Awkward social question: so last time I was in Haiti the people were all surprised that at my age I’m not married and they decided to help me out by showing me the single ladies in the village and asking “ou renmen li?” Seeking a graceful way to extract myself from the situation I latched onto the fact that the first couple ladies were much too young to make an appropriate match for me, however there were no translators around and so I had to wing it in trying to convey that. I wasn’t sure how to say ‘she’s too young’ so I tried the closest thing I thought might communicate that general idea and said “li pa laj.” They got the general gist but I’m wondering did I actually communicate what I intended or something totally different? Is there a better way I could have said this? Mèsi.

Oh man... that must have been awkward for you :)

"Li pa laj" could mean that "She's not of age."
You could also say, "Li twò jenn pou mwen." - "She's too young for me."
or you could just say, "Mèsi, men m ap tann Bondye chwazi pou mwen" or "Mwen poko deside fè afè."
Best of luck.

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