hi

hija (positive)
hi (positive)
mhijiex (negative)
mhix (negative)
tagħha (possessive pronoun)
-ha (suffix)
-ha (direct-object suffix)
-lha (indirect-object suffix)


xi

Alternative form of x’ (used before a consonant cluster)


li

From Arabic اَلَّذِي (allaḏī, relative pronoun). Compare common dialectal Arabic اللي (illi, lli). The use as a conjunction is widely found in Maghrebi Arabic, so there is no reason to consider it a Romance influence (as might otherwise be thought; compare Italian che, which is both a relative pronoun and the conjunction “that”).

inh

Dan huwa r-raġel li seraq il-karozza.

Din hija ħaġa li tħawwadni.

Imnalla għajjatlu Fredu u kellu jwaqqaf l-eloġju ta’ nannuh, għax naħseb l-istorja li kien imiss kienet li għandu xi gżira privata.

2018, Antoinette Borg, Amina, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:


hija

hija (positive)
hi (positive)
mhijiex (negative)
mhix (negative)
tagħha (possessive pronoun)
-ha (suffix)
-ha (direct-object suffix)
-lha (indirect-object suffix)
hi (alternative)

she (third-person feminine singular subject pronoun)


ma

L-ewwel ma tiekol, l-għajn.

(literally, “The first that eats is the eye.”)

(relative) Alternative form of li (“who, which, that”), used in some fossiled expressions

li

Rait e Sultana, u makbar u mesbahh ma hi, ma t challi hhasra, ghaliesc i enghat li t-arga mnein giet.

ca. 1760, G.P.F. Agius de Soldanis, Discorso tra due contadini sopra le nuove correnti:

I saw the Sultana [a captured Turkish ship]. And how big and how beautiful she is! But is a pity, because they say she will go back to where she came from.

Rajt is-Sultana. U ma akbar u ma isbaħ ma hi! Imma tħalli ħasra, għaliex jingħad li terġa’ mnejn ġiet.

(obsolete, with comparative adjective) how (as in “how beautiful is...”)


min

From Arabic مَن (man), dialectal Arabic مِين (mīn).


int

inti (positive)
int (positive)
mintix (negative)
tiegħek (possessive pronoun)
-ek (suffix)
-ok (suffix)
-k (suffix)
-ek (direct-object suffix)
-ok (direct-object suffix)
-k (direct-object suffix)
-lek (indirect-object suffix)

Alternative form of inti: you (second-person singular subject pronoun)


hu

huwa (positive)
hu (positive)
mhuwiex (negative)
mhux (negative)
tiegħu (possessive pronoun)
-u (suffix)
-h (suffix)
-u (direct-object suffix)
-h (direct-object suffix)
-lu (indirect-object suffix)


inti

inti (positive)
int (positive)
mintix (negative)
tiegħek (possessive pronoun)
-ek (suffix)
-ok (suffix)
-k (suffix)
-ek (direct-object suffix)
-ok (direct-object suffix)
-k (direct-object suffix)
-lek (indirect-object suffix)
int (alternative)

From Arabic أَنْتَ (ʔanta, “you [masculine]”) and أَنْتِ (ʔanti, “you [feminine]”).

you (second-person singular subject pronoun) (generally distinguished as being feminine version of int)


huma

huma (positive)
mhumiex (negative)
tagħhom (possessive pronoun)
-hom (suffix)
-hom (direct-object suffix)
-lhom (indirect-object suffix)

From Arabic هُمْ (hum). Compare Moroccan Arabic هوما (hūma), Egyptian Arabic هما (humma).

they (third-person plural subject pronoun)


kemm

Kemm trid?


intom

intom (positive)
mintomx (negative)
tagħkom (possessive pronoun)
-kom (suffix)
-kom (direct-object suffix)
-lkom (indirect-object suffix)

you (second-person plural subject pronoun)


huwa

huwa (positive)
hu (positive)
mhuwiex (negative)
mhux (negative)
tiegħu (possessive pronoun)
-u (suffix)
-h (suffix)
-u (direct-object suffix)
-h (direct-object suffix)
-lu (indirect-object suffix)
hu (alternative)

he (third-person masculine singular subject pronoun)


aħna

aħna (positive)
maħniex (negative)
tagħna (possessive pronoun)
-na (suffix)
-na (direct-object suffix)
-lna (indirect-object suffix)

From Arabic نَحْنُ (naḥnu). Compare Egyptian Arabic احنا (eḥna).

we (first-person plural subject pronoun)


jiena

jiena (positive)
jien (positive)
ma jiniex (negative)
miniex (negative)
tiegħi (possessive pronoun)
-i (suffix)
-ja (suffix)
-ni (direct-object suffix)
-li (indirect-object suffix)


jien

jiena (positive)
jien (positive)
ma jiniex (negative)
miniex (negative)
tiegħi (possessive pronoun)
-i (suffix)
-ja (suffix)
-ni (direct-object suffix)
-li (indirect-object suffix)
jiena (alternative)

From Arabic أَنَا (ʔanā) with expressive lengthening of the first syllable (*ʾānā) as generally in Maghrebi dialects; compare Tunisian Arabic آنا (ʔāna), Moroccan Arabic آنا (ʔāna). Eventually from Proto-Semitic *ʔanāku. Prefixed j- occurs more often in Maltese (compare jew); in this case perhaps generalised from a position after the personal suffixes -i, -ni, as in dari jien(a) (“my own house”). This construction is not very common anymore in Maltese, but it is throughout Arabic.

