Counting in Maltese
Language overview
The Maltese language (Malti) is a Central Semitic language. It descends from Siculo-Arabic (or Sicilian Arabic), and has been influenced by Sicilian and Italian, and to a lesser extent by French and English. Co-official language of the Republic of Malta, alongside English, it counts about 520,000 speakers.
Maltese numbers list
- 1 – wieħed
- 2 – tnejn
- 3 – tlieta
- 4 – erbgħa
- 5 – ħamsa
- 6 – sitta
- 7 – sebgħa
- 8 – tmienja
- 9 – disgħa
- 10 – għaxra
- 11 – ħdax
- 12 – tnax
- 13 – tlettax
- 14 – erbatax
- 15 – ħmistax
- 16 – sittax
- 17 – sbatax
- 18 – tmintax
- 19 – dsatax
- 20 – għoxrin
- 30 – tletin
- 40 – erbgħin
- 50 – ħamsin
- 60 – sittin
- 70 – sebgħin
- 80 – tmenin
- 90 – disgħin
- 100 – mija
- 1,000 – elf
- one million – miljun
Maltese numbering rules
Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).
- Maltese digits from zero to nine are rendered by specific words, namely żero [0], wieħed/waħda (m/f) [1], tnejn [2], tlieta [3], erbgħa [4], ħamsa [5], sitta [6], sebgħa [7], tmienja [8], and disgħa [9].
- From eleven to nineteen, numbers are formed starting with unit root (except for eleven, though), followed by a form of the word for ten ((d)ax or (t)ax): ħdax [11], tnax [12], tlettax [13], erbatax [14], ħmistax [15], sittax [16], sbatax [17], tmintax [18], and dsatax [19].
- The tens are formed with the root of the multiplier digit, suffixed with in, except for ten and twenty which are irregular: għaxra [10], għoxrin [20], tletin [30], erbgħin [40], ħamsin [50], sittin [60], sebgħin [70], tmenin [80], and disgħin [90].
- Compound numbers are formed by stating the unit first, then the word u (and), and the ten, separated with spaces (e.g.: erbgħa u għoxrin [24], tmienja u sebgħin [78]).
- The hundreds are formed starting with the root of the multiplier unit, followed by the word for hundred (mija), separated with spaces, except for one hundred and two hundred: mija [100], mitejn [200], tliet mija [300], erba’ mija [400], hames mija [500], sitt mija [600], seba’ mija [700], tminn mija [800], and disa’ mija [900].
- The thousands are formed starting with the root of the multiplier unit, followed by the word for thousand (elf in singular, elef in plural), separated with spaces, except for one thousand and two thousand: elf [1,000], elfejn [2,000], tlitt elef [3,000], erbat elef [4,000], ħamest elef [5,000], sitt elef [6,000], sebat elef [7,000], tmint elef [8,000], and disat elef [9,000].
- The word for million is miljun.
Write a number in full in Maltese
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Maltese. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.
Books
Learn the Maltese language
by Alain de Raymond, editors Independently published (2016)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Maltese (Descriptive Grammars)
by Marie Azzopardi-Alexander & Albert Borg, editors Routledge (2012)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Teach Yourself Maltese: A Complete Course for Beginners
by Joseph Aquilina, editors McGraw-Hill (1999)
[ Amazon.com]
Apprenez le maltais - la grammaire maltaise expliquée facilement
by Alain de Raymond, editors Independently published (2017)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Parlons maltais
by Joseph Cutayar, editors L’Harmattan (1999)
[ Amazon.com]
Semitic languages
Amharic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Maltese.
Other supported languages
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.