"Ou pèdi tet ou" What are other ways to say this?

Ou pèdi tèt ou.
Ou pa byen nan tèt ou.
Ou gen yon wou ki pa mache
Ou fou.
Ou dechennen.
Ou fin debòde.
You've lost your mind.


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

Kisa vle di kaporal twa pa?

Yon jandam ak baton.
Yon polisye k'ap mache ak yon koko makak
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

In other words "glise desann" means 'to slide down'? If I wanted to say "slide it down" should say - glise desann li? thanks

Slide it down.
Glise l desann.
with pronoun after "glise".

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

Okipe Zafè Pa'w! - Mind your own business! (Audio)

Download link:
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To listen to this audio, click on the play button and follow along.

 

-Chouchou?

   Sweetie?

-Wi cheri!

  Yes honey.

-Mwen enkyete anpil.

   I am very worried.

-Poukisa w enkyete?

   Why are you worried?

-Depi kèk jou mwen pa wè madanm vwazen an.

  Well, it's been a few days since I've seen the neighbor's wife.

-Petèt li ale anvakans.

  Maybe she went on a vacation.

-San mari li? Enposib!  De moun sa yo toujou ansanm.  Youn pa janm ale ankenn kote san lòt la.

  Without her husband?  Impossible!  These two people are always together.  One never goes anywhere without the other.

-Eske se sa ki te enkyete ou?

  Is that what worried you?

-Non.  Mwen enkyete paske mwen te wè vwazen an t’ap fouye yon gwo twou nan lakou li an lotrejou swa.

   No. I'm worried because I saw the neighbor dig a big hole in his yard the other night.

-Petèt se yon gwo pye kokoye li t’ap plante!

  Maybe he's planting a big coconut tree!

-Men non, M pa kwè sa. Mwen te wè li t’ap glise yon bagay desann anndan twou a ak yon kòd.  

  No.  I don't believe that.  I saw him slide something down into the hole with a rope.

-Petèt se yon gwo trezò li t'ap sere anbatè a.

 Well, maybe he was hiding a treasure under the ground

-Non, se pa sa.

   No.  It's not that.

-Se pa sa?

  That's not it?

-Non.  M kwè se yon bagay li t’ap antere nan gwo twou a.

   Nope.  I believe he was burying something in the big hole.

-Petèt li t’ap antere yon gwo rat.

   Maybe he was burying a big rat.

-M pa kwè se te yon rat! M panse vwazen an touye madanm ni, enpi l’antere’l.

   I don't believe it was a rat.  I think the neighbor killed his wife and he buried her.

-O! Sa se yon akizasyon ki grav anpil. Li pa bon pou pale bagay ou pa konnen. Kite sa tonbe non.

    O!  That's a very serious accusation. It's not good to talk about things you know nothing about. Just leave it alone.

-Nou pa ka chita san n pa fè anyen.  Fò n’al dezantere madanm nan.

  We can't sit and do nothing.  We have to go dig the woman out.

-Mezanmi!  Ou genlè pèdi tèt ou!!  Sispann fè fouyapòt non!  Enpi okipe zafè w tande!

   Oh man!  You must have lost your mind!  Stop meddling and mind your own business you hear?

-Enben si w p'ap ede m, m’ava al fè l pou kont mwen

   Well if you won't help me, I'll go do it on my own.

-O O! Kote w prale? Cheri, tounen isit!!

   Hey!  Where are you going?  Honey, come back here!

-Mwen pral dezantere pòv malerèz la anvan vwazen an bouche twou a! aaaaaah!

  I am going to dig the poor woman out before the neighbor fills the hole! aaaaah!

-O O! Sa’w genyen?   Ou tonbe anndan twou a?!

   What's wrong?  Did you fall into the hole?

-Wi.  Anmwey! Vin ede m soti!  Tanpri, vin ede m soti!

  Yes.  Help!  Come help me get out!  Please, Come help me get out!

-Eske w te jwenn madanm vwazen an anndan twou a?!

   Did you find the neighbor's wife inside the hole?

-Non, mwen pa jwenn ni non! Se pa madanm ni li te antere, se yon pi li t’ap fouye.  Mwen tonbe nan yon pi dlo!  Mwen pa konn naje! Vin ede mwen tanpri!  

