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Thursday, August 9, 2012

se sa ki fe...eske se lot jan mwen met di se poutet sa? Li sanble li vle di nan angle: it is what is doing?? Mwen pa byen konprann.

Wi zanmi'm, ou kòrèk.

Se sa'k fè (se sa ki fè) is yet another way to say That is why.
It literally means It's what that makes :)

Here, below, is a link to an audio post about the many ways to say That is why.
Take a look:
Many Ways to Say That is Why

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

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Sa zye' pa we, tse pa ka-fe' mal

You have this in an older Creole form.

We generally say this proverb as:
Sa je pa wè, kè pa tounen. 
What the eyes don't see cannot make the heart queasy.
or
You cannot feel queasy about what your eyes haven't seen.

The idea is about "Ignorance is bliss."
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

"Ou konn sa w ap kite; ou pa konn sa ou pral jwenn." What is the thought behind this proverb?

Ou konn sa w'ap kite, men ou pa konn sa'w pral jwenn.
You know what you're leaving behind, but you don't know what you will find.

Haitians also say:
Ou konn kote'w soti, men ou pa konn kote'w prale.
You know where you've been, but you done know where you going.

Both sentences are the same ideas.  They're about not knowing what the future holds.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

poutet...kisa mo sa vle di nan fraz la: Se poutet sa...

se poutèt sa ... → that is why ..., that is the reason why, it's because of that (literally)

poutèt (on its own) means because, because of

example:
Mwen malad.  Se poutèt sa mwen pa't ale travay.
I'm ill.  That's why I didn't go to work.

Yo grangou.  Se poutèt sa y'ap kriye.
They're hungry.  That's why they're crying.

or check this out :)

Y'ap kriye poutèt manje.
They're crying because of food

Li kite travay la poutèt timoun li yo.
She left the job because of her kids.

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

pou kont....pou kont ou, pou kont li, pou kont mwen....I understand this to mean for yourself, her/himself, myself...I thought ou menm, li menm, mwen menm was yourself, her/himself, myself?? Can you use either?

You are right about ou menm, li menm, etc... meaning yourself, him/herself

Pou kont ... in Creole translate by self, which means alone.

pou kont mwen (literally on my own account) - by myself
pou kont li - by himself
pou kont nou - by ourselves
Example:
Li te aprann kondui pou kont li.
She learned to drive by herself (She learned to drive on her own, with no help)

Li te kite timoun yo nan kay la pou kont yo.
He left the kids in the house by themselves (alone, with no supervision)

See these helpful links:
Alone, unattached, by oneself
Mwen menm, ou menm - myself, yourself?


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

Se pou nou renmen tout bon vre...it is for us to love (all good true)??? I struggle only knowing the literal translation sometimes...what it this saying in the context of the Creole language? Mesi Mandaly!!

Dakò :)

Se pou ... denotes obligation, duty, requirement
example:
Se pou ou vini wè mwen. 
You must come see me.

Se pou yo netwaye kay la anvan yo pati.
They should clean the house before they leave.

notice how the subject is placed after SE POU.
See more on SE POU link

Tout bon vre means for real, for good, genuinely, truly
see link for posts on tout bon vre

Se pou nou renmen tout bon vre...
You must love for real... (literally)

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

Mwen pa konpran mo la: piga. Nan vese sa li di: Pitit mwen yo, piga nou renmen selman nan bouch, nan bel diskou ak bel pawol. Kisa mo sa piga vle di? Mesi anpil :)

Piga or pinga means don't, do not (used when giving advice or a warning)
See link to posts about PINGA
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Be respectful

We usually say:
Fè respè'w which literally means to earn your respect.

If you want to say Be respectful in Haitian Creole, it's better to name the "object" such as:
Gen respè pou lòt.
Be respectful of others.
Have respect for others.

or
Respekte lèzòt yo.
Respect others.
Have respect for others.

or
Respekte pwochen'w.
Respect your neighbor.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

To say "there are no words to express my sentiments ..." in Creole, should I say 'pa gen pawòl yo ...' or "pa gen mo yo..."?

There are no words to express my sentiments ....
Pa gen yon mo ki kapab eksprime santiman mwen ...
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Stove and Oven?

How do you say "Happy 1st Birthday my dear, sweet Rosenalie! I hope we can become best friends one day! Love, Khalil" I'm sending a gift from my one year old son. Thanks!

Pase yon bon premye anivèsè nesans Rosenalie, dous cheri mwen!
Mwen espere nou kapab vin bon zanmi yon jou!
Avèk lanmou, Khalill
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words


I'm looking for the right ways to say "want to be." Li se dòktè. Li vle se dòktè. Kòrèk? Men... Li ro. (he's tall). Li vle se ro. ?? Does that work, or would I have to say something like "li vle fini ro" or something like that? Mesi!

There are really two best ways to say it:

The first one:  want to be ... → vle vin ... (which literally translates want to come/ become)
Examples:
1. He wants to be a doctor.
    Li vle vin yon doktè.

2. She wants to be skinny
    Li vle vin mens.

3. I want to be a servant.
    Mwen vle vin yon sèvitè

4. She wants to be like you.
    Li vle vin tankou'w

5. I want to be your friend
    Mwen vle vin zanmi'w

The second one: I want to be ... → Mwen vle pou'm ta ... which literally means I want for me to be ... (where the pronoun that comes after POU reflects the subject)
This second one can also be used for the sentences above.  AND .... it works well in sentences where it's hard to use VLE VIN such as #7 and #9.

6. I want to be my own boss.
    Mwen vle pou'm ta bòs tèt mwen.
    I want for me would be the boss of my head (literally :)

7. I want to be wherever you are.
    Mwen vle pou'm ta nenpòt kote ou ye.
    I want for me would be anywhere you are (literally)

8. He wants  to be taller.
    Li vle pou'l ta pi wo. 
    He wants for him would be more tall (literally)
    and you could also say:
    Li vle vin pi wo.
    He wants come more tall (literally)

9. They want to be with their mom.
    Yo vle pou yo ta ak manman yo.
     They want for them would be with mom their (literally)

10. She wants to be my girlfriend
      Li vle pou'l ta menaj mwen.
      She wants for her would be girlfriend my (literally)

P.S. you don't always have to use contractions after POU. You can say pou mwen ta (instead of pou'm ta), pou li ta (instead of pou'l ta), pou nou ta (instead of pou'n ta), etc...

AND... as you get comfortable using this 'second one', you'll start noticing that Haitians may use different tenses; past tense (vle pou pronoun te ...), present tense (vle pou pronoun ...).



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