-style food word adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| onion | basla | Useful everyday kitchen word. |
| garlic | tewm | Short Maltese food word. |
| lettuce | ħass | Contains ħ; also recognisable in food contexts. |
| pepper | bżar | Can refer to pepper/spice; contains ż. |
| cucumber | ħjara | Contains ħ. |
| peas | piżelli | Romance-style form; contains ż. |
| beans | fażola | Romance-style form; contains ż. |
Food — Fruit in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| apple | tuffieħa | Everyday fruit word with ħ. |
| pear | lanġasa | Contains the Maltese letter ġ. |
| orange | larinġa | Related to Mediterranean words for orange; contains ġ. |
| lemon | lumi | Common Mediterranean fruit word. |
| grapes | għeneb | Contains għ; useful for recognising Maltese spelling. |
| strawberry | frawla | Romance-style fruit word. |
| pineapple | ananas | International fruit word. |
| peach | ħawħa | Contains repeated ħ. |
| banana | banana | International fruit word. |
| watermelon | dulliegħa | Contains għ; common summer fruit word. |
Drinks in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| water | ilma | Core everyday Maltese word. |
| wine | inbid | Traditional drink word. |
| milk | ħalib | Contains ħ; common everyday word. |
| coffee | kafè | Mediterranean/European-style word with Maltese accent. |
| tea | te | Short modern drink word. |
| beer | birra | Romance/European-style drink word. |
| juice | meraq | Useful everyday word; often used for fruit juice. |
| hot chocolate | ċikkulata sħuna | Ċikkulata contains ċ; sħuna means “hot”. |
Animals in Maltese — 12 essentials
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| dog | kelb | Core animal word. |
| cat | qattus | Everyday animal word; starts with q, common in Maltese. |
| bird | għasfur | Contains għ. |
| fish | ħuta | Contains ħ. |
| horse | żiemel | Contains ż. |
| cow | baqra | Contains q. |
| pig | ħanżir | Contains both ħ and ż. |
| sheep | nagħġa | Contains għ and ġ. |
| goat | mogħża | Contains għ and ż. |
| lion | iljun | Related to Romance forms for “lion”. |
| rabbit | fenek | A culturally important word in Malta because rabbit dishes are well known. |
| mouse | ġurdien | Contains ġ; animal word distinct from the computer mouse in some contexts. |
Body Parts in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| head | ras | Short core body word. |
| eye | għajn | Contains għ; also has wider meanings in Semitic languages. |
| ear | widna | Everyday body word. |
| nose | mnieħer | Contains ħ. |
| mouth | ħalq | Contains ħ and q. |
| hand | id | Very short core body word. |
| arm | driegħ | Contains għ. |
| leg | sieq | Can also mean “foot” depending on context. |
| foot | sieq | Same form is often used for leg/foot contextually. |
| tooth | sinna | Core body word. |
| heart | qalb | Also used metaphorically, as in many languages. |
| hair | xagħar | Contains għ; useful word for recognising Maltese orthography. |
Home in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| house | dar | Core everyday word. |
| room | kamra | Romance-style word used in Maltese. |
| kitchen | kċina | Romance-style word adapted with Maltese ċ. |
| bathroom | kamra tal-banju | Literally “room of the bath”. |
| door | bieb | Core household word. |
| window | tieqa | Everyday home word. |
| table | mejda | Household word. |
| chair | siġġu | Contains the Maltese letter ġ. |
| bed | sodda | Everyday home word. |
| wall | ħajt | Contains ħ. |
Technology in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| computer | kompjuter | Modern international word adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| mobile phone | mowbajl | Modern word adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| screen | skrin | Modern technology word. |
| keyboard | tastiera | Romance-style technology word. |
| mouse | maws | Modern computer word; animal mouse is ġurdien. |
| internet | internet | International modern word. |
| imejl | Modern word adapted to Maltese spelling. | |
| password | password / kelma sigrieta | English borrowing is common; kelma sigrieta literally means “secret word”. |
Seasons in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| spring | rebbiegħa | Contains għ; one of the four seasons. |
| summer | sajf | Short and useful seasonal word. |
| autumn / fall | ħarifa | Contains ħ. |
| winter | xitwa | Core seasonal word. |
Planets in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Merkurju | Classical planet name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| Venus | Venere | Classical planet name. |
| Earth | id-Dinja | Also means “the world”; note the article id-. |
| Mars | Marte | Classical planet name. |
| Jupiter | Ġove | Contains ġ; classical name. |
| Saturn | Saturnu | Classical planet name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
| Uranus | Uranus | International planet name. |
| Neptune | Nettunu | Classical planet name adapted to Maltese spelling. |
Zodiac in Maltese
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Aries | Often seen in horoscope contexts. |
| Taurus | Tawru | Adapted classical zodiac name. |
| Gemini | Ġemini | Contains the Maltese letter ġ. |
| Cancer | Kanċer | Contains ċ; also a general word in other contexts. |
| Leo | Iljun | Means “lion”. |
| Virgo | Verġni | Contains ġ. |
| Libra | Miżien | Means “scales”; contains ż. |
| Scorpio | Skorpjun | Adapted classical zodiac name. |
| Sagittarius | Sagittarju | Adapted classical zodiac name. |
| Capricorn | Kaprikornu | Adapted classical zodiac name. |
| Aquarius | Akwarju | Related to “aquarium” in form. |
| Pisces | Pisces / Ħut | Ħut means “fish”. |
Common Maltese Phrases
| English | Maltese | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| Hello / good morning | bonġu | Very common greeting; contains ġ. |
| Please | jekk jogħġbok | Literally built from Maltese words; very useful polite phrase. |
| Thank you | grazzi | Essential everyday phrase. |
| You’re welcome | ta’ xejn | Literally close to “of nothing”. |
| Yes | iva | Basic answer word. |
| No | le | Basic answer word. |
| Goodbye | saħħa | Also connected with health/well-being; contains ħħ. |
| Good night | il-lejl it-tajjeb | Literally “the good night”. |
| How are you? | kif int? | Useful simple question. |
| I don’t understand | ma nifhimx | Essential learner phrase. |
| Can you help me? | tista’ tgħinni? | Useful polite phrase; contains għ. |
| See you later | narak iktar tard | Literally “I see you later”. |
Quick facts
16 topic groups
Family, numbers, food, animals, body, home, planets and more.
Extra information
The third column gives etymology, spelling or useful learner notes.
Beginner friendly
Designed for quick revision, browsing and comparison.
Maltese vocabulary FAQ
What is the easiest Maltese vocabulary to learn first?
Start with greetings, numbers, family words, colours, food, days, months and everyday phrases. These words appear often and give beginners a useful base.
Is Maltese similar to Arabic?
Maltese is a Semitic language and many core words are related to Arabic varieties, but it is written in the Latin alphabet and has many Romance and English influences.
Why does Maltese use letters such as ħ, għ, ġ, ż and ċ?
These letters help represent sounds and spelling patterns that are important in Maltese. They also make Maltese visually distinctive among European languages.
What is the best way to memorise Maltese vocabulary?
Learn words by topic, notice repeated spelling patterns, and practise words in short phrases. Comparing Semitic words with Romance or English-influenced words can also help.