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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Excuse me, but do you know what does wa mange gro pousou mean, please? Thanks

W'a manje gwo pous ou?
to be regretful, remorseful

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What does Feme bou shou mean? My spelling is probably incorrect :/ but it is pronounced like "fem me boo shoo"

The correct spelling is "fèmen bouch ou."
and it means to be quiet,or  to shut up

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How would one say 'sisterhood' in creole?

sisterhood - sororite, solidarite oubyen tèt ansanm nan mitan fanm
brotherhood - fratènite

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i discovered this page a few days ago and was super excited because there is almost no free resources on learning kreyol and did two lessons quickly i came back today to find your audio posts from the didn't play anymore i know it may be a bit of hassle but it'd be really cool if you could try to fix them or keep them up somehow thanks for putting together such a great internet resource

Sorry about that.
It should be able to play now :)
Will post new audio this weekend.

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

i discovered this page a few days ago and was super excited because there is almost no free resources on learning kreyol and did two lessons quickly i came back today to find your audio posts from the didn't play anymore i know it may be a bit of hassle but it'd be really cool if you could try to fix them or keep them up somehow thanks for putting together such a great internet resource

Sorry about that.
It should be able to play now :)

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Monday, August 26, 2013

How do you say "please excuse my poor creole"? I learned it as Tanpri, eskize mwen, mwen pale Krèyol mal. Is that correct?

Yes. It's not a literal translation, but it communicates what you want to say.

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what does fwaye, jemi, and ekilibre mean?

fwaye (from French foyer)  means home, family home, also hearth
jemi - to moan (in anguish)
ekilibre - to be well balanced

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What are the ways of saying "come from" as in "I come from Haiti" or other sayings similar? I've seen soti ak and soti nan. James

yes, you are right.  Usually you will see the the word soti (sot) is used and it means to come from, to be originated from, or to just come from (or just (adv): very recently)

Mwen soti Ayiti. - I come from Haiti.
Mwen fèk soti Ayiti. - I just came from Haiti.
Nou soti legliz. - We come from church
Ki kote ou soti? - Where do you come from?

also, sot or soti as JUST adv.
Nou sot manje. - We just ate.
Nou sot wè yo sou plaj la. - We just saw them at the beach.

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

What is the difference in using "isit" or "la" when meaning here? James

isi, isi a, isit, isit la, they all translate here
isi or isit sometimes point to being present
and isi a or isit la is more specific about location
But they can be interchangeable.

1. Mwen pa't vin nan nòs la paske mwen pa't isi.
    I didn't come to the wedding because I was away. 

2. Bò isit la moun pa mache nan lari lèswa.
    Around here people do not walk the streets at night.

3. Veye kò w ak moun isit.  Yo trèt.
    Beware of people from around here.  They are hypocrites.


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Madanm, kijan ou di 'throat, bruise, dehydrate' an creole

throat - gòj, (and sometimes gagann)
bruise - blese, blesi
dehydrate - dezidrate (de-zee-dra-tay)

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I have seen several Haitian men who have very long pinkie finger fingernails and was wondering if this has any significance or meaning in Haiti? I asked one of them and he was very vague in his answer.

Yeah, most of the Haitian men in my family (on my dad side especially) do wear their fingernail pinky up to half of a cm long :)  .. and my husband too.  I think it's an image choice.  Some people will tell you that it's a great tool for scratching their nares and ear canals, lol!  But they do take great care of keeping it healthy, long and strong.  Also, it is not uncommon for Haitians men to wear clear nail polish on their nails (their toes especially).

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

What is the proper Haitian Kreyol spelling of the name George?? Is it Jorj, Jorje or Jorge I have seen it written all these 3 ways. I think the first one looks correct to me phonetically???

Something on the pulpit of the church is referred to as 'che'? Which is it exactly? My dictionary only has 'che' as expensive. Thanks.

1.
chè is the pulpit itself.
Pastè a te kanpe sou chè a pou li preche.
The pastor stood in the pulpit to preach.

2.
chè (or lachè)  also translate flesh.
Nou se chè e zo.
We are flesh and bones.

3.
Chè also means precious, dear.
chè manman mwen
my dear mother

Si ou kontinye konsa, sa va koute ou trè chè.
If you keep this up, it will cost you dearly.

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How do I tell the difference between 'pa' to make things negative and 'pa' to make pronouns possessive?

Frame of reference, ... context.

Here are a couple of sentences.  Can you tell which "pa" is negative and which is possessive?

1. Mwen pa malad.
2. Nou kouri  san nou pa bouke.
3. Si ou kontinye anniye m, mwen pa prale nan sinema ak ou.
4. Eske valiz sa a se pa ou?
5. Ayiti se peyi pa m. M'ap toujou sonje li nenpòt kote mwen ye.

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Madanm, ki jan ou konnen an Kreyol ki le sevi ak "anpil" anvan oswa apre yon mo? Egzanp: "Gazolin la che anpil." oubyen, "Mete anpil gazolin." Ki gen reg sou sa a? Tanpri reponn nan lang angle silvouple. Mesi anpil.

Ou mande mwen kesyon an an Kreyòl. Mwen ta renmen reponn li an Kreyòl.
Mwen sèten ou va konprann sa mwen di.
Si ou pa konprann kite m konnen :)

1.
anpil se yo adjektif, pwonon, oubyen yon "determiner" lè ou plase li devan yon non.  Li vle di many, a lot of.

pa egzanp:
anpil moun
a lot of people

Genyen anpil bèl kay nan zòn sa a.
There are many beautiful houses in this area.

2.
anpil se yon advèb lè ou plase li dèyè yon vèb oubyen dèyè yon adjektif
pa egzanp:
Mwen renmen w anpil.
I like you a lot.

Li kontan anpil.
She 's very happy.

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