Mwen pa't vle kite w san m pa di w.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Don't talk back to me. Don't give me any lip.
talk back → reponn, rann repons
Don't talk back to me.
Pa rann mwen repons.
santi fo
santi fò → smell bad (bad body odor, uncleaned stuff, etc..)
Other synonyms for "santi fò" are "santi move", "santi bouk"
He left me to twist in the wind / twisting in the wind.
Twisting in the wind → san sipò, sou po dèyè, sèl, ....
Depending on context, "twisting in the wind" can be translated som many ways.
He left me twisting in the wind.
Li kite m sou po dèyè m.
Li kite m san oken mwayen pou mwen degaje m.
How would you say I have tire problem, like a flat tire in a car.?
I have tire problems.
Mwen gen pwoblèm kawoutyou.
I have a flat tire.
Kawoutyou machin mwen plat.
flat tire → kawoutyou plat
what does a la ou mem sa mean?
"Ala ou menm sa!" is equivalent to the expression "You are something else." or the slang "You're really something."
When can you use 'dwe' as 'be'? Examples please.
Dwe is translated as must be, when is not used as a helping verb and it stands alone.
So it'll usually come before a adjectives, or other modifiers and identifiers at that time. It will not come before a verb.
Li dwe malad.
She must be ill.
Ou dwe fou!
You must be out of your mind!
Nou pa ta dwe la.
We should not be here.
Se dwe madanm ni.
That must be his wife.
Se dwe fèt li.
It must be his birthday.
Otherwise, "dwe" is a helping verb.
Dwe → must, have to, have got to, obligated to, ought to, need, should.
Nou dwe ale.
We have to go.
Ou pa dwe fè sa.
You should not do that.
Mwen ta dwe ale tou.
I should have gone too.
Ou ta dwe ede li.
You ought to help him.
You ought to help him.
Li dwe te manje twòp yè.
She must have eaten too much yesterday.
Yo dwe pati.
They must have left.
They must have left.
Ou dwe te konnen. (te = past tense)
You must have known.
Mwen dwe te indispoze. (te = past tense)
I must have passed out.
Yo dwe t'ap fè vitès. (t'ap = te ap, past and progressive)
They must have been speeding.
My next tattoo is for a Haitian family member of mine who passed away. I want to say "I love you," and "I miss you." I know this translates into "Mwen renmen ou/w," and "Mwen sonje ou/w." But I was wondering for the tattoo, would you think it was more ap
Best way to write it.
Mwen renmen w.
Mwen sonje w.
In "Lè yo w vini kay?" does "yo" mean "are?" I've never seen in used that way before. Is there another way to say it?
No, I can't think of any circumstances where "yo" would translate "are".
Perhaps this sentence is not complete.
Maybe they meant:
Lè yo va vini lakay yo.
When they will come home.
Lè yo vini lakay yo.
When they come home.
Lè yo rive lakay yo.
When they arrive home.
Lè yo rantre lakay yo.
When they get home.
Check the following link about "Going Home"
How do you say 'So far'? Like "so far this is going well?"
So far → jiskisi, jiskaprezan
So far this is going well.
Jiskaprezan bagay yo mache byen.
So far he hasn't given me anything yet.
Jiskaprezan li poko ban m anyen.
How's it going so far?
Jiskisi kouman sa ye?
So far so good
Trè byen
Anfòm
Jiskisi nou anfòm
play
to play → jwe
a game → jwèt
a toy → jwèt
To play a game.
Jwe yon jwè.
To play with a toy.
Jwe avèk yon jwèt
Thursday, December 1, 2011
To drink a mouthful of salt water...' Is there a one-word sentence for mouthful? I want to say 'bouche plen' but that can't be right.
a mouthful → yon gòje
She drank a mouthful of salt water.
Li te bwè yon gòje dlo sale.
Two questions. 1) How do you say "deliver a baby" and 2) is it okay for foreigners to use the word "neg" in conversation with Haitians? Thank you!
to deliver a baby → akouche yon bebe
to give birth → akouche
birth (n.) → akouchman
She gave birth this morning.
Li akouche maten an.
The doctor delivered the baby.
Doktè a akouche bebe a.
or
Doktè a delivre bebe a. (pronounced day-lee-v-ray)
you will also hear:
The doctor who delivered me was excellent.
Doktè ki te akouche m nan te anfòm.
I had a busy day. I had 2 deliveries (births) in the office.
Jounen m te okipe. Mwen te gen 2 akouchman nan ofis la.
2. Yes, it is okay for foreigners to use the word "nèg" in conversation with Haitians.
The word "nèg" in Haitian Creole is equivalent to "man, guy, dude, pal, etc..."
Creole speakers will even translate "a white man" as "yon nèg blan" (which is an oxymoron), but that's the way it is: nèg means man.
See this link about other Creole expressions with "nèg".
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