Our good friends over at Kelma Kelma are brilliant at reminding us that the Maltese language has a long and weird history. We may not have a word to distinguish between toes and fingers, but we certainly have one to describe the bone-chilling irrational fear most Maltese people seem to have: katsaridafobija. 

Aptly called ‘katsaridaphobia’ in English, the Kelma Kelma Facebook post has made the rounds once again, reminding us all that cockroach phobia is an unfortunate byproduct of living in a hot and humid country. 

Whether you put it down to emulating your parents’ fears, or simply being freaked out by the way their antennae twitch, or even by the fact that they seem to live forever, there’s no denying that katsaridafobija is alive and kicking. 

Sure humans are a way bigger than a cockroach and they probably hate you as much as we hate them, but the fact that they’re practically indestructible and can virtually resist food shortages and radiation is enough to give anyone an irrational fear. 

If you’re lucky enough to be one of those people who doesn’t shit themselves every time they’re within a square kilometre of a cockroach, well fucking done. 

Kelma Kelma’s got you covered though: you might suffer from nomofobija (the fear of being caught without your mobile phone), or the classic odontofobija (dentist-fears), or maybe even termofobija (the fear of the heat). 

Do you know of any more phobias in Maltese? Hit us up with your answers in the comments section.

Tag a friend who’s not a big fan of cockroaches!

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Matthew Baldacchino

Self-titled resident SJW and expressionless in-house Head of Internal Marketing. Matt loves prepping vegan and vegetarian food, consumes way too much coffee, and has an unhealthy penchant for storyboarded Instagram Stories. When he's not trying to figure out social media policies, marketing strategies or cracking SEO conundrums, you can catch him as the host of Basically, Livestream Of Consciousness or Lovin Daily. Hit him up if you've got a story about the environment, arts and culture, health, politics and activism, or LGBTQI+ issues. He's also a doctor, but we don't talk about that.