Yeah I see what you mean, the smell of farmers going home
after they sweated in the market selling their merchandise, the smell of
teachers and students going home after they’ve been in a non-air-conditioned
classroom the whole day, the smell of produce, live chickens and mud on people shoes, and if
it’s in the afternoon, the smell of burning garbage in the streets and don’t
forget the smell of spicy foods cooking in the street corners , God I miss that
:)
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Taking public transportation in Haiti is horrible.the body odor is unbearable especially if you’re in for a long haul.
Eske m pwononse sa kòrèk? Eske m di sa bon? Are these proper translations of “Did I pronounce that correctly?” and “Did I say that right?” Are there better ways of asking this?
The first one is correct.
In the second sentence I’d say “byen” instead of “bon”.
Eske m di sa byen? – Did I say this correctly?
Eske m byen di l? – Did I say it correctly?
Eske m byen pale? – Am I right?
Men wi, ou di l byen. – Certainly you said it well.
Men wi ou kòrèk. – Yes you are correct.
Wi ou byen pale. – Yes you’re right
Sunday, July 6, 2014
As you know, I have to start my Creole lessons over. But do you think I should learn French simultaneously or at least pursue French at some point since Haitians also speak it? Would learning French help me with the Creole at all or vice versa?
No, that would not be a good reason to learn French. French and Haitian Creole are two very
different languages – the grammar and spellings are totally different. Learning French will not help you to learn Haitian
Creole any better. You’ve been doing well
so far. So keep at it :)
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
Friday, July 4, 2014
I'm not sure what this word is, it sounded like "gremyel" or something like that, it seemed like a word for a person who is a failure or loser, or someone who can't do anything right.
Sounds like “grimèl” to me.
Do they say “grimèl chode!”?
Is the word directed at females?
Thursday, July 3, 2014
I love the song "Ayiti Cheri", but there are so many expressions that are unfamiliar to me. For example what is the meaning of AYITI TOMA please? Or what's a MARABOU or a GRIFONN KREYOL? or a KAYIMIT?
Ayiti Toma is the African name of Haiti, meaning “this land is mine”.
Also
you will sometimes hear Ayiti Kiskeya, which “Kiskeya” is Haiti’s Indian name
Grifòn refers to a dark-skinned Haitian woman born possibly of a light and
dark-skinned individual.
Marabou is a dark-skinned woman with flawless skin, luxuriant hair and beautiful
teeth that is rooted in violaceous gums
Kayimit is a fruit with skin dark violet in color. Looks like plum.
Haitians
sometimes say “po kayimit” which means “refined and vibrant dark skin”
All are considered beautiful.
How do you say promote? and How do you say "expect" in creole and what does temwen mean?
1.Promote
– pwomote, bay jarèt, jarete, bay piston,
or pistonnen
egzanp: Lè misye te nan lekòl medsin tout moun nan
katye a te ba l bon jarèt paske yo te konnen li ta pral itil yo yon jou.
2. Temwen – witness
a. Mwen
se yon temwen
– I am a witness.
b. Ou
dwe sèvi m temwen.
You
must serve as a witness to me.
Be
my witness
c. Se
pou Bondye sèvi n temwen
… – May God be a witness …
d. Yo
te mande m sèvi kòm temwen
… - They asked me to be a witness to …..
3. Expect – atann (pronominal verb)
e. Mwen
te atann mwen a sa.
– I was expecting this.
f. Mwen
pa’t atann mwen a sa.
– I was not expecting this.
g. Nou
pa’t atann nou a sa ditou. – We were not expecting that at
all.
h. Nou
tout te chita ansanm enpi li parèt sou nou sanzatann (san-z-atann).
We
were all sitting together and she showed up unexpectedly.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Can you please post the lyrics to this song that says, "Pouki move jou yo fe nou doute?"
Pouki move jou yo fè nou doute
Jezi mande pou nou pa enkyete
Nou se yon ras eli
Nou se yon pèp aki
Se nou Bondye chwazi pou temwen’l
Pandan n’ap avanse leve men ou anlè
Chante glwa a lanyo Bondye a
Valè moun ki mouri nan tout fanmi nou yo
Se nou Bondye chwazi pou temwen
Eske nou pa konnen nou se yon pèp espesyal
Se nou Bondye chwazi pou temwen
Valè moun ki dejwe nan tout fanmi nou yo
Se nou bondye chwazi pou temwen’l
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Yo pa gen anyen aswe a vini demen swa pito
Yo
pa gen anyen aswè a. Vini demen swa pito.
They
don’t have anything tonight. Come tomorrow night instead
A few translations please ...
english to creole translation:
assume – sipoze, imajinen
stop
the car – kanpe machin
nan
excited – eksite, anlè anlè, antyoutyout,
sou sa
bald - chòv
spot - tach
callus – kò, zonyon
flood - inondasyon
sand - sab
creole
to english:
deprime - depressed
exprime – to express
lanjèz – malicious and backbiting woman
debouyèz - resourceful
foke – fuck up, insane, crazy
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English WordsKi sa li signifye le w di “bay yon moun kou an angle” e ki sa "ou se libate"signifye an angle?
