Hello!! As always, I love your blog! Thank you for all your help! I work with an orphanage in La Plaine and on my most recent trip I asked all of the kids "What do you want to be when you grow up". One of them responded "Yon Dwayen" I am not familiar with this word. Do you know what it means?

Dwayen is the dean of faculties, the one who manages one or a group of universities.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Hello again! I know I already asked a question today, but I have another. I asked someone what they are good at and they said Football. Then they said something I didn't understand: "Nan peyi nou an yo pa ankadre moun ki gen talon." I'm under the impression "ankadre" means "to frame" and maybe "ki gen talon" refers to ability to play soccer. Is he saying "In my country, they can't frame people who play soccer well"?

Yes, you got the literal translation well. I think he said, "Nan peyi nou an yo pa ankadre moun ki gen talan" which means "In our country they don't support people who have talents". He is referring to the poor sports infracstructure in the country. A lot of Haitians who live in Haiti are very talented athletes, but the country offers no training, equipments or environment to help nurture these talents.  There are many Haitians-born athletes, or athletes of Haitian descent in foreign sports team who are doing awesomely well,  but Haitians want to see Haitian athletes kicking butts at the World Cup or the olympics FOR Haiti most of all.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

I saw your blog and you had answered this, but wasn't sure as there are many ways the word stop could be used. When I was in Haiti any Stop sign I saw was in English. What word in Haitian Creole should be on a Stop sign...sispann? Thank you so much!

Hi!
I love your question. Why, indeed, are all the stop signs in Haiti in English? Maybe when the Haitian government ordered the stop signs they sent them the wrong batch, and the H. government never thought to return them. No return slip included?

Anyways, the proper terminology for a stop sign on the streets of Haiti should be arè which means to halt. It comes from the French arrêt (noun), the verb is arrêter in French, and rete in Creole.

Other words in Creole that means to stop is kanpe.
Kanpe la! - Stop there!
Kanpe machin nan  / Rete machin nan - Stop the car
Kanpe mizik la - Stop the music

It would be hard to use sispann in that sense. Sispann means to cease or to end something.
Li sispann pale. - He stopped talking
Konpani manifakti a sispann fè modèl rad sa a. - The manufacturing company stopped making this type of dress.
To use sispann by itself, you'll need a context.
Li lè pou sispann manje gato. Sispann! - It's time to stop eating cake. Stop!


Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Bonjou! When I was in Haiti a couple months ago we used a popular greeting with a fist bump, but I don't know how to spell it or what it literally means. It sounds like "ah - fom" in english. I would have expected the Kreyole to be like "an fam" or similar. Do you know what it is? Thanks,

Bonjou zanmi. With the fist bump greeting, they are saying "anfòm".

Anfòm can be used various ways. Usually it means awesome, great, excellent, attractive or sexy (if you're describe a female's physique), athletic or good-looking (if you're describing a male's body). When someone asks you about how your day is going, you can say anfòm! if you're having a good day.

Anfòm?

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

How do you say: "We are friends in Christ."

We are friends in Christ. - Nou se zanmi nan Kris.
We are friends in Jesus Christ. - Nou se zanmi nan Jezikri.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Hi Mandaly. Can you translate this proverb for me? What does it mean? le gen lanmou, gen doule

So true, isn't it? "Lè gen lanmou, gen doulè" - ""When there's love, there's pain."

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

how would you say present tense meaning they are doing it right that second? For example... I am sitting. I am cleaning. I am eating.

Use "ap" as the present progressive indicator

I am cleaning. -  Mwen ap netwaye.
I am cleaning the room. Mwen ap netwaye chanm nan.

I am singing. - M ap chante. ("M" being a contraction of 'Mwen')

I am eating. - Mwen ap manje. or M ap manje.
We are eating. - Nou ap manje. or N ap manje.


Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

How can I say: "bust line, chest line, waist line and hips line" for teaching dress-making? Thanks a lot!

bust line - pwatrin
waist line - tay
hip line - kuis

bustline measurement - mezi pwatrin nan
What's your waist line measurement - ki mezi tay you
Take the hip line measurement - Pran mezi kuis la.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words