Jien, li fl-imħabba kelli biss sensiela twila ta’ diżappunti; jien li kont bdejt nemmen li qatt mhu se nsib lil min iħobbni, issa kont ħassejt li f’salt wieħed seħħ miraklu. Kont skirt bl-imħabba.

2008, Trevor Żahra, Il-Ġenn li Jżommni f’Sikti, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:

I (first-person singular subject pronoun)


ħadd

From Arabic أَحَد (ʔaḥad, “one, anybody”).

Kulħadd jibża’ u ħadd ma jabbuża jmissu!

Għafastha għax emozzjonata ħafna u għandi bżonn kbir li nħoss lil xi ħadd qrib tiegħi.


xejn

From Arabic شَيْئًا (šayʔan), indefinite accusative of شَيْء (šayʔ, “thing”).

Ma naf xejn fuq dan is-suġġett.

Għax meta missieri kien jibni xi gallinar, jew xi xatba, jew xi kannizzata, qatt ma kien jixtri xejn, iżda jlaqqat u jillapazza b’dak li jsib. Imma jiena ma ridtx għarix mibni bl-imbarazz, iżda kamp sabiħ u pulit u b’saħħtu.


mintix

Mintix waħdek.


miniex

Miniex waħdi.


maħniex

Maħniex waħedna.


mintomx

Mintomx waħedkom. (plural)


x'

Contraction of earlier *iex (compare the reduplicated form xiex), from Arabic أَيّ شَيْء (ʔayy šayʔ, “what thing”), whence also Moroccan Arabic آش (āš), Hijazi Arabic إيش (ēš), Iraqi Arabic شِ (š).


x'inhu

head

x’inhu m (extended form x’inhuwa, feminine singular x’inhi or x’inhija, plural x’inhuma)

x’inhu (canonical masculine)
form x’inhuwa (extended)
x’inhi (feminine singular)
x’inhija (feminine singular)
x’inhuma (plural)

From Arabic أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ (ʔayyu šayʔin huwa, literally “what thing is it”), whence also Moroccan Arabic شنو (šnu), اشنو (ašnu), Gulf Arabic شنو (šinu). The ancient genitive ending -in was generally lost, but remained in contraction with the following personal pronoun. Compare also xejn (“nothing”), where the final -n is the accusative ending -an.

inh

أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ

contraction of x’ (“what”) + hu (“he, it”)


xiex

From x’ + earlier *iex (“what”), of which latter x’ is itself a contraction, thus a reduplicative formation. *iex is from Arabic أَيُّ شَيْء (ʔayyu šayʔ, literally “what thing”), exactly equivalent to Moroccan Arabic آش (ʔāš). Also cognate with Hijazi Arabic إيش (ēš), where the contracted vowel is different, however.


kollu

mt-pronoun

kollu m (feminine kollha, plural kollha or (rare) kollhom)

kollha (feminine)
kollha (plural)
kollhom (plural rare)

From Arabic كُلُّهُ (kulluhu, “all of it”). By surface analysis, kull + -u. The reason for the vowel change is that Arabic short -u- was predominantly shifted to -o-, but remained in closed syllables before the tone.

in-nemel kollu

it-tfal kollha

il-ħalib kollu

id-dinja kollha

Sabu l-ħalib u xorbuh kollu.

They found the milk and drank all of it.

Ejja ‘l hawn, la tibżax minni,
bil-katina ma norbtokx;
norbtok biss bl-għeruq ta’ qalbi,
f’ħajti kollha ma nħollokx.

1975, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Kappella tal-Paċi”, in L-Għanja tas-Sittin:

(with singular meaning) the whole; all the; all of it


x'inhuwa

extended form of x’inhu, equivalent to a contraction of x’ (“what”) + huwa (“he, it”)


x'inhi

feminine singular of x’inhu, equivalent to a contraction of x’ (“what”) + hi (“she, it”)


x'inhija

extended feminine singular of x’inhu, equivalent to a contraction of x’ (“what”) + hija (“she, it”)


x'inhuma

plural of x’inhu, equivalent to a contraction of x’ (“what”) + huma (“they”)


kollox

From Arabic كُلُّ شَيْء (kullu šayʔ, literally “every thing”). By surface analysis, kull + -x.

inh

kollox għafsa. kollox fastidju. forsi
għax għadu (wisq) kmieni. forsi.
għax dallejl xtaqt stajt nimtedd maġenbek
u dalgħodu stenbaħt
b’subgħajja mwebbla għal ponn ramel
u d-diqa mwebsa ma’ ħaddejja.