   No, I didn't find her.  It's not his wife that he buried, it's a well he was digging!  I fell in a water well! I don't know how to swim! Come help me please! 

-Kòm mwen te di w, cheri, okipe zafè pa’w! 

   Like I told you, honey, mind your own business!

___________

Track: Anmwey! by Yohann

Ayiti gen ragga Kreyòl

Ayiti gen hiphop Kreyòl

Ayiti gen reggae kreyol

Ayiti, men nouvo stil la

Fason nou manje se stil la

Fason n’abiye se stil la

Fason nou chante se stil la

Ayiti cheri

Nou monte Wo!

Anmwey!

Apre evènman, nou tounen pou tout bon

N di mèsi, nou toujou douvan, chaje enspirasyon

Menm lè moun ap pale, jenès la apiye n

Kout gita bas batri, nou  …pou lavi

Chak moun gen yon zanmi ki di l pa renmen rock

W’ap wè l nan pwogram nou k’ap goumen devan pòt

Le ou wè’ l pèdi vwa l mande l kote l te ye

Ou te wè’l nan fon pwogram nan, li menm k’ap rele

Gade lè l non!

Anmwey! Kite rock la mache!

 Anmwey! Danse rock la!  Ponpe!

M poko fin pale

Mwen p’ap janm konprann ou

Lè w di m rock la pa pou ou

Pou w jan pran plezi ou

Lè n lage mizik nou

Lè mwen di li pou ou

Ou di w gen yon zanmi ki di l pa renmen rock

W’ap wè’l nan pwogram nou k’ap goumen devan pòt

Le ou wè pèdi vwa l , mande’l kote l te ye

Ou te wè’l nan fon pwogram nan li menm k’ap rele

Ou pa wè’l

Amwey! Kite rock la mache!

Anmwey! Danse rock la! Ponpe!

Ayiti, men rock, si nou tout dakò, rele!

Leve men n anlè, tout moun fè bri

Ti medam yo, mayestwo ak Yohann ki la

Pa bezwen danse,  ponpe pou n ponpe!

Ou di w pa konn danse

M’pa’t mande ou fè anpil

Tout sa m te mande’w

Se lage’l jan ou santi’l

Amwey! Kite rock la mache!

Anmwey! Danse rock la! Ponpe!

Vole!

Ponpe!

Rele!

Fè sa w vle!

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

Besides 'fòs', what are other words for 'strength'?

We say fòs, kouraj, kouray, bravou, kran, fyèl, pisans, grenn nan bouda
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

What is "l'll be damned" in Haitian Creole? Thank you in advance for the answer.

I'll be damned (indicating surprise)
Mezanmi!
Mezanmi o!
O O!

I'll be damned (I rather be cursed than to ....)
Anverite!
Tonnè kraze m!
Tonnè boule m!

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

"Pòv malerèz"?

1. Pòv malerèz
    Poor miserable woman
    "Poor thing"

2. Pòv malere
    Poor miserable man

3.  Fò n ede pòv malerèz la.
     We have to help the poor woman.

4. Pòv malere! Li te bezwen yon ti manje. L'al dòmi tou grangou.
    Poor man!  He needed some food.  He went to bed hungry.

5. Ki sa n'ap fè pou pov malere sa yo?
    What will we do for these poor people?
.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

M gen twa kesyon. :) Dabo, kouman ou ta di 'came upon' an Kreyol? Pa egzamp 'he suddenly came upon a lion'. Anplis, kouman ou ekri atik definitif la le ou gen de non swivi swivi ki toulede bezwen yon atik definitif yo? Pa ezamp 'the wood from the tallest tree' oubyen 'the hat that the boy wore'. Anfen, M fek li post-ou-a ke ou ekri sou sevi ak 'double words' pou mete aksan sou yon bagay. Eske yo kapab konbine teknik sa a avek teknik ki itiliz pran kom yon helping verb la (ede veb?)? Pa egzamp, Lamenm li pran koupe koupe pyebwa-a, he went right to work chopping and chopping the tree'. Mesi

I. Came upon

1. to encounter something/someone and be startled by it? to come across?
    pantan sou
    sote sou
    kontre bab pou bab avèk
    kwaze

2. I came upon a big snake.
    M'al pantan sou yon gwo koulèv.
    M'al sote sou yon gwo koulèv.
    Mwen kontre bab pou bab ak yon gwo papa koulèv.
    Mwen kwaze ak yon gwo koulèv.

