jien / inti

I and You

Level 1

jien / jiena means “I”; int / inti means singular “you”. Both pairs are gender-neutral in Standard Maltese.

How It Works

Compare Jien naħseb dwar il-vjaġġ. with Naħseb dwar il-vjaġġ.: both mean “I think about the journey”. First-person singular agreement identifies the speaker. Int taħseb dwar il-prezz. addresses one person.

In a present description, the pronoun can supply the subject without a separate equivalent of English “am” or “are”. Jien marida. means “I am ill”, said by a woman; Inti marida. means “You are ill”, addressing a woman. The adjective carries feminine singular agreement.

Standard Maltese uses both int and inti without a masculine–feminine distinction. Likewise, jien and jiena do not distinguish the speaker’s gender. Third-person singular pronouns instead distinguish hu and hi.

Examples (5)

  1. Jien naħseb dwar il-vjaġġ.

    I think about the journey.

    Explicit first-person singular subject.

  2. Naħseb dwar il-vjaġġ.

    I think about the journey.

    First-person agreement with an understood subject.

  3. Int taħseb dwar il-prezz.

    You think about the price.

    One addressee; int is gender-neutral.

  4. Jien marida.

    I am ill.

    Female speaker with feminine adjective agreement.

  5. Inti marida.

    You are ill.

    One female addressee; the adjective marks gender.

How It Connects

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jien / intiLevel 1I and You

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Words in This Pattern

jien