Greetings
Bonġu
BON-joo
Good morning. From the Italian, like a great deal of Maltese vocabulary layered over an Arabic grammatical base.
Saħħa u sliem
SAH-ha oo SLEEM
Health and peace — a warm goodbye you will hear from older Maltese.
Social
Grazzi
GRAT-tsi
Thank you. 'Grazzi ħafna' is thank you very much.
Jekk jogħġbok
yekk YOJ-bok
Please. Long, and worth learning because English speakers so rarely try.
Skużi
SKOO-zi
Excuse me / sorry. Universally understood.
Saħħa
SAH-ha
Cheers, and also goodbye — literally 'health'.
Mela
MEH-la
An all-purpose filler meaning 'so', 'well then', 'of course' or 'exactly'. Deploying it correctly is the fastest way to sound less foreign.
Daily life
eResidence card
e-REZ-i-dence
The residence card issued by Identità. Its number is what banking, tax and health all key off.
Identità
i-den-ti-TA
The agency handling identity documents, residence and work permits — formerly Identity Malta.
Il-Belt
il-BELT
'The City' — what Maltese people call Valletta. If someone says they are going 'il-Belt', they mean the capital.
Food
Ftira
FTEE-ra
The Maltese sourdough ring loaf, split and filled with tuna, capers, olives and tomato paste. UNESCO-recognised, and the correct lunch.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.