Your second word is selibatè – single
Ou
selibatè? (Eske w selibatè?) – Are you single?
Your first word
“bay kou” means “to punch, to hit”
1. Bay
yon moun kou – to
hit someone
2. Li te ban m kou. – He hit me
3. Mwen te ba l kou. – I hit him.
You also use bay
kou (actually “bay kout …”) when
you strike with any object (tangible or not):
4. Bay
kou
– to punch, to strike, to hit someone
Li te ban mwen yon kou nan vant. – He hit me in the stomach
5. Bay
kout pwen – to strike
with the fist
Li ban m yon kout pwen. – She punched me with her fist.
6. Bay
kout pye – to kick with the feet
Li ban m yon kout pye. – She kicked me.
7. Bay
kout baton – to hit with
a club
kout
baton – a strike of
the club
Polis
la bay misye san (100) kout baton.-
The police officer hit the man with the club 100 times
8. Bay
kout sentiwon
– to hit with the belt
kout
sentiwon
– strike of the belt
Papa
m ban mwen 15 kout sentiwon.
– My father hit me with the belt 15 times.
9. Bay
kout dan(or mòde) – to bite
yon
kout dan–
a bite
Chen
an te bay pitit la yon kout dan. The dog bit the child.
Mesye
a bay pòm la yon gwo kout dan enpi tout dan l tonbe. – The man took a big bite out of
the apple and all his teeth fell out.
10. Bay
kout kouto
– to stab with a knife
11. Kout
manchèt – to stab with
a machete
12. Kout
chèz – to hit with
the chair
13. Kout
sandal – to hit with
sandals
Etc….
14. Kout
tèt is different. This expression means a "repeated bump of the
head when one’s trying to fall asleep, especially if they are sitting down."
Bay
kout tèt
– to bump one’s head repeatedly a a result of falling asleep
Pandan
misyonè a t’ap bay mesaj la tout moun ta ri paske
yo te kapab wè pastè legliz t’ap
bay kout tèt sou chè a.-
While the missionary was delivering the sermon everyone was
laughing because
they could see the church pastor falling asleep
on the pulpit.
Li
te sipoze etidye, men se kout tèt l’ap bay sou biwo li. - He was supposed to study, but
he’s falling asleep at his desk.
15. Bay
kout men
– to assist, to support, to sponsor
Kout
men – assistance,
help
Ban’m
yon kout men tanpri.
– help me please
Ban’m
yon kout men ak valiz la. Li lou anpil.
– Help me with the bag. It’s heavy.
16. Kout
lang – malicious gossip
Menm
si yo ba w kout lang pa okipe yo. Kwè nan tèt ou. Pa kite sa yo di deranje w. -
Even if they spread
malicious gossip about you don’t worry about it. Believe in yourself. Don’t let
what they say about you get to you.
17. Kout
pitit – when a women
try to pass another man’s child as the child of a man she’s already with.
Pitit
sa a pa sanble avè w ditou. Sanble madanm ou ba w yon kout pitit.- This child does not look like you
at all. Your wife lied to you.
18. Kout
je - a scornful look
Lè
fanm nan te antre nan legliz la tout moun t’ap koupe l kout je. Kongregasyon an
te bliye ke yo menm tou yo se pechè. - When the woman entered the church everyone
was looking down at her. The
congregation had forgotten that they also are sinners.
19. Kout
entelijan (or Kou entelijan)
– to outsmart someone
Machann
nan fè yon kou entelijan ak touris la. Misye vann fanm nan yon fo tablo pou
anpil lajan.-
The seller tricked the tourist. He sold her
a fake painting for a lot of money.
20. Kout
pa konprann
– to pretend to be naïve about something
Pa
vin ban’m okenn kout pa konprann la a. Ou konnen trè byen sa k’ap pase.
- Don’t play dumb with me you know very well what’s going on?
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
Bonjou, my wife is asking, what can be the opposite of "pa gendwa"---"it is good when you do that"--- for our granddaughter. Mesi
You may use "gen
dwa" or "mèt (don’t use with
negatives)"
gen dwa - may, to be allowed, to be permitted
pa gen dwa - may not, to not be allowed, to not be permitted
mèt - may, to be allowed, to be permitted
Do not use "pa" after "mèt" for these instances. There are circumstances where you can use "pa" after "mèt", but this is not one of them.
Here are some examples:
1. Ou
gen dwa vini si w vle. – You
may come if you want.
2. Nou gen dwa fè sa n vle. – You may do as you please.
3. Ou mèt vini. – you may come.
4. Nou mèt manje kounye a. - You may eat now.
5. Ou mèt jwe ak jwèt ou yo lè'w fin fè devwa w. - You may play with your toys when
you've done your homework.
6. Ou mèt rele'm vin chache w lè klas ou fini. - You may call me to pick you up when your class is over.
7. Ou
mèt antre. – you
may enter. You may come in
But
you would say
8. Ou pa gen dwa antre – You may not come in.
9. Ou
mèt ale. – You
may go.
