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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

"Kreyol se Bondye lang!" Kreyol is the language of God! Is this a good translation? Are there any better ways to say this? Mesi anpil

Of course.
Say instead:
Kreyòl se lang Bondye (Creole is God's language)
Kreyòl se lang Bondye a (Creole is the language of God)
Kreyòl la se lang pa Bondye (The Creole language is God's own language) 

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

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

"Gade tout taks m'ap peye nan yon peyi ki pa pa'm" The two "pa" at the end there work ok?

On the subject of possession, why can't I say "Tèt m fè m mal"

People from the North speak like that.
If you say it like that, you got to pronounce it like a Kapwa does.

On the subject of possession, we learn that one shouldn't use a contraction after a consonant.  For example, you'll say tèt mwen instead of tèt m, dwèt ou instead of dwèt w, kouraj li instead kouraj l, etc....
But in addition to the accent, the possession adjective is one of the thing you notice is changed when Northerners (people from Okap especially) speak Creole.

They' say: tèt m (my head)
and pronounce it: tetanm
They say: tèt w (tèt ou)
and pronounce it: tèta w
They say: tèt a li (his head)
They say: tèt an nou (our head, your head)
and they say: tèt a yo (their head)

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

somewhere, nowhere, everywhere, anywhere, elsewhere. Also somehow, nohow, and anyhow. somebody(someone), nobody(no one),and anybody (any one). Lastly, something, nothing, anything. I know it's a lot but other people can benefit from your explanation.


Ayayay, dwèt mwen fè'm mal nèt jodi a :)

somewhere → yon kote, kèk kote (somewhere, some places, anywhere)
1. Lè ou jwenn travay la, w’ava chwazi yon kote ki pre pou abite.
    When you get the job, you'll choose somewhere close by to live.

2. Eske w’ap mennen’m yon kote pou fèt mwen?
    Are you taking me somewhere for my birthday?

3. Eske ou pral kèk kote jodi a?
   Are you going somewhere today?

nowhere → okenn kote, ankenn kote, pyès kote 
4. Dimanch m’ap lakay mwen. M pa gen pyès kote pou m ale.
    I’ll be home on Sunday.  I have nowhere to go.

5. Mwen te pèdi ti chen m nan. Mwen te chache li, men m pa’t ka jwenn li okenn kote.
    I lost my puppy. I looked for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

everywhere, → tout kote, toupatou, nan tout rakwen
6. Tout kote misye pase li bay pwoblèm.
   He brings trouble everywhere he goes.

7. Nouvèl la gaye toutpatou.
   The news is everywhere.

anywhere → nenpòt kote, nenpòt ki kote, kèlkeswa kote (wherever)
8. Eske ou kapab itilize lisans pwofesyonèl ou nenpòt kote nan peyi a?
    Can you use your professional license anywhere in the country?

9. Fè kòm si ou  te lakay ou.  Ou mèt kouche nenpòt kote ou vle.
    Make yourself at home.  You may lie down anywhere you want.

elsewhere (somewhere else)→ yon lòt kote, lòt kote
10. Plas sa yo se pou mwen ak fanmi’m.  Al chita yon lòt kote.
     These seats are mine and my family’s.  Go sit elsewhere.

11. Apre siklòn nan, tout touris yo pati pou al lòt kote.
     After the hurricane all the tourists left to go elsewhere.

somehow → yon fason ou yon  lòt, yon jan, yon fason, yon mannyè
12. Mwen pa konn kijan l fè l, men yon fason ou yon lòt li te pase egzamen an.
      I don’t know how she did it, but somehow she passed the exam.

 13. M konnen w ou pa gen kòb e ou p’ap travay, men yon fason ou yon lòt ou dwe evakye apatman an demen oplita.
      I know you have no money and no job, but somehow you must evacuate the apartment by tomorrow.

No how  (no way, no how, no means?) → ankenn fason, oken fason, okenn mannyè, okenn mwayen
14. M konnen ou bezwen lajan an, men pa gen okenn mwayen pou ede w.
      I know you need the money, but I have no means to help you.

