An Article Matching the Next Consonant

Level 1

ċ→iċ-, d→id-, n→in-, r→ir-, s→is-, t→it-, x→ix-, ż→iż-, z→iz-.

How It Works

The article's l assimilates before ċ, d, n, r, s, t, x, ż, z. The full forms are iċ-, id-, in-, ir-, is-, it-, ix-, iż-, iz-. Keep the hyphen and the following word's initial letter: the matching consonants appear on opposite sides of the boundary.

For example, ċavetta becomes iċ-ċavetta, “the key,” and tieqa becomes it-tieqa, “the window.” These are ordinary spellings, not pronunciation transcriptions. Compare il-ġelat, “the ice cream”: ġ is outside the set.

Gender and number do not select the matching consonant. Initial i also depends on the preceding context: after a vowel-final word, a shorter assimilated form can occur, as in Marija t-tieqa within a sentence. Assimilation and initial-vowel selection are separate parts of the article pattern.

Examples (3)

  1. iċ-ċavetta

    the key

    Fragment showing assimilation before ċ.

  2. it-tieqa

    the window

    Fragment showing assimilation before t.

  3. iż-żarbun

    the footwear

    Fragment showing assimilation before ż; żarbun is collective.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

An Article Matching the Next ConsonantLevel 1

Learn This First

Teach the defined consonant mapping while retaining the noun's initial letter after the hyphen. Compare iċ-ċavetta with il-ġelat and distinguish consonant assimilation from the separately conditioned presence of initial i.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 1 more in the full list.