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Saturday, February 2, 2013

Kijan ou fè lanmou nan yo ti kay pay?

O O! mezanmi o!  ....Ou fè li an silans.... m panse :-\
Bòn chans :)

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

How does one translate these sentences?"Insofar as you need a new laptop computer, this one isn't a bad deal." and "Inasmuch as you have expressed your desire to marry, we shall not oppose your wishes."

puiske, piske → since, view to the fact that, insofar as, inasmuch as, forasmuch as, etc....

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

Eske mwen mèt...? → May I...?

May I...?
Eske mwen mèt...? (Eske m mèt...?)
Eske mwen te mèt...? (Eske m te mèt ...?)

1.  May I ask you something?
     Eske mwen mèt mande yon bagay?

2.  May I sit next to you?
     Es m te mèt chita bò kote w?

3.  May I call you?
     Eske m te mèt rele w?

4.  May I leave this package here for your mom?
     Eske mwen mèt kite pake sa a la pou manman w?

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

Friday, February 1, 2013

To become (in Creole)?

Become → tounen, vin, vin tounen, vin devni, devni

1.  Lajounen li se yon moun, leswa li tounen yon lougawou.
     Lajounen li se yon moun, leswa li vin tounen yon lougawou
     La jounen li se yon moun, leswa li devni yon lougawou.
     During the day he's human, at night he becomes a werewolf.

2. Malgre andikap li, li te vin yon gran avyatè.
    In spite of his handicap, he became a great air pilot.

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

Is YES a H. Creole word. Do you use it to say "yes". and can I say YES instead of WI?

Yes, it's a Haitian Creole word.
You can use it as an adjective or adverb.
I think if you use it to say "yes" as in agreeing with someone, then we're speaking English :)

Yès (syn: kòdyòm, anfòm) totally fine, okay, well

1. Depi m sot lopital la mwen te fè yon ti miyò, men m poko fin yès nèt.
    Since I came from the hospital I've been a little better, but I'm not totally well yet.

2.  Fè atansyon ak dam sa a, tèt li pa fin yès non.
     Be careful with this girl, her head is not all there.

3.  Mwen menm ak bòs mwen ap travay sou yon kontra anplwaman.  Gen kèk pati nan kontra a ki poko fin yès. Nou espere jwenn yon antant nan de jou konsa.
     My employer and I are working on an employment contract.  Some parts of the contract are not yet conclusive.  We hope to reach an agreement in about a couple of days.

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

What's KIKINAN? It's same as KINAN m

kikinan (v.) → to bother, annoy, trouble

1. Kisa k'ap kikinan lespri w?
    What's troubling you?

2. Pa kite medam yo ap kikinan lespri w non.  
    Do not let the girls give you any trouble.

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

Would you look at a little something I am writing for practice in Creole? It is too long for the Formspring box, (about 4 paragraphs) but I will put it as a comment to this post :)

Dakò, mwen ta renmen li sa w ekri :)
Sometimes the comment sections don't take too much either.  You might want to do two comments if it doesn't take it all.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Thursday, January 31, 2013

half asleep or half awake - se kouman ou di sa makomè :) ??

Monkonpè :), yo di ant somèy e revèy

pa egzanp:
Mwen te ant somèy e revèy lè sa te pase.  Se konmsi mwen te nan yon rèv.
I was half asleep when that happened.  It is as if I was in a dream.

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

What is WÈL? as in 'grangou nan wèl mwen'

Creole's wèl means ass, like Creole nouns dengonn, bouda

1. Grangou nan wèl mwen. 
    I'm hungry. basically

2. Mwen te pèdi liv Marie a.  Se sa'k fè li lage dife nan wèl mwen pou m remèt li lajan liv la.
    I lost Maries' book.  That's why she's after me like fire in my ass to reimburse her the money for the book.

3. Si'w maltrete sè'm nan, m'ap nan wèl ou tande!
    If you mistreat my sister, I'll be after your ass you hear!

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

How does one translate 'matter' as a verb? "You matter to me a lot." Also, how to translate these expressions? "it doesn't matter" and "no matter"

to matterkonsekan, gen konsekans, gen valè, vo anpil, konte, enpòtan, peze

You matter to me.
Ou konsekan pou mwen.
Ou gen konsekans pou mwen.
Ou gen valè pou mwen
Ou vo anpil pou mwen
Ou konte pou mwen
Ou enpòtan pou mwen.
or
Ou peze anpil nan balans mwen.


It doesn't matter → Sa pa fè anyen, li pa enpòtan see link It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter if you forgot to bring your own food today.  We'll share.
Sa pa fè anyen si w bliye pote manje pa'w jodi a.  N'a pataje ansanm.

It doesn't matter who you are in here.
Li pa enpòtan ki moun ou ye isit la.


No matter what/who/where Kèlkeswa See link Kèlkeswa
kèlkeswa
kèlkiswa
pèkeswa
kèlklanswa

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

I heard my mom say this, "a fèk gade yo si yo pa kwè ou pa ka travay." is 'a fèk gade yo' equivalent to 'ki mele yo'? I have heard her say this expression a lot but it's the first time I'm actually aware of it.

There's a little difference.

afè k gade w (or zafè ki gade ou) see link to other ways to say this in Creole
business which concerns you (lit)
It's your own business
It's on your head
It's your choice

afè k gade yo (or afè ki gade yo)
affair which regards them.
It's their business
It's their choice.

See other links: That's my business
-----------------------------------

Ki mele yo ( or Ki te mele yo)
What do they care?

See link about Who cares?  for more ways to say this.

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

I see lot so of double words in just one sentence, I understand they're not typos. How can I use them in my own sentences? Especially what do they exactly mean? Ive used "anpil anpil". Can I say "se kontan m kontan"?

YES, you can say "Se kontan m kontan" :)

Those "double words" that you see may be expressing different things.
There are a lot of them.  It's good to understand how to use them before you use them.
The following examples are many, but you probably need to see them in USE, in order to use them yourself.  Right?

Here are some examples:

Verb + subject + verb is used to express as soon as, when, or once something is done
And you can use different verb tenses as seen in example 4

1. Rive nou rive lakay, nou te rele fanmi nou.
    can be translated as:
    When we arrived home, we called our family.
    Once we got home, we called our family.
    Upon arriving home, we called or family

2. Fini li fini manje, l'al kouche.
    As soon as he was done eating, he went to lie down.

3. Soti l soti deyò a, lapolis te arete li.  
    Once he came out, the police apprehended him.  

4.  Dòmi l dòmi, li pa't janm leve ankò. →Once he fell asleep, he never woke up.
     Dòmi l te dòmi, li pa't janm leve. → Once he fell asleep, he never woke up.
     Dòmi l ta pral dòmi li pa t'ap janm leve. → Once he would have fallen asleep, he would not have woken up.

5. Bwè m fin bwè dlo a, m te tonbe malad lamenm.
    Once I was done drinking the water, I immediately fell ill.

Verb + byen + verb expresses emphasis.  It describes how well, how enthusiastically or how meticulously something was done.

6. Li benyen byen benyen pou l te retire labou a sou kò l.
    He took a good shower in order to clean out the mud from his body.

7.  Lè mesye a te pile flè yo, fanm nan te joure l byen joure.
     When the man stepped on the flowers, the woman really cursed at him.

8.  Carol te abiye byen abiye lè li ta prale nan konsè a.
     Carol dressed really nicely when she was going to the concert.

9. Fèt la te anfòm.  M anmize m byen anmize.  E m danse byen danse.
    The party was great.  I really enjoyed myself.  And I danced all I could.


Nan + verb + verb is a dependent clause.  It expresses persistence of one action which may cause something else to happen

10. Nan kouri kouri, li pran yon bèl so.
     He ran so much, that he sustained a bad fall.

11. Nan reflechi reflechi, tèt li pati.
     She thought so much that she lost her mind.

12. Nan chache chache, mwen jwenn $20 ki te pèdi depi dezan.
      In digging and digging, I found $20 that was lost since two years ago.

13. Nan fè bagay fè bagay ak nenpòt moun, li te tonbe ansent.
      In sleeping around so much, she became pregnant.

This next one simply says to keep doing something.

14.  Pa okipe moun k'ap gade w.  Danse danse w tande!
       Don't you worry about people that are looking at you .  Keep dancing you hear!

15. Pale pale w non! Di sa'k ki nan lespri w.  Pa okipe w sa moun va panse.
      Keep talking. Say what's on your mind.  Don't worry about what people will think.


And then, we have double adjectives or adverbs that's simply express how extremely, very much, truly, really real something is or feel.

16.  Mesyedam yo t'ap danse kole kole.
       The couple was dancing very tightly.

17. Fanm nan te parèt kagou kagou.
      The woman seemed very weary.

18.  N'ap koumanse plante bonè bonè.
      We start planting very early.

19.  Nou te rankontre ak yon bèl bèl nègès.
       We met a very beautiful woman.

20. Mwen renmen w anpil anpil.
      I love you very much.


And these last ones ust express an occurrence, an action, a condition, etc... in any tense (past, future, present, etc....)

21. Se danse nou t'ap danse.
      We were dancing.

22.  Se pale n'ap pale sèlman.
       We're only talking.

23. Se kontan m kontan konsa.
      I'm so happy.

24. Linette pa reponn telefòn nan paske se dòmi l'ap dòmi.
      Linette didn't answer the phone because she's sleeping.

25. Se renmen li renmen w konsa kifè li pa kite w deja.
      He loves you so much that's why he hasn't left you already.
      He hasn't left you yet because he loves you so much.

26. Eske se fou w fou kifè w'ap pale pou kont ou? 
      Have you lost your mind, that's why you're talking so much?
      Are you talking on your own, because you've lost your mind?

24. Se benyen m t'apral benyen lè w frape pòt la.
      I was going to take a shower when you knocked at the door.
     
25. Ou wè m pa al travay, se kapab m pa kapab wi.
      You see that I don't go to work.  It's because I can't.

26. Poukisa ou rejte mwen?  Eske ou pa wè se ede m'ap eseye ede w?
      Why have you rejected me?  Don't you se I'm trying to help you?

27. Se grangou m grangou kifè lestomak ap bouyi.
      I'm hungry, that's why my stomach is growling.

28. Se fache m te fache kifè m te kalote w.
      I was angry, that's why I slapped you.

29. Sispann pale fò konsa.  Moun ap panse se joure n'ap joure.
      Stop talking so loud.  People will think that we're arguing.

30. Se damou mwen damou kifè mwen pa ka manje.
      I'm in love, that's why I cannot eat.
      I cannot eat because I'm in love.

31. Se anraje ou anraje kifè w'ap pale anpil konsa?
      Is it deranged you are deranged that makes you talk so much?
      Are you talking so much because you are deranged?

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

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

How is "enough" used in all contexts?

All context?!
Mezanmi o!  Mwen sipoze gen anpil fason ou kapab itilize "ase" nan lang Kreyòl la.  Men kèk ladan yo.  Ou kapab ajoute pa'w tou.  Mwen ta renmen sa :)  Mèsi.

Ase (sispann) imperativeto stop; also used in those exclamations No more!, Enough!
1. Ase non!
    Stop!

2. Mwen di ase!
    I say enough already!

3. Ase plenyen ban mwen.
    Stop complaining to me.

4.  Ase pale non.
     Stop talking.

Ase (adv.) → only, just
5. twa moun ase
    Just three people

6. senk dola ase
     just five dollars.

7. Se sa ase.
     That's all.

8. Se sa ase mwen genyen.
    That's all I have.

9. Eske se de malèt ase ou pote?
    Did you only bring two suitcases?
    Did you bring JUST TWO suitcases?

10.  Mwen gen kòb pou m peye pou TWA MOUN ASE.
     I have money to pay for JUST THREE PEOPLE.

Ase (adj) → enough, sufficient, adequate
11.  Lajan ou ban mwen pa ase.
     The money you gave me is not enough.

12. Li pa ase pou w di ou renmen yon moun.  Fò w montre yo ou renmen yo tou.
     It is not enough to say you love someone.  You must show them you love them too.
   
Ase (adv.) → quite, rather
13.  Mwen menm ak madanm mwen, nou viv ase byen.
       Me and my wife, we live quite well.


Cool! I didn't realize 'ase' could be used in some of these contexts. Can 'kont' be equivalent to 'ase' meaning enough, sufficient, adequate? As an imperative, besides 'ase' and 'sispann', I'm pretty sure that 'rete' belongs in this category, am I right?



  1. Yes, some synonyms to ASE - sufficient are kont, sifizan, satisfezan, dekwa, pasab, akseptab, rezonab, desan, elatriye

    As far as KONT is concerned, it important to let people know the various circumstances where you can use the Haitian Creole word KONT. See this link: USES OF THE WORD KONT IN CREOLE
And, you're right about RETE.  Check out this link on an AUDIO POSTS ABOUT THE MANY USES OF THE HAITIAN CREOLE WORD RETE.

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

m pa konprann vwazinaj nan peyi Ayiti. yo toujou konnen tout sa ki ap pase lakay ou. mwen pa renmen kan yo ap poze kesyon sou zafe pesonel ki ap pase lakay mwne.

Sa rive senpleman paske anpil nan kay yo kole kole youn ak lòt. Se sa ki lakòz yo tande lè asyèt ap fè kenken lakay ou.  Konsa tou, yo konn tande si se luil w'ap fri onswa si se dlo w'ap bouyi.  Si w'ap fri luil, sa vle di w'ap manje gra.  Men si w'ap bouyi dlo, sa vle di zafè w pa bon ;)  Anmweyy o!
Nou pa kapab ede sa. Vwazinay ou sanse chita nan salon lakay ou.

Sa fè gran diferans ak moun ki jouda anpil... moun k'ap chache konnen koze w ak zafè w.  Moun sa yo se kansè.  Yo rantre lakay ou piti a piti.  Anvan ou gentan reyalize sa, ou wè se yo menm k'ap dirije kay la.  Se yo ki leve w lematen pou w'al travay, se yo ki mennen ti moun ou lekòl, se yo ki di w ki manje pou w kuit, e se yo ki kouche ak madanm ou oubyen mari w pou ou :)  Sa'k pi mal la, yo mache pale zafè w nan tout lari.
Moun konsa, ou dwe mete barikad pou yo depi anvan yo janbe baryè lakou w.

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

As Charles is "Chal" in HC; what is Barbara in HC? Mesi.