Learn Maltese Through Topics You Actually Care About

LingoBear creates short Maltese passages on topics you choose. Tap any word for an instant English translation and build your vocabulary as you read. Only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet (30 letters with ċ, ġ, ħ, ż), Arabic root system + heavy Italian and English vocabulary, official in Malta and the EU, ~520,000 speakers.

Tap any word for instant translation

Every word in your Maltese reading passage is clickable. Get English translations and grammar help — useful for spotting Arabic roots inside otherwise Italianate sentences.

Read about topics you choose

Type any topic and LingoBear generates a fresh Maltese reading passage — from Hypogeum archaeology to Valletta nightlife.

Why is Maltese a Semitic language with a Latin alphabet?

Maltese (Malti) is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet and an official language of the European Union. Its grammatical core descends from Siculo-Arabic (the medieval Arabic of Sicily), but centuries of contact have layered in heavy Italian (especially Sicilian) and English vocabulary. Around half of common Maltese words are of Semitic origin, with the other half largely Romance.

What grammar features does Maltese have?

Maltese uses Semitic-style triconsonantal roots: from k-t-b come kiteb 'wrote', miktub 'written', ktieb 'book'. It conjugates verbs in two main aspects (perfective and imperfective) like Arabic, with definite-article assimilation (il-bieb 'the door' but iz-zibel 'the rubbish'). The 30-letter alphabet adds ċ, ġ, ħ, ż and the digraph għ, which is silent in modern speech but affects vowel length.