Language/Maltese/Vocabulary/Months-of-the-Year

Maltese → Vocabulary → 0 to A1 Course → Everyday Vocabulary → Months of the Year

Maltese, the only Semitic language written in Latin script, is spoken on the Maltese islands, which are an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. You may wonder why Maltese sounds unusual compared to other Romance and Germanic languages. The influence of Italian, Arabic, and Sicilian, combined with its unique grammar and syntax, makes it a fascinating language to learn. In this lesson, we'll teach you how to write, pronounce and use the months of the year in everyday conversations.

Months of the year

In Maltese, the months of the year are called "xhur," which is the plural for "month." Below is a list of the months and their corresponding numbers.

Month	Pronunciation	English
Jannar	yǎn-nar	January
Frar	fraar	February
Marzu	mar-zoo	March
April	ă-pril	April
Mejju	mey-you	May
Ġunju	joon-you	June
Lulju	lool-you	July
Awwissu	aw-wis-soo	August
Settembru	set-tem-broo	September
Ottubru	ot-toob-roo	October
Novembru	no-vem-broo	November
Diċembru	di-ċem-broo	December

Notice how some of the vowels have accents. This is because Maltese has several vowel sounds that are not present in English.

In Maltese, just like in other languages, we use prepositions to answer "when" questions.

Here are some examples:

• X'inhi l-aħħar xahar tal-ġimgħa? (What is the last month of the week?)

Ir-Rabti, jew ix-Xattix, hu l-aħħar xahar tal-ġimgħa. (Thursday or Tuesday, depending on the context)

• Meta hbibt u riedtu jitgħallim il-Malti? (When did you fall in love and want to learn Maltese?)

Ġewwa mħatriet tal-Pandemija. (During the pandemic lockdowns)

• Mindu kien z-zmien magħrufa l-għoli-tfal tgħallem il-mużika? (When was it popular for young people to learn music?)

Fil-ponta tal-50ijiet u s-sena 60ija. (In the late 1950s and early 1960s)

• Tafx kemm żmien ser nagħlaq il-proġett? (You know when the project is going to be finished?)

M'iniex ċar, il-bieb ta' pandemija fittxet kollox. (I'm not sure, the pandemic messed everything up.)

As you can see, answering a "when" question requires you to know the preposition to use in each context.

Here are some expressions commonly used with months in Maltese:

• Fil-bidu tal-[month] (In the beginning of [month])
• F'nofs il-[month] (In the middle of [month])
• F'għeluq il-[month] (At the end of [month])
• Fis-sena [year] (In the year [year])
• Ta' wara [month] (After [month])
• Qabel [month] (Before [month])

For example:

• Fil-bidu tal-Mejju, il-bażilika tinfetaħ għal-Lunzjata. (In the beginning of May, the basilica is opened for Lunzjata.)
• F'nofs il-Frar irrid nkompli l-iskejjel. (In the middle of February, I have to keep going to school.)
• F'għeluq id-Diċembru, nżur il-Ġermanja. (At the end of December, I'll visit Germany.)

<hidden>Don't forget that Maltese pronunciation can be tricky at first, so take your time when reading and repeating the words. </hidden>

That's all for this lesson! Follow the larger course to learn more Maltese vocabulary and grammar.

Table of Contents - Maltese Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Maltese Language

• Maltese Alphabet
• Basic Maltese Phrases

  ---

Everyday Vocabulary

• Colors
• Numbers
• Days of the Week
• Months of the Year

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb-Object Order
• Negation
• Questions

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Gender and Plurals
• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns

  ---

Verbs

• Regular Verbs
• Irregular Verbs
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives
• Comparatives and Superlatives
• Adverbs

  ---

Food and Drinks

• Fruits and Vegetables
• Meat, Fish, and Dairy
• Beverages

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Hobbies and Leisure

• Sports
• Entertainment

  ---

Maltese History and Traditions

• Historical Events
• Festivals and Celebrations

  ---

Maltese Cuisine

• Traditional Dishes
• Eating Out

  ---

Travel and Tourism

• Popular Destinations
• Travel Tips

Other Lessons

• Parts of the Body
• Education
• Time ħin
• Essential Phrases in Maltese
• Family Members
• Beverages
• Adverbs in Maltese
• Sports
• Food
• Seasons

Sources

• Level 10 - Months of the Year - Maltese Part 1 - Vocabulary Builder ...
• Maltese language - Wikipedia