Would you say that tchuipe (spelling right I hope) is trait only found in Haitian?

A trait? I thought it was a way of expressing ourselves.
No, other cultures do it too.  Haitians just do it better :)

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

What does the word "kalanber" mean, I might have spelled it wrong, thanks!

It’s kalanbè -  smegma, sebum

Haitian sometimes curse you out and they say Kalanbè! Or Kalanbè manman w! meaning  “you are something revolting or disgusting”.

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Lapoula m te dwe fè bak tounen lakay men. Hi, can you explain 'lapoula' and 'bak' ? here. Mesi anpil (kamsa hamnida)-that's in Korean

Lapoula – immediately, right then and there,  right away, right on the spot

Example:

1. Jezi te poze men l sou malad la e lapoula l te geri. - Jesus laid his hand on the sick and immediately he was healed.

 

Regarding ‘bak’, the expression actually is “fè bak”

fè bak – to back away, to step back, to walk back, to back down

sometimes you will hear “fè bak annaryè”  to go backwards, to recede, to  retreat

Example:

2. Lè moun yo te wè mesye a te gen yon zam nan men l yo tout te fè bak. – When the people saw that the man had a weapon they all stepped back.

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Mesi anpil. What does this mean? -li kont kol- What is kont and kol? thanks

Without the context I’m going to choose this spelling, “Li kont kò’l.”
Li kont kò’l - he/she's full of himself/herself

1.

Kont – enough

Egzanp:

Li kont. – it’s enough.
Li pa kont. – it’s not sufficient.
Nou danse kont nou. – We danced enough. (We danced all we could / We danced as much as we could)

2.

Kò’l or kò li – his/her body; himself/herself

Egzanp:
Retire w kò w la. – Remove yourself from here (Get out of here)
Eske ou pou kò w. – Are you by yourself? / Are you alone?

So
Li kont kò’l. – He’s got enough of himself. (He’s conceited … full of himself)

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

What are words for 'factory', 'plant(chemical or industrial)', 'refinery', and 'silo(storing grain)'?

Factory – izin, faktori, endistri

Chemical plant - Izin pwodui chimik

Industrial plant – izin endistriyèl

Refinery – izin, fakori, enstalasyon pou rafinaj

Silo – silo, rezèv, rezèvwa, depo

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

how would I say 'here's question that i d like to ask' is it POZE or mande for ask?

You can use poze or mande.

poze yon kesyon
mande yon kesyon
ask a question

Here is a question that I'd like to ask.
Men yon kesyon m ta renmen mande.
or
Men yon kesyon m ta renmen poze.

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

Bonjou! I've been trying to translate the following sentence in kreyòl into English, and I want to make sure I've got the sense correct. The context is the following: Haitian poet Emile Roumer is revisiting Haitian history, and to move away from the tendency to group Jean Price-Mars in with the other "indigéniste" writers….

“Bonjou!  I've been trying to translate the following sentence in kreyòl into English, and I want to make sure I've got the sense correct.  The context is the following: Haitian poet Emile Roumer is revisiting Haitian history, and to move away from the tendency to group Jean Price-Mars in with the other "indigéniste" writers.  Roumer says about Price-Mars in the early 1920s: "yo pat menm konnen li menm...li pa menm konte pou Ayiti menm"
My translation is: "People did not even know him [or his work?]...he did not count for Haiti"
Any advice or help you could provide would be much appreciated!!!”

Answer:

Awesome :)  Your translation is correct.  The second part of that sentence would be “he did not count for Haiti” or “he did not matter to Haiti”… He was not significant….

 

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

Mare kon krab (Audio)

Download link for this audio:
http://limanecasimi.audioacrobat.com/download/2de68cb9-2fb6-62cd-fc53-4944048a4d81.mp3

Click on the PLAY button to listen to this audio the follow along :)

http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WvMjvfFS

  O O Joujou, sa w genyen figi w fennen konsa?

Joujou what’s wrong your face is so faded?
Joujou why do you look so down?

