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Sunday, November 27, 2011

nouvèl (Creole)

Nouvèl → information, news, bulletin

Ban m nouvèl ou.
How have you been?

Ban m nouvèl manman w.
How's your mom?

Eske ou te tande nouvèl la?
Have you heard the news?

Mwen pote bon nouvèl.
I bring good news.

Mwen fe nouvèl chak maten. or
Mwen koute nouvèl chak maten.
I listen to the news every morning.

imajine

imajine → to think of, to imagine, to fantasize, to conceive

do you like me?

Do you like me?
Eske ou renmen m?

tired and bored

fatige e anniye

I'm tired and bored.
Mwen fatige e anniye.

I'm tired and weak.
Mwen fatige e fèb.

You are too restless
Ou fatige tèt ou twòp.

Another way to say tired in Creole is bouke.

I am tired of working hard.
Mwen bouke travay di.

I'm tired of being tired.
Mwen bouke fatige tèt mwen.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

bored and boring

bored → anniye
boring → raz, san plezi, pa enteresan

Would you say "here I come":"isit mwen vini", "isit la m vini" or "la m vini"?I am kinda confused about the usage of here when it is not referring to a specific place.

You're right. It can get confusing.
We might not be able to translate the next examples word for word.

Place the Haitian Creole word "men" before the subject when making these kind of sentences with "Here" or "there".

Here I come.
Men mwen.

Here she comes.
Men li.

Here they come.
Men yo.

Here we are.
Men nou.

Here is the book you wanted.
Men liv ou te vle a.

Here I am Lord.
Men mwen Senyè.

When you call on a Creole speaker, he or she will come to you and most often say:
Men mwen.  Ou te rele m?
Here I am.  Did you call me?

You will also hear:  Men mwen wi! (Here i am!)

There it is.
Men li.
Men ni.

Here is the money I borrowed from you.
Men lajan ou te prete m nan.

Here is the computer I saw in the ad.
Men òdinatè mwen te wè nan reklam nan.

Sometimes Creole speakers will use the verb "vini" along with "men"
example:
Here she comes.
Men l'ap vini.

Here they come with the baby.
Men y'ap vini ak bebe a.

Here I come with the cake.
Men m'ap vini avèk gato a.

So, "Here I come" can either be:
Men mwen.
or
Men m'ap vini.

What is "moun pa"

Moun pa → favorite person, close friend, pal, bosom buddy

He's my buddy.
Se moun pa mwen.(non-contracted)
Se moun pa m. (contracted)
Watch for contractions.  And do not confuse this "pa" with the negative indicator "pa" : )

-Do you know this lady?
  Eske ou konnen madanm sa a?

-Yes I know her.  She's a close friend.
  Wi mwen konnen l. Li se moun pa m.

-If I knew she was your pal I would have been nice to her.
  Si m te konnen li te moun pa w, mwen ta byen aji avè l.

Moun pa is an expression that could mean favoritism.
Ou nan moun pa.
You're playing favorite.

Moun pa se dra.
Good friends are like sheets. (Good friends are a shelter)

He would not have gotten the job if he didn't have someone on the inside.
Li pa ta jwenn travay la si li pa't gen moun pa anndan an.

You must have someone on the inside to get ahead in this country.
Fòk ou gen moun pa pou w avanse nan peyi sa.

See some other Haitian Creole words for "favoritism"

Friday, November 25, 2011

I have another question when Telling time. For example if you say to someone I'll come pick you up at uite mwennka, you mean 7:45.

Yes. You got it :-)

7:45 is uitè mwennka.

I'll come pick you up at 7:45.
M'ap vin chache w a uitè mwennka.
or
M'ap vin chache w a setè karannsenk.

Telling time 1
Telling time

haiti

Ayiti

Ask me anything

I have a question with Telling time.For example if you say to someone, I"ll come pick you up at 'nuit heures twaka. you mean 8:45.

yeap, that's it.
Wi, se sa.

eight forty-five
uitè karannsenk (eight forty-five)
or
uitè twaka (eight and three quarters)
or
nevè mwennka (fifteen minutes to nine)

Telling Time 1
Telling Time

how do you say i dont know

Mwen pa konnen

Ask me anything

First thing I'm going to do is...Second thing " "..... Third thing " " Fourth thing " " trust me we're not going to leave you hungry.

First thing I'm going to do is...
Premye bagay m'ap fè se ...

Second thing ...
Dezyèm bagay ...


Trust me, we will not leave you hungry.  (Is "you" plural?
Kwè m si ou vle, nou p'ap kite nou san manje. (nou - plural)

There are other ways to translate this sentence, but the above is my first choice:
Kwè mwen, nou pap kite nou grangou.
Kwè mwen, nou pap kite nou ak grangou nan vant.

HELLO MY FRIEND

Hello my friend!
Bonjou zanmi mwen!
Bèl bonjou zanmi mwen!
Kout chapo zanmi mwen!
Sali zanmi mwen!
Onè respè zanmi mwen!
Ask me anything

How about "Happy Holidays" in Creole?

Happy Holidays.
Pase yon bon sezon fèt.
(Literally: Have a good holiday season)

More Haitian Creole Holiday greetings

How to say "Merry Christmas" in Creole. And also "May the Son of God bring peace into the heart of every man". Great blog!

Merry Christmas!
Jwaye Nwèl!

May the Son of God bring peace into the heart of every man.
Se pou Pitit Bondye a pote lapè nan kè tout moun.

More Haitian Creole Christmas and Holiday greetings
Ask me anything