د . إAEDSRر . س

Maltese Word-Noises Other Languages Need To Adopt

Article Featured Image

The Maltese are skilled at many things, not least turning a monosyllabic noise into an entire sentence. It takes some precise inflections to justify responding to a long-winded story of a friend’s car crash with ‘IL!’. 

Here are a few of said noises that could really help foreigners along:

1. Ħeq

“Can you believe Sarah? She’s dating someone else! We only broke up four years ago!”

“Ħeq.”

Ezgif Com Resize 3

2. Ħaqq

“Did you put the mqarrun in the oven?”

“… Ħaqq.”

Ezgif Com Crop 15

3. Kos

“We can’t pass from there today, there’s the festa.

“Kos!”

Kos

4. Boq

“Did we ever catch Kony?”

“Boq.”

Boq

5. Eh?

“Chemistry A-level? Uwijja it’s not that hard.”

“Eh?”

Eh

6. Eeh 

(as in the stretched out, first part of ‘exactly’)

“Just pay someone to go and do it for you!”

“Eeh.”

Eeh

7. Eee

(as in the last part of ‘bee’)

“It’s simple enough, that’s what Sarah did!”

“Eee.”

Eee

7. Uu

Variation 1: [if only you knew]

(as in the ‘ohh’ of ‘ohh you’re in trouble’)

“Did you see those rude GIFs on Lovin Malta? Where did they get them from?”

“Uuu”

Uu

Variation 2: [this is not my concern]

“Julie and Ludwig broke up again, should we meet them to see if they’re ok?”

“Uuuu”

2 Uu

8. Ħill

*Driving anywhere close to a roundabout in Malta*

“Ħiiill!”

Hill

9. Uff

Variation 1: [that sucks!]

“I wanted to take part in Eurovision, but Ira entered this year.”

“Uff!”

Ezgif Com Crop 16

Variation 2: [I agree, it’s hot!]

“Cancel Paceville. There’s no way my hair’s gonna survive this humidity.”

“Uff.”

Ezgif Com Resize 4

10. Aw

Variation 1: [be careful]

“I bumped my head earlier, but I’m fine now – my left eye twitches a bit, but I’m fine”

“Aw.”

Concerned

Variation 2: [it’s been known to happen]

“Luckily we don’t get a lot of murders in Malta.”

“Aw.”

Ezgif Com Crop 17

11. Ma

Variation 1: [how scary]

“I saw on Facebook that if you eat raw pork you get Zika”

“Ma!”

Ma 1

Variation 2: [how annoying]

“And then Randolph told my nanna, who’s his aunt’s cousin, that I refused to kiss him”

“Maaa”

Eyemaa

Do you know any more sounds we always make? Try explain them (good luck) in the comments on Facebook!

READ NEXT: 9 Delicious Maltese Insults

You may also love

View All