pa viv lasante

pa viv lasante - to be in poor health, to be constantly ill.

Mwen pa viv lasante - I'm in poor health

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

hindrance, to hinder

hindrance (nuisance) - kontraryete

to impede, to upset, to disrupt - kontrarye

Vizit yo kontrarye mwen anpil. - Their visit upset me a lot.
Maryaj la kontrarye etid tifi a. - The marriage disrupted the girl's studies.
Lapli a kontrarye jwèt baskèt la. - The rain disrupted the basketball game.
Mizik la ap kontrarye m. Desann volim nan pou m ka konsantre. - The music is disrupting me, turn down the volume so that I can concentrate.

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

fè pase nan je zegwi

fè pase nan je zegwi – to mistreat, to treat unfairly, to push around

 

Bòs mwen ap fè m pase nan je zegwi nan travay la. – My boss is treating me unfairly at work

Mari l reyèlman ap fè l pase nan je zegwi. – Her husband is giving her a hard time.

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

Can you translate kapab pa soufri

Capable people do not suffer.

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

What is dra blan pa sal dra blan?

Dra blan pa sal dra blan - white sheets do not soil white sheets lit.

 

It’s a dangerous belief among a handful of Haitian Christians (I’m not sure if it’s just Haitians.  I don’t know where you heard this). They condemn adultery between a non-Christian and a Christian, but approve of adultery between two Christians.

I know there was a church group in Miami in the late 1980s and early 90s that practiced this – I’m not sure if they’re still around.

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

what does "pouba w bade" mean in h creole. thnxs

Does it say "pouba w bade" or "bouda w bade"?

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

Kijan ou di "you sound like?" Ak "What do you mean"

You sound like
Ou pale tankou
Ou gen vwa
 
You can also use “sanble” – It seems
 
You sound like a robot.
Ou pale tankou yon wobo.
 
You sound like your mom.
Ou pale tankou manman w.
 
He sounds like girl.
Li gen vwa yon vwa yon ti fi.
 
You sound like your mom (have the same voice as)
Ou gen vwa manman w.
 
The wind sounded like a howling dog.
Van an te soufle, sanble yon chen k’ap wouke.
Van an soufle tankou yon chen  k’ap wouke.
 
What do you mean?
Ki sa ou vle di?

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

“Nou pa bo isit jodi a”.Why isn’t “pa” negative here?

Actually, just having this as an independent sentence, it can be either positive or negative.

Now sometimes we do say, “nou vin pa bò isit jodi a.” Or “Ou pa bò isi?” where “pa bò isi/isit” means “by here” or “in this area”; and “pa” actually translates the English prep. “by”.

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

Ki mo nan langue Créole la ki pran cédille anba c a? Eske mwen dwe retire cédille nan nom François lè m’ap ekri an Créole?

Non, pa genyen mo ou ankenn lèt “c” ki pran sediy nan lang Kreyòl la.  Mwen pa wè ankenn rezon ki pou ta fè w retire sediy nan non François a, menm si se Kreyòl ou t’ap pale. Si yon moun vle ekri François an Kreyòl, sa se yon lòt afè.

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

I thought it was interesting that H. Creole word ‘sou’ is used as ‘be in the mood for’. If I say ‘m pa sou manje’ it means ‘I’m not in the mood for food’. Did I get this correctly? Can “sou” be used for other activities?

Yes. I can give you some examples:

1.

M pa sou pale kounye a. – I’m not in the mood for talking right now.

2.

Li pa sou etidye.  Se televizyon ki enterese l. – She’s not interested in studying. She’s interested in watching tv.

3.

Nou pa sou sa. – We’re not in the mood.

4.

M pa sou bò w. – I’m ignoring you.

5.

Misye fè tout sa l te kapab pou atire atansyon ti fi a, men ti fi a pa’t menm sou bò l. – He did all he could to attract the girl’s attention, but the girl was not even interested in him.

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

“they’ll have to dig out his remains…” Google translate is giving me “Yo pral oblije fouye soti rete l” I’m thinking of using the creole word “ko” for remains: “Yo pral oblije fouye soti ko li yo”. Is this correct?

Here, to dig out will translate as "detere" (to unearth)
If Google Translate is not giving you the right translation, try using other words, in this case, "cadaver" or something else.
Here, remains will translate as kadav or zosman

They'll have to dig out his remains. - Yo pral detere kadav li. or Yo pral oblije detere zosman li.(if the body's been buried for a very long time)
and...
No need to use plural "yo" unless you're talking about bones.

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

What is Haitian Creole for pillowcase?

pillowcase - sak zorye, tèt zorye, tèdoreye

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

If I want to tell someone about something that actually happened, what is a good way to introduce this? M vle di ou yon istwa? Is istwa good here? What if I wanted to tell someone a fabricated story--something I made up—would istwa also work here? What makes most sense in each of these situations?

M vle di ou yon istwa (or M vle rakonte w yon istwa) will work for retelling an event that DID or DIDN'T happened.

But if you say "kont" instead of "istwa" (M vle rakonte w yon kont), the listener will instantly know that the story is fiction.


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

I was looking for the use of ‘fèt kare’, I’m sure I printed it from your blog but I can’t find my copy or your blog post.

It's in this post: FÈK KARE?

1.

Fèk kare – it’s just the beginning, only just started (indicates an event that just started and intends to continue for an indefinite period of time).

2.

Nou fèk kare ap danse. -  We only just started to dance.

3.

Ameriken te panse yo te fini avèk to chomaj ki eksesif, men avèk istwa move ekonomi an, yo fèk kare wè chomaj. – Americans thought they were done with high rates of unemployment, but with this story of bad economy, the unemployment days have just begun.

4.

Nou te kwè soufrans nou te fini, men nou fèk kare bat lanmizè. – We thought our suffering was over, but our anguish has just begun.

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

“Se nou de a ak papa papa l ki te la”. For “papa papa” isn’t it the same as saying granpapa? if yes, then why not say granpapa? Is the same used for manman too? And also, can I say “gran gran grann mwen” for “great great grandmother” or should I use “manman manman”

You can use papa papa, granpapa, or granpè

 Or manman manman, grann, or granmè

It makes more sense, to me,  saying  “manman manman grann mwen” .

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