15. Boul la twò wo nan pye bwa a. Pa gen oken fason n ka retire l.
     The ball is too far up the tree.  There’s no way for us to retrieve it.

Anyhow (anyway) → nenpòt fason, nenpòt jan, nenpòt mannyènenpòt ki fason/jan/mannyè (whichever way) 
16. Lekòl la pa bay inifòm.  Elèv yo mèt abiye nenpòt fason yo vle.
     The school has no uniforms.  The students may dress as they wish.

17. Ou pa ka parèt devan jij la nenpòt ki fason.  Ou dwe prepare.
      You cannot come to judge in whichever way you please.  You must pe prepared.

somebody(someone) → yon moun
18. Gen yon moun ki nan pòt la.
     There’s someone at the door.

19. Yon moun ta dwe montre fanm sa kouman pou l abiye.
     Someone should teach that woman how to dress.

nobody(no one) → ankenn moun, okenn moun, pyès moun, pèsonn
20. Pyès moun pa janm wè Bondye.
     No one has ever seen God.

21. Li pa respekte pèsonn.
     She respects no one.

anybody (any one) → nenpòt moun, nenpòt ki moun, nenpò kilès, pèsonn (no one, not anyone)
22. Nenpòt moun kapab vin prezidan, men se pa tout moun ki pa dirije yon peyi.
      Anyone can become president, but not everyone can lead a country.

23. Yon fwa ou kite kay la, pa ret pale ak pèsonn.
      Once you leave the house, do not stop to talk to anyone

something → yon bagay, kèk bagay, yon koze, yon zafè, yon choz, yon kichòy
24. Mwen gen yon bagay pou ou.
      I have something for you.

25. Gen yon bagay ki pase mal pandan operasyon an.
      Something went wrong during the surgery.

nothing → anyen, pyès bagay, okenn bagay
26. Anyen pa fè m pè.
      Nothing scares me.

27. Mwen pa santi anyen pou li.
     I feel nothing for her.

anything → nenpòt bagay, nenpòt ki bagay, okenn bagay, nenpòt koze, nenpòt kichòy, anyen
28. Jenn moun, sou Facebook, ekri nenpòt koze.  Yo pa konnen si sa ka swiv yo.
     Young people, on Facebook, write anything.  They don’t know if that can follow them.

29. Doktè yo pa wè anyen mal nan radyografi a.  Mwen panse sa se bon nouvèl.
     The doctor hasn't found anything wrong on your x-ray.  I think that is good news


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

Is Creole's FEYTE a variant of FETE?

Non.
Feyte to flip through, to leaf through
example:
 Li te kache foto menaj ankachèt li a nan liv la, men lè li te feyte paj yo li pa't kapab jwenn foto a.
  She had hidden the picture of her secret boyfriend in the book, but when she flipped through the pages she could not find the picture.

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

TO BE OR NOT TO BE in Haitian Creole (Ye ou pa ye?) or is it (se ou pa se?)

Oh man...  gras lamizèrikòd!
It's not coming out right with YE or SE.

"To be or not to be...That is the question"
"Egziste ou pa egziste ....Se kesyon an."

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

Hey mandly, can I also say MEN DWAT if I mean to say that "someone is my right hand"?

Haitians usually say bra dwat
example:
1. Li se bra dwat mwen.  Mwen pa konn sa m ta fè san li.
    She's my right hand.  I don't what I would do without her.

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

Please translate the following into Haitian Creole. "It is my blessing to become friends with you. May Jesus fill your hearts with His light, hope, joy and love. Your friend"

"It is my blessing to become friends with you. May Jesus fill your hearts with His light, hope, joy and love. Your friend"
Se yon benediksyon pou mwen pou m fè zanmi avèk ou.  Se pou Jezi ranpli kè nou ak limyè Li, lespwa, kè kontan enpi lanmou.  Zanmi ou"

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


Does "kran" means "balls"?

Not literally.
In Creole, some synonyms for "kran"  are kouray, odasite, awogans, nen nan figi, fyèl, or grenn nan bouda
If you specfically wants to say "balls", then it's "grenn nan bouda"

example:
1. Papa fanm sa tèlman akaryat, si'w on gason pa gen grenn nan bouda l, li pa ka al mande l maryaj non.
2. Travay nan prizon se moun ki gen grenn nan bouda yo ki ka fè sa.

