Kisa ay la?

M pa fin konpran kesyon w lan nèt :)
M panse ou vle mande m ... Kisa ki ay la?  oubyen Kisa ki lay la?

Ay se yon entèjeksyon
Lay se sa yo rele GARLIC nan lang Angle a.

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

Is there a significant different between sevi ak and itilize? Mesi anpil!

Not a big difference.

Sèvi ak or itilize → to use, to make use of

kèk egzanp:

1. Nou pa sèvi ak elektrisite lakay mwen.  Nou sèvi ak lanp.
2. Si ou fè Bondye plezi, li va sèvi ak ou pou fè travay li.
3. Nou pa sèvi ak bon chodyè pou bouyi pwa sèch.
4. Yo pran m sèvi temwen.
5. Moun sa yo pa konn sèvi ak recho elektrik.  Si w pa montre yo kouman pou sèvi avè li y ap mete dife nan kay la.

In all these examples (and more...) you can replace sèvi ak (or sèvi in #4) with itilize.


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

How do you say "stay safe" in Haitian Creole?

Stay safe.
Evite danje.
Pran prekosyon.

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

How would you say to 'pull in your stomach' as in to suck it in? None of my translation have worked. No one understands me :(

Try saying "rantre vant ou"

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

What's the creole translation for:If you aaked me,I would visited her.And:If you have asked me,,I would have visited her.Thank you.

If you ask me, I'll visit her.
si ou mande m, m'a vizite l

If you had asked me, I would have visit her.
Si w te mande m, m ta vizite l

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

Sak pa se, Mandaly ! Now ur computer is working, how soon can I expect to see the next set of audio ? (kamsa hamnida)

Bonjou zanmi :)
Non the computer was not fixed.  I got another one.
But we are re-doing the recordings. When I post them.  I will try to post more than one at once to make up for lost time.  I cannot promise this weekend.  Hans (the male voice) is not available for the recording.  Dakò :)

Thanks for your patience.

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

Ok, this might be outside the scope of this blog, but I've got a question about this wording from a book. Speaking of Jesus, it says, "Poto mitan istwa a se yon ti bebe." (Istwa Jezi nan Bib la, p.17) Would this phrase, "poto mitan" not conjure up voodoo images for Haitian children?

No.  It wouldn't.
Poto mitan means center pillar.  The one that holds everything together.
Haitians use this word especially when they talk about a person that is important and everything goes back to (revolves around) him/her.

For example, I might say "Manman'm se poto mitan fanmi m.  Si'l pa't la fanmi an ta gentan divize."

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

How do you know when to use Sa, Sak, and Sa k'ap? Sak seems redundant.

"Sa" (contraction for "kisa")

"Sa'k" (or "sa ki") are contraction for "Kisa ki" basically translates "what" when used as a interrogation pronoun.
So the three are the same.

pa egzanp, ou kapab di:
1.
Kisa ki genyen?
or
Sa ki genyen?
or
Sa'k genyen?
What's going on?

2. 
Kisa ki pase w?
or
Sa ki pase w?
or
Sa'k pase w?
What's going on with you?

3.
Eske ou konnen kisa ki te fè m fache?
or
Eske ou konnen sa ki te fè m fache?
or
Eske ou konnen sa'k te fè m fache?
Do you know what pissed me off? 

By the same token, adding "ap" indicates the progressive form:
"Sa k'ap" (or "sa ki ap") is contraction for "Kisa ki ap".
pa egzanp, ou kapab di:
4.
Kisa ki ap fè tout bri sa a?
or
Sa ki ap fè tout bri sa a?
or
Sa k'ap fè tout bri sa a?
What is making all that noise?

Other examples (with different tenses)
5.
Kisa ki ta fè w kontan?
Sa ki ta fè w kontan?
Sa'k ta fè w kontan?
What would make you happy?

6.
Nanpwen moun ki konnen kisa ki pral pase demen?
Nanpwen moun ki konnen sa ki pral pase demen?
Nanpwen moun ki konnen sa k pral pase demen?
No one knows what will happen tomorrow?



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

by chance, by accident

by chance (by accident) → pa aksidan, pa aza, pa kowensidans

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

How do you use ma, wa, na vs map, wap, nap in the future? I found when using ma, wa, or na I was not understood.

You should be understood...  Haitians use that combination of the contracted pronoun and 'a all the time.  Are you using it as in the following?:
m'a (mwen va) → M'a wè ou demen (I'll see you tomorrow).
w'a (ou va) → W'a salye manman w pou mwen (Say hello to your mom for me)
n'a (nou va) → N'a  wè pita. (We will see later or See you later)
l'a (li va) → L'a ba w machandiz la lè w peye l.  (She ll give you the merchandise when you pay her)
y'a (yo va) → Y'a manje ansanm lè tout moun antre lakay.  (They ll eat together when everyone comes home.)

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

Eske genyen on diferrence avek zanmitye e zanmitay?

Zanmitye, lamitye, lanmitye, zanmitay se menm lide a.  Se friendship ak camaraderie.

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

Hi Mandaly! Are you familiar with the Bible story book in Creole called Istwa Jezi nan Bib la pou timoun? It's a beautiful book, but sometimes the Creole seems a little off. Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0615615910 I'd love to know what you think of it.

I actually have one copy of this book and have used it as a reading book with a beginner (learning Creole for just two months 5 days/week)  He bought his own copy from Amazon.  He did awesomely well with the help of a Creole language dictionary.  A few word/term choices could have been different if this were written for foreigners learning the language, but considering that it was written for native Haitian children, I thought the H Creole used in there was pretty straightforward and effortless (re: font and typeset).

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

I know that we discussed this already, but I want to know about this. Can I say or use 'yon pa...yon lòt pa...' as well. Example in both languages, "On the one hand I love the freedom of being single, but on the other hand the idea of being married and having a family is very attractive."

Good question.....

I would not be comfortable using "...yon pa, ... yon lòt pa"
We've always used "....yon bò (or yon kote), .... Yon lòt bò (yon lòt kote)"

If there's anything that does not click too well in that sentence, it's the following:
replace "de" with "pou" or "pou'm"
remove "se"

 "Yon pa mwen renmen libète de pou viv kòm yon selibatè, men yon lòt pa mwen renmen lide de pou vin marye et gen yon fanmi ki se atiran."

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

 

"Lew we yon moun devenn menm let Kaye kase tet li" what does this mean?

Lè w wè yon moun an devenn menm lèt kaye kase tèt li.
When misfortune follows someone, even curd milk would break (smash, split) his head (skull).

This is the same saying as:

Lè w wè yon moun an devenn menm po bannann (or sometimes they say: po patat) blese l.
When misfortune follows someone even a banana peel (or potato skin) will hurt him.

As you probably can already tell, this proverb is saying that when misfortunes follows someone, even the least little thing will imperil or injure him.

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

Why have I been told not to say "ou dous" when someone does something nice? Does it not mean "You're sweet?"

Yes that is the literally translation, but it refers to sex. 
People use it to express that something feels good.  It is most commonly  used, for example, during a massage, petting, or the  sexual act.
Pa egzanp:
This feels so good.
It feels so good
Li dous.
Or
You feel so good
Ou dous.

If you want to say "You're sweet." when someone does something nice, then you'll say: "Ou janti." or "Ou trè janti."

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