But
you would say
10. Ou pa gen dwa ale nan sinema avèk vagabond sa a. – You may not go to the movies with this jerk.
11. Ou
mèt ale nan kizin nan men ou pa gen dwa antre nan chanm mwen, se refij prive m.
You
may go into the kitchen but you may not go in my room, that’s my private
refuge.
You
may use “gen dwa” like this:
12. M
gen dwa pa’t wè l.
I
may not have seen it.
13. Li
pale avè w men li gen dwa pa renmen w.
She
talks to you but she may not like ou.
In
this example, do not put “pa” after “gen dwa”.
If you do the meaning of the sentence would change
14. Li
di w li renmen w, men li gen dwa pa di l nan fason ou panse a.
She
says she likes you but she may not mean it in the way you think.
15. Li gen dwa te di sa kòm zanmi.
She may have said it in friendship.
16. Nou
gen kèk tan nou pa wè l. Li gen dwa te kite peyi a. Li gen dwa te marye. Li gen
dwa pa nan kad nou. Oubyen li menm gen
dwa mouri.
We
haven’t seen her in some time. She may have left the country. She may have gotten married. She may not want to have anything to do with
us. Or she may even be dead.
alez alez???
Alèz – laid back, at ease, comfortable
1.
Mete
w alèz.
Relax
Loosen
up
Take
it easy
Make
yourself at home
2.
Tanpri mete w alèz avè l.
Please ease up on him.
3.
M
mete m alèz.
I’m
laid back.
I
loosened up.
4.
Li te mete l alèz.
He kicked back and relaxed
5.
Ayisyen renmen etranje ki mete yo alèz ak tout kalite moun.
Haitians love foreigners who are comfortable with all types of people.
Expression: alèz
kou Blèz ki chita sou chèz san pinèz – to be contented,
pleased, very comfortable, well-off, on cloud nine
6.
Misye genyen nan lotri a, kounye a li alèz kou Blèz
ki chita sou chèz san pinèz.
He won the lottery now he's on cloud nine.
7.
M
te mete m alèz avè l, m pa konn poukisa li pa’t alèz avè m.
I
was at ease with him I do not know why he was uneasy with me.
8.
Eske
w alèz? – Are you
comfortable?
9.
Wi m' alèz mèsi.
Yes I'm comfortable thanks.
Your other question:
Franchman – Frankly
Franchman
ou fè m fache.
Pou
di w laverite ou fè m fache.
To
tell you the truth you make me mad
In a text I saw the following sentence: Ou te ka konte .......
In a text I saw the following sentence:
Ou te ka konte sou li san onz
wa (san n pa bliye wa nan peyi Afrik yo)
this shows that in some case, when there is a sentence with san
there is also a negation pa in it.
I would like to understand when you can have the negation pa in a
sentence that start with san and when you do not have it.
Also, is it possible to put the past te in the above sentence ??
like below ?
Ou te ka konte sou li san onz
wa (san n pa TE bliye wa
nan peyi Afrik yo)
Can you say
Fok nou pati san n pa fè brui
Fok nou te pati san n pat fè brui
Mèsi anpil
Does the sentence have to start with “san”?
I guess you can say WHAT WILL HAPPEN with the “lack
of….”. Example:
1.
San
ou mwen pèdi.
Mwen
pèdi
san ou.
I’m
lost without you.
2.
San
tretman doktè mwen ta gentan mouri.
Mwen
ta gentan mouri
san tretman doktè.
I
would have already died without medical treatment.
Or you could say WHAT WILL NOT HAPPEN with the “lack
of…..”
3.
San
ou mwen pa konn sa m ta fè.
Mwen
pa konn sa m ta fè
san ou.
I
don’t know what I would do without you.
4.
San
lalwa pa gen la libète.
Pa
gen libète
san lalwa.
“Without
laws there’s no freedom”
5.
Here’s how I would translate the last two sentences:
Fok
nou pati san n pa fè brui. – We
should leave without making noise
Fok
nou te pati san n pa’t fè brui. – We
should have left without making any noise
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
I am familiar with 'mouri' (to die), but I am unfamiliar with 'al bwachat'. Could you give me a bit more information on this expression (i.e. its etymology)?
I am not 100% sure.
Other than Al bwachat
or al bwa chat and mouri, other commonly used Creole
expression for “to die” are:
trepase
Li trepase a minwi
tapan. – He died at the stroke of
midnight.
Mezanmi! Ede'm. M'ap trepase. - Help me, I'm dying.
ale nan Peyi san
chapo
Manman nou kite n. L’al
nan peyi san chapo. – Our mom has
left us. She died.
fè vwèl pou peyi san
chapo
Kamyon an frape misye,
li voye l al fè vwèl pou peyi san chapo. – The truck hit him and sent him to his death
kase kòd
Kon minwi sonnen beng
malad la kase kòd. - At the stroke of
midnight, he kicked the bucket.
rann dènye souf –
to give one’s last breath
Li rann dènye souf li.
– He gave his last breath
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
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