How do you say the year 1984? Is it mil nef kartevenkat?

It's mil nèf san katrevenkat (1984)

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

I understand these "tet" expressions: tet kale, tet chaje, tet anba, tet cho, tet mato. Are there others?

Yes.  You know, In Creole,  there's always more  :)

tèt kwòt → women with extremely short hair (usually not a compliment to a woman)
tèt gridap → same as tèt kwòt

tèt kokolo (same as tèt kale)
tèt san kò → one who eats a lot but remains skinny or gaunt.  There's no evidence where the food goes.

tèt vire → dizziness
Mwen ge tèt vire.
I'm dizzy.

tèt nwè → die suddenly
Li mouri tèt nwè.
He died right then and there.

tèt koupe → very similar
Ti gason an sanble tèt koupe ak papa l.
The boy is a spitting image of his father.

tèt di → hard headed, stubborn
tèt frèt → calm
tèt poze → calm, with no worries
tèt ansanm → unity, teamwork
tèt kole → unity, alliance
tèt nèg → expensive
tèt kay → roof (of a house)
tèt mare → a Christian (equivalent to Toby Mac's "Jesus Freak"), or a poor person


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

I am learning the temporal expression : "sa gen ___." Eske sa gen sans: "Mwen konnen li sa gen di(s) mwa." "I have known him/her for ten months."

"Mwen konnen li sa gen di(s) mwa."
"I have known him/her for ten months."

Wi li fè anpil sans. Li ekri kòrèk.

Gendefwa ou kapab mete "sa gen ____" devan fraz la tou,  enpi ajoute "depi". 
Konsa: "Sa gen di mwa depi m konnen li." ta bon tou.

Anfòm.

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

Can you explain what "sò" is in this sentence? 2 Corinthians 5:21 "Kris la pa t' janm fè okenn peche, men Bondye fè l' pran sò nou sou li, yo trete l'tankou yon moun ki fè peche. Konsa, lè nou fè yon sèl kò ak Kris la, Bondye fè nou gras." Thanks!

sò (from French "sort") → situation, circumstance, fate, predetermined course
sò nou → our lot, our fate, our destiny

"Kris la pa t' janm fè okenn peche, men Bondye fè l' pran sò nou sou li, yo
trete l' tankou yon moun ki fè peche. Konsa, lè nou fè yon sèl kò ak Kris la,
Bondye fè nou gras."

Literally: "Christ never committed a sin, but God made him take our fate, they treated him like someone who had committed a sin.  This way, when we make one with the body of Christ, God forgives us."

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

"nan chache chache w'ap jwenn" which means "keep looking and you will find"?

Wi se sa :)

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

Èske w ta tradwi pawòl epi fraz sa yo pou mwen? ....

For #2, #3, #5, #7, we would have to look at the whole sentence or context in order translate it accurately.

1. Zen translates both a fish hook and gossip /  word of mouth / scandal / rumor mill.

   You can say:
Li te lage zen an nan lanmè a pou l te peche pwason
He dropped the  fishhook into the ocean so he can fish.
or
Pa lage m nan zen.
Don't get me entangled in gossip.



2. "Ayisyen k ap tòdye men yon tè kòkòtò"
     tòdye translates to wring
     kòkòtò (or peng, or chichadò) → tightwad,  a scrooge, skimpy

     "Ayisyen []  k'ap       [] tòdye       [] men     [] yon tè kòkòtò"
     "Haitians  [] who are [] wring      [] hands   [] a skimpy earth
     "Haitians who are wringing the hands of a barren land.
      


3. Ki konn malveyan translates "....who is/are usually insolent" , "who are used to doing vile things"
    This may be part of a bigger sentence.  Translating just these three words will not give you an accurate translation:
 

4. Boukannen → to roast, to grill

5. To be nan samba → (tonbe nan sanba?)
     Sanba (musician, song writer, lyrics writer)

6. Konpòz (konpozè?) → composer

7. "Medam fi yo pran pou grad yo"
     grad → classification, pwomotion
    The women were siding with their ....grad...?
     The women were vouching for their promotion....

8. Alapapòt → (at the threshold of the door), beginning, prologue, from the get go


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

Tanpri souple tradwi pawòl epi fraz sa yo tou.....

Tanpri souple tradwi pawòl epi fraz sa yo tou......

1. A fokòl (fokòl is literally fake necktie, fake cravat)
    moun ak fokòl → basically people that wear business suits just for show

2. Charabya yanmyanm kakachat (literally yikkety yak, yum yum, cat poop)
    That stands for babbling, trivial talk, nonsense talk

3. Ozanj (from French Aux anges "to the angels) → very happy, elated

4. Rekèy → a book (like a book of songs, a book of poems), a periodical

5. Kisa vle di 'mete fè' nan fraz sa a: Lide sa a te pouse m pran desizyon pou
mwen mete fè.
     Here "mete fè" means to work harder, persevere, to keep at it, to persist

"Lide sa a te pouse m pran desizyon pou mwen mete fè."
"This idea gave me the incentive to wok harder."
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

How would you translate this quote in H. Creole: "If I had my life to live over again, I would find you sooner so that i could love you longer." Thank you so much.