3. He suddenly came upon a lion.
    Li pantan sou yon lyon.
    L'al pantan sou yon lyon.
    Li kontre bab pou bab ak yon lyon. (He came face to face with a lion)



II.  "Kouman ou ekri atik definitif la lè ou gen de non swivi swivi ki toulede  bezwen yon atik definitif ?"
Respons:  Ou kapab ajoute atik definitif la pou toulede mo yo.

Pa egzanp:
We can break it down:

4.  The hat.
      Chapo a. 
5. The hat that the boy wore.
    Chapo ti gason an te mete a. 


6. The hat that you wanted.
     Chapo ou te vle a.
7. The hat that the boy wanted.
      Chapo ti gason an te vle a. (This sounds natural to me)
     

8. The girl that was ill.
     Ti fi ki te malad la.
9. The neighbor's daughter that was ill died. (Remember in Creole, it's ...THE daughter of THE neighbor...)
    Ti fi vwazen an ki te malad la mouri.

10.  The police officer who was at the bank
      Polisye a ki te nan bank lan.
      or
      Polisye ki te nan bank lan.

11.  The wood
      Planch lan
12. The wood from the tallest tree
       Planch lan ki te soti nan pyebwa ki pi wo a

13. The little girl
       Ti fi a
14. The little girl that the police were looking for was found alive.
        Yo te jwenn ti fi police yo t'ap chache a tou vivan.



III. "Double wording"  
        Yes, it can work like you said.

In you example: "Lamenm li pran koupe koupe pyebwa-a."  I think that:
"Li prab koupe pyebwa a." or "Li tonbe koupye bwa a."  will work just fine.


"double wording" with two adjectives or adverbs will be an emphasis.
such as:
15. Mwen renmen l anpil anpil.
     I really like it.

16. Mwen te wè yon gwo gwo koulèv.
     I saw a very big snake.

17. Yo t'ap danse kole kole.
       They were dancing very tightly.


"Double wording'" with  verbs USUALLY means  " to keep at it", "to continue doing what you're doing"
such as:
18. Danse danse w non!
      Keep dancing!

19. Pale pale w pitit!
      Keep talking child!

20.  Mache Mache w non!
       Keep walking!

21. Nou te ale yon kote ki lwen. Nou mache, mache, mache anvan nou te resi rive.
      We went somewhere far. We walked and walked and walked  before we finally got there.

22. Pitit mwen te malad.  Li leve lannuit lan li vomi, vomi, vomi jouk li endispoze.
     My kid was ill.  He woke up in the night and kept throwing up until he feinted.

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

what does "tchup sou ou" mean in h. creole, also can you plese use it in at least 13 examples, thank you et Bonjou!!!

WHOA!!!!   13 examples!?  That sounds like a lucky number :)
"Tchoup sou ou" indicates some sort of penetration, stabbing, spitting at, or assault with a intrusive object.  The term might also be sexual in nature. To have an accurate translation, we'd need to know the context.
Also, the spelling could have been tchuip which means to show contempt for someone by smacking one's lips.

Dakò :)
Pase bon jounen.

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

A dual ? A bit of culture and / language? What type(s) of humor are funny to haitian people? Is there a type of humor that is offensive or unappreciated in the culture? I tried to say something funny today, it didnt work! Thus the curiosity. Kijan ou di laugh? Funny? Humor? Silly? Etc. kidding? Joke with? Or joke around?

Sorry to hear that.
They might not have understood the joke.  It might have gotten lost in translation.
If you ever read about Bouki and Ti Malis, if you've ever watched Languichatte, Lavi nan Bouk La, or listened to Tonton Bicha, you'll know that Haitians are into all types of comedy, especially silly and goofballs stuff.
You must know that just because some jokes are funny in English doesn't mean it will be funny in Creole and vice versa (but that only happens to just a handful of jokes)
Also, some jokes, you might have to tweak a little to give it that "Haitian flavor" :)

And as far being offensive, I think in any culture, if people feel that they are the target of the joke, they might not appreciate it.

