What is more romantic than a gesture for your girlfriend that also helps the world? A Maltese entrepreneur has created an app to learn Maltese through contemporary contexts and interactive games that has already amassed 5,000 users since it’s launched in November 2024. 

Dieter Pace, a 28-year-old tech entrepreneur, has created Kuċċarina (teaspoon in Maltese), as a response to his foreigner partner’s desire to learn Maltese. 

The app promises to teach anyone, including those who haven’t heard a single word, Maltese through interactive, useful and fun exercises that can be done from any device.  

Kuċċarina is free but includes levels of paid subscription, works to build one’s base of Maltese through three sections: Translate, which improves grammar, vocabulary with a matching game and a focus of spelling with Spell. 

Mr Pace explained that while the app is still in its infantry stage, the feedback has been very positive. 

“A lot of people around me where saying how much we need something like this,” he says.

The audience has been varied. Besides Malta-based downloads, the app has been downloaded across the world, in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy and India. 

“Maltese is our language, it’s precious and we should be very proud of it. We should never let the language die.”

Some users opt to learn once they move to Malta, while others, Maltese migrants in other countries, want to keep up their language or pass it on to their children.

“Each mode is carefully crafted to build a solid foundation while keeping you engaged through interactive gameplay,” the app’s description reads. 

Whether you're matching words, solving puzzles, or practicing every game helps you progress.

Similar to Duolingo, the app incentivises users to regularly use the app with streaks. While there are other Maltese language apps that exist, Kuċċarina offers thousands of commonly used phrases, scenarios and words in the form of stories and every-day conversations that can be used in everyday life in the Maltese context.

In the age of the internet, physical language courses are not the only or first way people engage with the tenacities of a new language.Giant language apps like Duolingo have taken the world by force - with reporting €719.7m in revenue in 2024. And while the app boasts 42 languages, it still doesn’t offer a comprehensive immersion into Malta’s unique language. 

Kuċċarina also provides access to the contemporary - recommending Maltese music and podcast to boost learning through entertainment.

Whether you’re learning for work, travel, or personal growth, Kuċċarina makes the process enjoyable and rewarding.

Download the app here!