2022, Nadia Mifsud, meta tinfetaq il-folla, Ede Books, →ISBN:

Werwritni sakemm wasalna! Vera kollox tagħmel bl-attenzjoni u bil-galbu, ħlief … is-sewqan!

Wara l-bibien,
fit-tul tat-toroq twal,
batejt
il-għeja
il-qtigħ ta’ qalb,
batejt fuq kollox il-mistħija;
iżda ġarrabt ukoll
il-ferħ u l-għaxqa
li kull tallab iħoss
x’ħin jasal wisq għajjien bil-ħorġa f’idu
bil-ħobż għand ommu mġewħa.

1970, Anton Buttigieg, “It-Tallab”, in Fl-Arena:


ruħ

ruħ- (canonical)
ruħi (first-person singular)
ruħna (first-person plural)
rwieħna (first-person plural)
ruħek (second-person singular)
ruħkom (plural second-person)
rwieħkom (plural second-person)
ruħu (masculine singular third-person)
ruħha (feminine singular third-person)
ruħhom (plural third-person)
rwieħhom (plural third-person)

From Arabic رُوح (rūḥ). The expected plural is rwieħ with a post-consonantal variant irwieħ. The form erwieħ shows development of ir to er, as frequently in verbs, but otherwise not with epenthetic sounds. This unusual e- is therefore not felt as epenthetic anymore.

Żewġi ma jinteressax ruħu fil-politika.

(literally, “My husband doesn’t interest himself in politics.”)

My husband isn’t interested in politics.

-self, -selves; used with a pronominal suffix to form reflexive pronouns


stess

Borrowed from Italian stesso and/or Sicilian stessu.

jiena stess

Alla stess


nnifs-

nnifsi (first-person singular)
nfusna (first-person plural)
nnifsek (second-person singular)
nfuskom (plural second-person)
nnifsu (masculine singular third-person)
nnifsha (feminine singular third-person)
nfushom (plural third-person)
innifs- (alternative)

From Arabic نَفْس (nafs, “self, soul, living being”), related with Maltese nifs (“breath”), from Arabic نَفَس (nafas). Regarding the initial gemination in some of the forms perhaps through the prepositional construction بِنَفْسِي (binafsī), بِنَفْسِكَ (binafsika), etc.

jiena nnifsi

Alla nnifsu

-self; used with a pronominal suffix to form emphatic pronouns


xulxin

Among the variants attested in early sources are xilxi(n) and ixili(li)x. Hence probably from underlying xejn lil xejn or xi lil xi, equivalent to Arabic شَيْءٌ لِشَيْءٍ (šayʔun lišayʔin, “one thing to another”, literally “a thing to a thing”).

der

شَيْءٌ لِشَيْءٍ

X’sejra ġġibilna ġewwa l-fardal tiegħek.
ja Sena Ġdida?
Ah! biegħed minna
il-għelt, il-ġlied,
id-demm bejn l-aħwa;
rażżan ir-regħba u l-ġibdiet tal-ħakma,
rattab l-irjus u l-qlub,
ġibilna s-sabar ta’ xulxin, l-imħabba,
ġibilna l-għaqda,
ġibilna s-sliem,
ġibilna l-ħelsien!

1970, Anton Buttigieg, “Lis-Sena l-Ġdida 1964”, in Fl-Arena:


għajr

għajri (first-person singular)
għajrna (first-person plural)
għajrek (second-person singular)
għajrkom (plural second-person)
għajru (masculine singular third-person)
għajrha (feminine singular third-person)
għajrhom (plural third-person)

Ħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek.

(literally, “Love anyone other than yourself like yourself.”)

(in the construct state) someone/anyone else, someone/anyone other than


tant ieħor

Il-Ġurnata t-tajba! / Grazzi, tant ieħor

same to you, likewise, you too (in response to good wishes, etc.)


iex

From Arabic أَيُّ شَيْء (ʔayyu šayʔ, literally “what thing”). Cognate with Moroccan Arabic آش (ʔāš) and Hijazi Arabic إيش (ʔēš)


kulħadd

Kulħadd jimxi, kollox lajma,
jirkeb biss xi sinjur kbir:
bini l-għatx u tawni nixrob
minn ġos-satal fuq il-bir.

1970, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Pjazza”, in Fl-Arena:


għafsa

mt-noun

għafsa f (dual għafstejn, plural għafsiet)

għafsa tal-id

għafsa tal-qalb ― heartache

Niftakar
tal-qniepen il-mota ferrieħa,
u l-Ave Maria ta’ Schubert
taż-żahar il-fwieħa
u l-għafsa ta’ driegħek ma’ driegħi,
u l-ħeġġa ta’ wiċċek ħamrani,
u l-mantar bajdani
jitkaxkar mal-qiegħa
tal-korsija:
id-dija u d-dawl tal-parilja,
il-ħsejjes taż-żwiemel għaddejja,

1949-1952, Anton Buttigieg, “Niftakar”, in Qasba mar-Riħ, published 1977: