Poukisa Bondye bay chen an maling dèyè tèt li?

Petèt Bondye bezwen fè chen an rekonèt limitasyon l.
Petèt Bondye ap teste longè lang chen an.
Petèt chen an byen merite l.

Mwen bwè pwa :)

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

I know that 'menaj' means a boyfriend/girlfriend. So what are other words for 'menaj' and what are some words that are specifically for 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' respectively?

Mezanmi o!  Pitit, si pou m ta plen blòg sa a ak BON NON ak TI NON JWÈT  pou anmoure ak anmourèz, san konte sa'm pa janm tande,  pa ta gen espas rete ankò :)
Tcheke ak "link" sa a: endearing names

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

I don't have a question yet, but I just wanted to say how excited I am to find this blog! I've been wanting a way to improve my Creole, but hadn't found a good intermediate type resource. Thanks Madanm Mandaly!

You're welcome :)

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

"Ou mawon m?" What does this mean?

mawon v. → to shy away from, to hide away from

Eske ou mawon m?
or
Ou mawon m?
Are you hiding from me?

egz:
Depi misye fin genyen nan lotri a.  Li mawon tout fanmi l.  Li pè pou yo pa mande l lajan.
Since he won the lottery, he stayed away from his family.  He's afraid they'll ask him for money.

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

What is to drink unsweetened/bitter coffee with someone? Is it just literal?

I guess someone really doesn't like sugar :)
I don't know if it means anything in English, but if you heard this in Creole, bwè kafe anmè ak yon moun (to drink bitter coffee with someone), it means that someone wants to get even, to retaliate or straighten things out with another

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

I don't know if I asked this question already so hear it goes. How do you say 'to care about'? "I care about you a lot."

to care about
gen sousi pou
sousye pou
gen sansiblite pou
konsidere
apresye
pote nan kè / pote sou kè


I care a lot for you.
Mwen gen anpil sousi pou ou
Mwen konsidere w anpil.
Mwen sousye m anpil pou ou.

He cares a lot about his mom.
Li gen anpil sansiblite pou manman l.
Li sousye l pou manman l anpil.
Li pot manman l nan kè l.

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

What's mine is yours (in Creole) - I have "Sa ki pou mwen se pou ou"?

You've got it.

What's mine is yours
Sa ki pou mwen se pou ou.
Sa k pa m se pa w
Sa'k pa'm se pa'w tou.

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

what is anle anle?

Do you mean anlè anlè? I'm not sure what the context is, it might mean out of breath, short of breath
Or it might mean angry (besides oneself)
I can't think of anything else.

egz:
Mwen anlè anlè tankou yon moun ki t'ap kouri.
I'm out of breath as if as was running.

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

I am wondering about the word RENK in haitian Creole. What is the part of speech? How do I use it (better :)? Can you give me a couple of sentences with RENK (in Creole). Thanks!

Renk, in Haitian Creole, can function as an adverb or an adjective.
Renk → only, just, all, the smallest/slightest

As you can see in #1, use it to modify a verb as in:
M renk gade w ... → I only looked at you...
Nou renk salye l ... → We only greet him....

1. Li pa't malad ditou.  Li renk di m li te gen yon ti tètfèmal, enpi l'al kouche li pa janm reveye.
    He wasn't sick at all.  He only told me that he had a little headache, he went to lie down and he never woke up.

As you can see in sentence #2, use it at the beginning of a sentence as in:
Renk sa'm ta ka di .... → All I could say
Renk sa'm te wè ... → All I saw ....
Renk parèt sèlman ... → Just show up ...

2. Mwen pa konnen sa ou vle m fè.  Renk sa m ka fè pou ou se lapriyè.
   I don't know what you want me to do.  All I could do for you is pray.

3. Fanm sa pa gen anyen serye l'ap regle.  Renk sa l'ap fè sèlman se veye zafè moun pou l'al fè tripotay.
    This woman is doing nothing important.  The only thing she does is spying on people so she can gossip.

As you can see in #4, #5, and #6 use it to modify a noun (in Creole) as in:
Renk di dola mwen genyen → I only have ten bucks.
Renk otograf ou m bezwen → I just need your autograph.

4. Nan pwen w rive la, renk Bondye sèl ki ka sove w.
     At this point, only God can help you.

5. Ki tenten w'ap fè la?  Apa w'ap fè bagay Bouki!  Ou ale lekòl pou sizan, renk yon lane sèlman w rete pou fini, enpi ou vle lage sa?
    What the hell are you doing?  Why are you acting foolishly?!  You go to school for six years, you only have one more year to go and you want to quit?

6.  Sitiyasyon an malouk.  Mari fache.  Madanm move.  Pitit fwase.  Renk youn nan yo di yon mo sèlman, sa va kont pou mennen gwo deblozay.
      The situation is tense.  The husband is upset.  The wife is angry.  The children are hurt.  Just one word from one of them is enough to cause a big racket.

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

Madanm Mandaly, I have run across "fi a" and "fi an". I realize that they are both correct, but are they always interchangeable at random or at will? Then again, which is more preferable? Kreyol definitely has a flavor of its own. Mesi anpil.

I use both.
I don't think it's about preference.