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

How is "let" used in the third person in creole? Are all these "lese", "fè", "ke"(que in French) correct?

Do you mean English's verb to let → kite, pèmèt, penmèt, lese ?

1. Let him in.
    Kite l antre.

2. He let her go.
    Li lese l ale.

3.  He let her walk all over him.
     Li kite l pran pye sou li.

I'm not sure where that Creole "ke" is coming from. Perhaps you meant the English auxillary verb "May" (as in when expressing a wish):

5. May God bless you
   Ke Bondye beni w.
   Se pou Bondye beni w

6. May he rest in peace
    Se pou li repoze anpè.

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


Here are the sentences, "We have been working for three hours." Or "We have been working since three o'clock." Does "twazè or Twa zè" means three o'clock? Does "Twazè tan or Twa zè tan" means three hours or the reverse?

It's "twazè"  → 3 o'clock.
It's "twazèdtan" → three hours

"We have been working for three hours."
"N'ap travay depi twazèdtan."

"We've been working since three o'clock."
"N'ap travay depi twazè"

See the four posts on telling time link

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Monday, January 14, 2013

Kisa yo vle di nan "yo mache kou rat k'ap veye chat."?

M pa kwè se "Yo mache kou rat k'ap veye chat."
Mwen byen kwè se "Yo mache kou chat k'ap veye rat."

Si sa'm di a se sa, sèke ou annafè avèk yon mètdam, yon panzouyis, yon opòtinis, oubyen yon moun k'ap tann lè'l rive pou l fè dappiyanp. Se sa'k pa manke nan monn nan.

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

I Know in French, they use "il s'agit de" meaning "it is the question of, it's about" so, how would it be translated in creole?

The Creole translation will depend on the concept and the clause (if there's one) that comes beforehand.


You can translate it in Creole as Se osijè (It's about)Sa gen pou wè ak or Sa konsènen (it involves)Se yon afè or Se yon afè de (It's a question of)Se yon kesyon or se yon kesyon de (It's a question of).

Some examples:

1. Kounye a, nan peyi Ayiti, se yon afè de chimè k'ap pale.
2. Lè ou antre nan lame Ayiti, se pa yon kesyon konn pote zam non, men se yon kesyon konnen ki moun pou w fè konfyans lè w nan konba.
3. Istwa sa a pale osijè twa moun .... (dans cet histoire, il s'agit de trois personnes..)


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

what is manye, as in 'manye kite m trankil'

Manyè → at least, make an effort to, also means a little, somewhat, or more or less

1.  Manyè di'm sa'w genyen non!
     At least tell me what's wrong with you!
     Won't you at least tell me what's wrong!

2. Manyè kite m trankil.
    Won't you at least leave me alone.

3. Manyè chita non.
    Won't you at least sit down

4. Manyè souke kò w pou w al chache yon travay non.
    Won't you at least make an effort to go look for a job

5.  Manyè pran yon ti manje non.
     Won't you at least take some food.
     Eat a little.

6.  Mwen manyè fè yon ti miyò.
     I feel somewhat better.

7.  Apre m te rele leta pou vwazen m nan, li manyè kite m anrepo.
     After I called the police on my neighbors, he more or less left me alone.

8. Manyè di m sa m fè w non.
    Could you at least tell me what I did to you?

9.  Bandi yo fin detwi peyi a. Fòk nou manyè fè yon bagay pou n repran peyi a nan men yo.
     These criminals are destroying the country. We should at least do something so we can reclaim the country from them

10.  "Yon jou pou chasè yon jou pou jibye".  Nou pral manyè fè yo konnen sa n peze jodi a.
       "A day for the hunter, a day for the prey".  Today, we will at least let them know what we're made of
     
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Kote ou prale m prale ak ou?

1. Kote ou prale m prale ak ou.
    Where you will go I will go with you.

2. Kote ou fè m'a fè tou.
    Where you I'll go too.
or

3. Kote ou rete se la m va rete tou.
    Where you dwell, that's where I'll dwell too.

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