"If I had my life to live over again, I would find you sooner so that I could
love you longer"
"Si m te gen yon chans reviv ankò, m ta twouve w pi bonè pou'm ta ka renmen w pou pi lontan."
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

"My grandmother came to Texas after the civil war, but was raised in the New Orleans area with the assistance of a black "mammy". I am now 66 years old. I remember a chant that was taught to me by my aunt that supposedly came from this black woman. To me it sounds very cajun. It goes something like this...

"My grandmother came to Texas after the civil war, but was raised in
the New Orleans area with the assistance of a black "mammy".  I am now 66 years
old.  I remember a chant that was taught to me by my aunt that supposedly came
from this black woman.  To me it sounds very Cajun.  It goes something like
this :

Roll sholl ol dad roll,
zill zall zal zing,
kitty catty coe,
shilly macky lum cum,
shilly macky low,
shilly macky bowly slander,
Chop cu, chop cu, missy fossy,
lossy fu,
Ping daddle ping.

Of course this was handed down verbally so the spelling is completely arbitrary. 
It may just be something made up to entertain my great-grandmother as a child.

I have always been curios about it and would appreciate any info anyone might
have.

Thanks"
This really does sound entertaining.
I'm not yet sure what it sounds like, but some of my friends might know. 
If I get any information regarding this I'll add it to this post.

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

why do people say pase pran m, m'a pase cheche w?

It's an expression that means "same same", "birds of a feather"

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

"Nou rete bèbè" and "nou rete bouch b" se menm bagay?

Wi.
Rete bouch be.
Rete bèbè
Yo vle di ou pa't ka pale. ...petèt akoz yon sezisman ou fè.

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

Kisa vle di gripe?

gripe (or gen grip) → to have a cold

You can say:
1.
Mwen gripe
or
Mwen gen yon grip.
I have a cold.

2.
Doktè a ban m remèd pou grip la.
The doctor gave me medication for the cold.

3.
Mwen wè ou gripe depi de semèn.  Eske ou te pran anyen pou li?
I see that you've had a cold for two weeks?  Have you taken anything for it?

Also the word anrimen (or anrime) means to have a head cold, to be congested
4.
Ti bebe a anrimen.  Sa lakòs li pa't ka dòmi yèswa.
The baby was congested.  He couldn't sleep last night because of it.

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

Ki sa vle di 'òf'?

òf (from French "offer") → offer, proposition

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

Sa vle di "ka a grav"?

Ka a grav.
The situation is bad / serious / grave.

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

When trying to say "It is . . . " when do you use "se" and when do you use "li"? What is the difference?

Se should be primarily seen as a word that translates (present tense verb to be), it,  it is, this is , that is, he is, or she is

So the answer will be that we use "se" for impersonal expressions that's usually written with "it's" in English.
And, even though we use " li (it's)" when it's describing a specific person or thing, "li (it's)" is also used with some impersonal expressions in Creole too.


1. Se vre.
    It's true.
    That is true (so, here "se" also translates "this is" or "that is")

2. Se konsa.
    It's like that. 
    That's the way it is

3.  Se mwen
     or
     Se mwen menm. 
     It's me. 
     That's me.

4. Se li.
     or
    Se li menm.
    It's him.
    That's him

5. Se Joe.
     It's Joe.

6. Se Joe ki nan telefòn nan. 
     It's Joe on the phone

7. Se madanm mwen.
    It's my wife.  '
    That's my wife. (So, we can use "Se madanm mwen" even though you can also say "Sa se madanm mwen)

8. Se fèt mwen.
     It's my birthday.

9.  Se li menm ki fotif.
       It's him that is guilty.
       He's the guilty one.

10. Se lafwa w k'ap sove w.
      It's your faith that will save you.

      
11. Se apre goumen ou ka konte blese.
      It's after the fight you can count the injured.
      You can only make assessment of the injured after the fight.

12. Se pa tout maladi ki bezwen swen doktè.
      It's not all disease that needs doctor's care.

13. Se sa. 
     It's the one
     That is it.  (That's it)

14. Se tout.
      That's all.

--------------------------------
"Li" is used in impersonal expressions
15. Li lè.  It's time.
16. Li lè pou n ale.  It's time to go.
17. Li ta. It's late.
18. Li twò ta. It's too late
19. Li bonè. It's early.
20. Li pi bon pou tann. It's better to wait.

-----------------------------------
Here, "Li" stands for specific person or thing.
21. Li danjere
     It's dangerous.

22. Li bèl
     It's beautiful.

23. Li lèd
     It's ugly.

24. Li se pitit gason m.
     He's my son.

25. Li se yon gouman.
     He's a greedy person.

26. Li se yon gason vanyan.
     He's a brave man.

27. Li se moun mwen t'ap chache.  He's the person I was looking for)
     Say you wanted to use "Se" in that sentence instead....:
     Se li menm mwen t'ap chache a.  It's him that I was looking for)


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