 Mezanmi! Fanfan, yon zanmi m te envite m dine lakay li yè swa – si m te konnen sa’k t'apral pase m pa ta ale.

Fanfan, a friend of mine invited me to dinner at her house last night – If I knew what was going to happen I wouldn’t have gone.

 Ki sa ki te pase?

What happened?

 

Lè m rive kay zanmi m nan m te panse se te yon dine konsa konsa men non se te granzafè.  Dabò, lè m rantre lakay zanmi m nan, m wè tout envite te abiye fen kou zezwa.  Mwen menm se te yon vye mayo ak pantalon abako k te sou mwen.

When I got to my friend’s house I thought it just any dinner but no it was a big affair. First off  when I went into my friend’s house I saw that all the guests were dressed very elegantly.  As for me I had an old shirt and jeans on.

O O!

Wi! M vin santi de pye m nan yon grenn soulye.  Lapoula m te dwe fè bak tounen lakay men tout zye te gentan sou mwen.

Yes! I felt trapped.  Right then and there I should have stepped back to return home but all eyes were already on me.

 Sa w fè menm?

What did you do same/even?
So what did you do?

Lè tout moun atable yo – m mete m sou tab tou.  Enpi se lè sa m sonje m pa’t gen  etikèt manje sou tab.

When everyone sat at the table I sat on the table too.  And then that’s when I remembered that I didn’t have proper table manners.
 

Si m te ou - m ta pran pòz m malad - enpi m ta leve ale.

If I were you I would have pretended to be sick and left.

 

Non m gen twòp fyète pou sa.
No I have too much pride for that.

Donk ou pito anbarase tèt ou devan tout moun?

So you rather make a fool of yourself in front of everyone?

 

Mezanmi m sou tab la, m mare kou krab.  Premyèman m pa konn ak ki men pou m ranmase  fouchèt la.  Dezyèman m te tèlman grangou m bwote preske tout manje k te sou tab la mete nan plat mwen,  

Man! I was at the table, I felt so awkward.  First of all I did not know with which hand to pick up the fork.  Second I was so hungry I brought almost all the food that was on the table onto my plate.

 

Ou konnen se pa konsa sa fèt sou tab.  Se piti a piti ou charye manje mete nan plat ou.

You know that’s not the way is done on the table.  You bring food to your plate little by little.

 

Ah! manje nan plat mwen fè yon ti pil byen wo tankou yon ti mòn.  Lè m fin manje atò m vin swaf. M rale yon po ji.  M plen vè m nan ra bouch. M kage vè a nan figi m. M bwè tout ji a nan yon sèl goje. Enpe bweson tonbe sou rad mwen  - enpi m vin rann yon gwo gaz!

The food in my plate made a little pile as high as a little hill.  When I was done eating I got thirsty. I grabbed a pitcher of juice.  I filled my glass to the rim.  I brought the glass to my face and drunk the juice in one gulp.  Some fell on my clothes - and then I let out a big belch!

 O O!

 Tout moun tonbe gade m atò.

Then everyone started looking at me.

 Sa’w fè lè sa a?

What did you do at that time.

 Lè sa a m wont, m jennen - m tonbe pale koze m pa gen biznis pale sou tab la.  Tout moun blije met tèt atè – m te mare kon krab – Lè m te kite kay zanmi m nan, li te lè l te tan.

At that time I was ashamed, I was embarrassed – I started making inappropriate table conversations.  Everyone was looking down (They were avoiding eye contact with me) – I was fumbling.  When I left my friend’s house it was about time.

 M’espere ou pran yon leson – pwochèn fwa yo envite w dine, se pou w mande ki kalite dine li ye anvan – konsa w'a pare pou li.

I hope you learn a lesson.  Next time they invite you to dinner you should ask what type of dinner it is first so you can prepare for it.

 Pwochèn fwa yo envite m dine m p'ap fè yon pa .

Next time they invite me to dinner I ain’t gonna go nowhere.

Track: Nègès Lakay by Elylrac

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

to be clumsy or awkward (to be in an awkward position?) in H. Creole?