I'd like to hear the joke that you told.

dual → doub
a bit of culture and language → Yon ti kras kilti, yon ti kras langaj?
laugh → ri, griyen dan
to enjoy one's self → pran plezi, anmize, distrè (they pronominal verbs)
funny, silly → komik, anmizan
humor → komedi
jokes → blag, lodyans
tell jokes → bay blag, bay lodyans
to be kidding, to joke with, to joke around → jwe, sou jwèt, sou blag

He's always joking around.
Li toujou sou blag.
Li toujou sou jwèt.

I am just kidding.
Se sou jwèt mwen ye.
Se sou blag mwen ye.
Se jwe m'ap jwe.

We're telling jokes.
N'ap bay blag.
N'ap bay lodyans.

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

Kouman ou di 'inside out' epi 'upside down'?

1. inside out → nanvè oubyen lanvè
    Example:
    Chemiz li a te gen kèk betiz  ekri sou li, donk direktè fè li mete chemiz la nanvè.
    His shirt had some profanities written on it, so the principal made him wear the shirt inside out.


2. upside down → tètanba, tèt anba
     Example:
    Monn nan tètanba.
    The world is upside down.


3. shoe on the wrong foot → soulye dwategoch (dwat-e-goch)
    Example:
    Pitit gason mwen gen dezan.  Li toujou ap mete soulye li dwategoch.
    My son is two years old.  He's alway wearing his shoes on the wrong foot.

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

I have read several verb phrases such as lese-frape, kicking and screaming; chita-tande, talks (political) and voye-rele, to summon. Can you list other common verb phrases such as these?

Yes I can list some.  And you'll also find that these verb-verb combinations are often used as nouns.  Number 8 is my favorite :)

1.
mòde soufle  (lit. to bite, to blow) → to double cross, to betray, being hypocritical 
This comes from the fact that a rat (as it is believed in Haiti) bite and blows if it's biting you, so that you don't feel the bite.  By the time the rat's done with you, you'll have a big hole in that area of your body.

a. Pa fè mesye sa a konfyans. Li se yon mòde soufle. (used as noun here)
    Do not trust this guy.  He's a hypocrite. 

b. Fanm sa a mòde soufle.  Pa kite li mele nan zafè w.  (used as verb here)
    This woman is a double-crosser.  Don't let her into your business.


2.
mòde lage (lit. to bite, to release/ to let go) → is said when you start something and never finish it

a. Si w'ap mòde lage travay la, ou pa janm fini l, donk yo p'ap janm peye w.
    If you keep starting and stopping the job, you'll never be done, therefore you'll never get paid.

b. Misye p'ap janm reyisi nan lavi a si l'ap pede mòde lage konsa.
    He will never succeed in life if he keeps quitting everything he starts.


3.
kase double (lit. to break, to double up again) → to start over after stopping for a little while

a. Mesye yo te sipann goumen, apre sa yo kase double ankò.
    The guys had stopped fighting, but after a while they started over again.

b. Lapli a te fè yon ti rete, men li kase double pi rèd.
    The rain had stopped a little, but it started again stronger.

4.
pote kole (lit. to carry, to glue/bond) → to get together in support of something

a. An nou pote kole pou nou siprime grangou nan monn nan.
    Let's get together to end famine in the world.

b. N'ap pote kole pou yon demen miyò.
    We're working together for a better tomorrow.


5.
vire tounen (lit. to turn to come back) → from time to time

a. M pa konnen kisa l'ap regle, men vire tounen li nan òdinatè a.
     I don't what he's up to, but from time to time he's on the computer.

b.  Bay menaj ou tan pou l sonje w non!  Mwen remake vire tounen nou nan telefòn, eske nou pa fatige pale?
     Give your girlfriend time to miss you!  I notice that from time to time you guys are on the phone, Aren't you tired of talking with each other?


6.
voye ale (lit. to send, to go) → to dismiss, to fire someone from work

a. Yo te voye elèv yo ale bonè jodi a akoz tanpèt la.
    Today they dismissed the students early because of the storm.

b. Tanpri voye moun yo ale, pa gen manje pou n ba yo ankò.
     Please send the people away, there's no more food to give to them.

