dan il- / din il-

This Noun

Level 1

demonstrative + article-bearing noun: dan il-, din il-, dawn il-, or the appropriate article variant.

How It Works

To identify “this” item or “these” items, place the demonstrative before a definite common noun. Use dan for masculine singular, din for feminine singular, and dawn for plural reference. Keep the article attached to its noun with a hyphen.

Compare dan il-kappell, “this hat,” with din iċ-ċavetta, “this key.” Gender changes the demonstrative; the initial consonant of the following noun changes the article. Before a vowel, the article appears as l-, as in dawn l-eżamijiet.

Spoken Maltese often blends the demonstrative and article into dal-, dil- or assimilated variants. These are recognized forms, not spelling mistakes. Plural dal- occurs in speech but tends to be avoided in writing. The separate forms are useful for learning the construction. Proper names are outside this ordinary common-noun pattern.

Examples (3)

  1. dan il-kappell

    this hat

    Masculine singular noun-phrase fragment.

  2. din iċ-ċavetta

    this key

    Feminine singular fragment with an assimilated article.

  3. dawn l-eżamijiet

    these examinations

    Plural fragment with l- before e.

How It Connects

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

dan il- / din il-Level 1This Noun

Learn This First

Build explicit demonstrative noun phrases with an attached article. The lesson introduces its article examples locally, separates demonstrative agreement from sound-conditioned article shape, and labels spoken blends without requiring later catalog entries.

Words in This Pattern

dan