To be clumsy, to be in an awkward position, to deal with a situation gracelessly → mare, mare kou krab, jennen

to be in a sticky situation → gen de pye nan yon sèl soulye 

In a tight spot, to be embarrassed  - jennen, wont

To cramp one's style - jennen

 

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

"Fè yon pa", Is PA, here, negative?

Pa → step

1. Mwen fè yon pa.
    I take a step.

2. Nou fè yon pa annavan.
    We take a step forward.

3. Yo fè yon pa annaryè.
    They take a step backwards.

4. Chak pa mwen fè ou la avèk mwen.
    Each step I take you are there with me.

5. Mwen pa't fè yon pa yè.
    I didn't take a step yesterday.
    I didn't go anywhere yesterday.

6. yon pa, de pa, twa pa
    one step, two steps, three steps

7. Ti bebe a fè premye pa li deja
    The baby took his first step already.

8.  Kay mwen an sèlman de pa la a.
    My house is only two (a couple of ) steps from here.

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

atable? Nou atable?

atable (pronominal verb)  - to sit at the table (to eat a meal)
m'atable m
li atable l
nou atable nou

Tout moun atable yo pou yo dine. - Everyone sat at the table to eat dinner.


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

How do you say: “Can I sit here?”, “maybe..”, ...

Can i sit here?  → Eske m kapab chita la a?

May I sit here? → Eske m mèt chita la a?

Can I sit next to you? → Eske mwen mèt chita bò kote w?

Maybe ... → Petèt ...

Really? → Tout bon?  or Tout bon vre?

Can I come with you? → Eske m mèt vin avèk ou?

You are so pretty. → Ou bèl anpil

You are so sweet. → Ou janti anpil.

What is your favorite song? – Ki chante ou pi pito?

I can’t dance. → Mwen pa konn danse

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

What does tonniskribót mean and how would it be used in a sentence?

That’s how some Haitians swear.

It can also be an exclamation .

“Tonnè krizbòt mwen!” is a euphemism for  “Tonnè kraze’m”, “Tonnè boule m”

Literally it means “May thunder (lightning) strike me”.

 

example:

1. Tonnè kraze m ou p’ap rantre nan kay la aswè a!

or

    Tonnè krizbòt mwen ou p’ap rantre nan kay la aswè a!

It means something like:

    I’ll be danmed if I let you in the house tonight

or

    May God strike me dead if I let you in the house tonight.

 

Here’s another example:

2. Tonnè krizbòt mwen tout sa m di ou la se vre!

    I swear to you everything I’ve said is the truth.

 

one more example:

3. Mesye sa a agase m.  Tonnè krizbòt mwen si l pwoche m m’ap kalote l.

    This man pisses me off.  I swear to you if he approaches me I’ll slap him.

 

or as an exclamation:

4. Mwen te rankontre ti dam nan apt 2 a nan fèt la yè swa, tonnè krizbòt mwen ti fi sa a konn danse vre!

   I met the girl in apt. 2 at the party last night, man! That girl can really dance!

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

Si ou pa tap fikse le ciel ou pa ta we letan kouve? ..what does this mean?

Si w pa t’ap fikse lesyèl ou pa t’ap wè tan an pare – If you weren’t staring at the sky you wouldn’t have noticed the weather is grey (or something like that)

It’s a cheeky answer to the question “why are you staring at me?”  (Poukisa w’ap gade m konsa?)

It means,  if you weren’t staring at me you wouldn’t have noticed me staring at you.

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

I had learned that bay always changes when followed by pronouns in the following way: ban mwen, ba ou, ba li, ban nou, ba yo. But sometimes in Istwa Jezi pou timoun they use "bay" like this: "Abraram te konn bay Bondye kado. Li te konn bay li bèt." The first bay makes sense to me because it's followed by the name Bondye. But I would think the second “bay” should be just “ba” because it's followed by “li”. Is there a reason that it doesn't change to ba here? Or can you substitute bay for ba anytime?

If I was writing this paragraph I would have used “ba” in the second sentence because that’s what it should be.  You may have found a typo there.

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