The majority of times people use definite article "an"/"lan" instead of "a"/"la" because that's how they talk in the region they are from.  
We say "Fèmen pòt la" and they say "Fèmen pòt lan" (Close the door).  
We say "Vitès la te ilegal" and they say "Vitès lan te ilegal" (The speed was illegal)
We say "Tibebe a grangou" and they say "Tibebe an grangou" (The baby's hungry)



And, other times a definite article "a" or "la" might be switched to "an" or "lan" depending on nasal sounds preceding or "surrounding" it.

For example:
instead of:
Netwaye kay la ban mwen
I could also say
Netwaye kay lan ban mwen. (influenced by the nasal sounds in ....ban mwen)
even though the rule says that we should say "kay la"

other examples:
You'll say "zanmi an" instead "zanmi a", because of the nasal sound "zan..." in zanmi
You'll say "fanmi an" instead of "fanmi a" because of the nasal sound "fan..." in fanmi.

We say:
jou a or jou an
avangou a or avangou an
bouk la or bouk lan
soukous la or soukous lan
lanmou an because of the nasal sound "lan..." in lanmou

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Madanm Mandaly, What is the words in HC for "Louisiana" and then for "Louisianan". I am thinking it is different from LC. Pa vre?

Wi, li diferan.
Louisiana in Haitian Creole is Lwizyàn (pronounced Lwi-zjà-n)
A man from Louisiana will be called Lwizyanè in H. Creole.
A woman from Louisiana will be called Lwizyanèz.

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

Hey girl nou pa pale kèk tan.... M ap sonje w :) i need to confirm how to say "I won't be home at that time." or "I'll be away" mèsi!

Mezanmi!  Etranje sou mwen :)
M'espere tout bagay anfòm kote ou ye a.

I will not be home at that time.
Mwen p'ap la lè sa a.
Mwen p'ap la lò sa a.
Mwen p'ap lakay lè sa.
Mwen p'ap lakay mwen lè sa a.

I'll be away.
M'ap deyò.
Mwen p'ap isi.
Mwen p'ap la.
M'ap an vwayaj.

Kenbe la :)

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

Coming from .... Going to ... (in Haitian Creole)

How does one translate these sentences? "Kevin takes a flight coming from Cleveland." and "LeBron takes a flight going to Miami." How is 'going to' and 'coming from' translated as prepositional expressions and in this context?

coming from or from → soti, soti nan, soti depi, sot depi
Coming from (be born at, originate from, belonging to, produced from)

going to → ale, ale nan, ale nan direksyon, rive, rive jouk

1. Mwen soti nan gran fanmi.
    I come from a large family.

2. Bannann sa yo soti Costa Rica.
    These plantains were grown in Costa Rica.
    These plantains come from Costa Rica.

3. Mwen soti Ayiti, men vrè orijin mwen se Lafrik Ginen.
    I come from Haiti, but my true origin is Guinea Africa

4. Soti nan ri DESSALINES ale nan ri TOUSSAINT, sa fè dizuit kilomèt.  Eske w ka mache distans sa a?
    From Dessalines Street to Toussaint Street, that's 18 kilometers.  Can you walk that far?

5.  Mwen te wè nan nouvèl maten an, yon ti gason 9 ane te kondi machin papa li soti depi New Jersey ale Connecticut.  Annarivan Connecticut lapolis te met lapat sou ni ti gason an ni papa l.
     I saw on the news this morning a 9 year old boy drove his father's car from New Jersey to Connecticut.  As they arrived in Connecticut, the police apprehended both the boy and his father.

6.  Mwen kapap resite bib la pakè soti depi Jenèz rive nan liv Apokalips.
     I could recite the bible by heart from Genesis to the book of Revelation.

7.  Ou te mèt kriye depi maten rive jouk aswè, m p'ap okipe w.
     You may cry from morning till night, I 'll ignore you.

8.   Lebron pran yon vòl k'ap soti Cleveland.
      Lebron takes a flight coming from Cleveland.
 
9.  Kevin pran yon vòl k'ap fè wout Miami.
     Kevin pran yon vòl ki prale nan direksyon Miami.
     Kevin takes a flight going to Miami. (a flight that's going to Miami?)

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

What are the some Creole words for 'dizzy' other than TOUDI? "I feel very dizzy after all that spinning around."

dizzy (woozy) → toudi, gen vètij, gen tèt vire, soule, dekonstonbre

1. Mwen ta konseye pa kondi machin premye fwa w pran remèd sa a.  Li ka byen soule w.
    I would advise you not to drive the first time you take this medicine.  It might make you woozy.

2. "I feel very dizzy after all that spinning around."
     "Tout vire tounen sa a toudi m anpil."

3. This makes me dizzy.
    Sa BAN M tèt vire.

4.  Does this make you dizzy?
     Eske sa BA W tèt vire?

5.  Zafè maryaj montay ris sa a ban m vètij.
     This roller coaster marriage makes me dizzy.

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

How is 'volunteer' translated? "I volunteered in a nursing home a couple of years ago."

to volunteer 
fè volontè
bay tan "w" gratis
pwopoze tèt "ou" (to volunteer oneself for a task)

egz:
1. Lè m te gen sèz lane sou tèt mwen, mwen te konn fè volontè nan yon lopital.  Yo te rele m Candy Striper.
   When I was sixteen I used to volunteer at a hospital.  They called me a Candy Striper.

2. Lè misye tande twoup la t'ap tounen Ayiti, li te pwopoze tèt li pou misyion an, paske li pale bon Kreyòl.
   When he heard that the troupe was going back to Haiti he volunteered for the mission, because he speaks Creole well.
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