Listening exercise. Click on the play button and follow along :)
O Ti Mari ou rantre bonè jodi a.
Ti Mari you're home early today.
Men wi. Mwen fatige. M pral kouche pou yon moman.
Yes I'm tired. I'm going to lie down for a while.
What's wrong?
Nothing's wrong.
Cheri m konnen w trè byen. Sa’w genyen? Poukisa figi w fennen konsa?
Sweetie I know you very well. What's wrong? Why the sad face?
A! Se pa anyen ditou. M
pa gen anyen. M'anfòm.
It's nothing at all. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine.
Ou di w anfòm men figi w pa sanble sa. Pale avè m non.
You say you're fine but your face doesn't look it. Talk to me won't you?
Dakò. Te’m rakonte w sa’k pase m. Di m kilès ki gen rezon.
Ok. Let me tell you what happened to me. Tell me who's right.
M’ap koute w.
I'm listening.
Jodi a nan travay la nou te genyen yon miting.
Today at work we had a meeting.
Anhan.
Bòs mwen t’ap fè yon prezantasyon an Kreyòl enpi yon anplwaye
etranje ki te la panche bò zòrèy mwen
pou mande m tradui sa bòs la t’ap di a. Sa’w kwè m fè?
My boss was making a presentation in Creole and a foreign employee that was there leaned in my ear to ask me to translate what the boss was saying. What do you think I did?
Ou te ede
anplwaye a?
You helped the employee?
Yes. I translated what my boss was saying. What do you think happened?
He told you to be quiet?
Yes! it's as if you were there. He insulted me in front of everyone. He told me to shut up. I felt like a reprimanded child.
Bòs ou an gen rezon wi cheri. Ou pa ka pale pandan l’ap pale tou – si tout moun ap pale, pa gen moun k’ap
koute. Se youn oubyen lòt. Ouswa w’ap pale ouswa w’ap koute. Ou pa ka fè
toulede alafwa.
Your boss is right sweetie, you can't talk while he's talking. If everyone is talking no one is listening. It's one or the other. Either you're talking or listening. You can't do both at the same time.
O o sou bò ki moun ou ye menm?
Whose side are you on?
Mwen sou bò w cheri – men eske ou ta renmen gen yon odyans
k’ap pale pandan w’ap fè yon prezantasyon?
I'm on your side sweetie. But would you like to have an audience talking while you're doing a presentation?
Non men fò’w konprann sa’ m t’ap fè a te enpòtan tou.
No but you must understand that what I was doing was also important.
Menm si sa, pa fè yon lòt sa w pa ta renmen yo fè w. Ou
konnen sa trè byen.
Even then, "Don't do unto others, what you wouldn't want done unto you". You know that very well.
Bon kòm mwen wè se kritike ou vle kritike m jodi a, mwen
pral kouche kouche m. Ou mèt kouche sou sofa a aswè a.
Since I realize that all you want to to is to criticize me today, I'm going to lie down. You may lie down on the couch tonight.
O o Cheri! Mwen te fè erè. Se ou ki gen rezon. Se ou ki va toujou gen rezon.
Oh Sweetie! I was wrong. You were right. You will always be right.
A! li twò ta pou chanje lide.
Pase bòn nwi sou sofa a.
It’s too late to change your mind. Have a good night on the couch.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
