Phrasebook · Malta
Maltese for your trip
34 words and phrases that get you through a day in Malta.
English is an official language too, and almost everyone speaks it. Maltese is a Semitic language written in Latin letters, full of words from Italian and English.
Compare with other languages →How it sounds
The syllable in capitals is the one to stress.
- q
- a catch in the throat, like the tt in a Cockney bottle: Qawra is "OW-rah"
- x
- the sh in shop
- ċ and ġ
- ch in church and j in jump; without the dot, c and g are hard
- għ and h
- usually silent: Għawdex, Gozo, is "OW-desh"
- ħ
- a strong breathy h, as in hold
- j
- the y in yes
Essentials
34 phrasesBasics
Food and drink
Getting around
Money
Help
Only in Malta
Help
Emergency numbers
Eating out
23 phrasesWhat you'll hear back
Diet cards
Getting around
27 phrasesTaxis and tickets
Signs you'll see
- hroochExit
- DAH-lahEntrance
- mif-TOOHOpen
- mah-LOOClosed
- KAM-rah tal-BAN-yooToilets
- ir-JEELMen
- NEE-sahWomen
- im-BOT-tahPush
- IJ-betPull
- tid-HOLSHNo entry
Time and opening hours
Shopping
14 phrasesNumbers and prices
Prices are in euros: tlieta ewro u ħamsin (TLEE-tah EW-roh oo hahm-SEEN) is €3.50. Most people will answer you in English anyway.
Outdoors
8 phrasesOn the trail
Culture
4 phrasesNo word for it in English
Festival words
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Cover shoulders and knees in churches; many have shawls at the door.
- Say bonġu or grazzi even though everyone speaks English: it is always appreciated.
- Join a village festa in summer, and keep clear of the fireworks and the statue's path.
Don't
- Don't wander through town in swimwear; cover up once you leave the beach.
On the map
Heard at our spots
The words you'll use at the places we filmed. Pick a place to see it on the map.
QawraBaħar SeaIlma WaterBonġu Good morningQawra PoolSee it on the map
QawraKelb il-baħar SharkĦut FishGrazzi Thank youMalta National AquariumSee it on the map
QawraDawl LightMilied ChristmasBonswa Good eveningAquarium Christmas LightsSee it on the map
BuġibbaTriq StreetBaħar SeaBonġu Good morningBuġibbaSee it on the mapTake it with youJust the words, in two columns. Print it, or save it as a PDF for when there's no signal.
Where the words come fromPhrases and pronunciation adapted from Wikivoyage's Maltese phrasebook, Wiktionary and 112, the European emergency number, under CC BY-SA 4.0.