7.
chache konnen → (lit. to seek, to know) → to seek to know, to investigate,  to meddle inquisitively, exploration, inquisition

a.  Se nan chache konnen lasyans fè anpil dekouvèt.
     Science has made a lot of discovery through exploration.
    
b.  An nou chache konnen poukisa sa te pase.
     Let's try to find out why this happened.

8.
grate santi → (lit. to scratch to smell) →to procrastinate, to waste time, to be lazy,  to loaf around. 
 I like this one, it reminds of monkeys that are sitting around scratching and smelling their armpits :)

a. Mesye sa a pa janm travay.  Tout lajounen se grate santi.
    This guys never works.  He loafs around all day.

b.  Se pa pou nou rete ap grate santi.  An nou aji.
     Let's not waste time.  Let's act.

9.
lese tonbe → (lit. to let, to fall) → to quit, to drop it

a. Sa k te pase zafè lekòl la?  Ou lese sa tonbe?
     What happened to that school business?  Did you let it go?

b. N'ap lese pwojè a tonbe paske nou pa't jwenn ase sipòtè.
    We're letting the project go because we didn't get enough sponsors.

10.
voye monte → (lit. to send, to go up) → to keep at something, to ramble incessantly especially about things that we may or may not know about; also to give support

a. Gwoup nou an te jwe mizik nan yon ba yèswa.  Nou voye mizik monte tout lannuit lan.
    Our band played music at a bar last night.  We played music all night.

b. Si Hillary Clinton ta vle vin prezidan, yo panse anpil fanm ap voye l monte.
    If Hillary Clinton wants to become president, they think that many women will support her.
    


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

Is there a good Creole equivalent for the English word "feedback" ? I have sometimes heard native Creole speakers just say something like "fidbak" but would this be widely understood by all Haitians?

Yeah, we do say "fidbak" sometimes :)
But a Haitian who has not traveled to an English speaking country or has not come in contact with the diaspora would probably not understand it.
The H. Creole word for feedback is replik, reyaksyon, repons, and sometimes we say kritik or kòmantè.

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

Can you explain ‘pran’ as a helping verb? For example, ‘li pran kouri’ oubyen ‘zwazo-a pran chante’ oubyen ‘ti gason an pran rele’? Does it mean 'took to' or 'to start'? Is 'tonbe' able to play his same role as helping verb? M’ ap vle di w yon granmèsi pou tout èd ou!

Se yon plezi :)

As  helping verbs, "pran" and "tonbe" would indicate that the action has started and continued to occur for some duration of time.

1. Li te pran kouri.
    He ran, and ran, and ran.

2. Lè nou wè sitiyasyon te grav, nou tonbe lapriyè.
    When we saw that the situation was bad, we started praying. (continuous action)

3.  Fanm nan pa't kontan.  Li pran joure moun yo.  Se lapolis yo te blije rele pou l te kanpe.
     The woman was not happy.  She started cursing people out.  They had to call the police to make her stop.

4.  Ti gason an pran rele jouk tan vwazen yo te vini.
     The little boy kept on screaming until the neighbors came.

5.  Lè m'ap eseye dòmi, se lè sa a zwazo a pran chante.  Sa anniyan!
     When I'm trying to sleep, that's when the bird starts singing.  It's annoying.

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

I know that "tap" means "would have". Where does this construction come from? Is it a combination of "ta + ap" or something else? Thank you!

It can be te ap or ta ap

te + ap = past continuous forms

1.
Li t'ap mache byen vit pou l pa ta rate bis la.
He was walking quickly so that he would not miss the bus.

2.
Nou t'ap tann ou.
We were waiting for you.

3. 
M t'ap panse pou m anile kont lan.
I was thinking to cancel the account.


Ta + ap =  conditional statements

4.
Ou t'ap fache avè'm si m pa't pote manje a pou ou.
You would have been mad at me If I didn't bring you the food.

5.
Si w pa't wo konsa, m t'ap fese w atè.
If you weren't that tall, I would have thrown you to the ground.


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