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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Based on your last answer about zel sapat, does sapata then mean that you beat someone with your sandals?

It does not necessarily have to be "beaten with sandals". Sapata yon moun means that the person was beaten up real good, knocked down, whipped, etc....

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What does “zèl sapat” means?

"What does “zèl sapat” means? “Zèl sapat, poté kouto,  Zèl sapat poté chapo,  Zèl sapat poté dlo, Zèl sapat poté siwo, Zèl sapat poté sa’w vlé. I am referring to one of the Ti Manno’s song in DP Express."

zèl sapat (flip flops, sandals) makes a lot of noise, but they can be really flimsy and unstable, aren't they?   So zèl sapat has very little worth.

The same as bri sapat, lots of noises, lots of hype, lots of puffs .... with no substance.

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What does "son de blé" mean in H.creole? Thanks Mandaly.

The 'ble" is wheat. You will find the coarse wheat in Haiti which looks like grains of rice. Haitians sometimes cook it like rice.
Son de ble (or some people write sondeble) is the fiber, the grain husk that some Haitians use to feed their pigs, goats, etc.....

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

What does “wetan’m metan’m” mean? “Ou se wetan’m metan’m”

Usually wetan m metan m is said of a piece of clothing, shirts, pants, skirts, etc..., that you wear a lot because it might be the only one you own or ... you may just love to wear it ...everyday.

So we call that piece of clothing wetan m metan m (from wete mete), which means ou wete l (you take it off), maybe just to wash it, and then ou mete l (you put it back on) immediately afterwards.
That's how, sometimes in Haiti, you might suspect that someone is on hard times. You see them wearing the same shirt every day, at every function. Sometimes people make fun of them and say, "Chemiz sa a, se yon wetan m metan m?"

I see that System Band uses it as an endearing term "ou se wetan m metan m" meaning you are all I have.

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I love your creole word of the day and the example that accompanies it. I have just learned a lot of new words off of it. Keep it up!

Hello Mandaly, I'm curious, can you speak, read, and write in French fluently?

Yes.
Most Haitians that have gone to school in Haiti up to, at least 6èm ane can write and read French well. They would be more fluent in French if they spoke it at home, but usually they don't. They usually speak Creole at home and everywhere else.
Two of my sisters were born in French Guiana, When my mom finally brought them home to Haiti, they did not know Creole, so the household spoke French at home for a few years. I attribute my fluency to that.

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Mandaly here's a sample of the sentence "e pou sa ou kriye tout kriye sa", what's ...kriye tout kriye....?

..kriye tout kriye sa a ... so much crying, all this crying (in context)

Was this sentence a question?
Other ways to say this would be ...
Poukisa ou fè tout kriye sa a?
which is the same as:
"Se pou sa ou kriye tout kriye sa a?"
Is that why you cried s much?

So you can use this form with other verbs/nouns combination.
Poukisa ou fè m mache tout mache sa a?
or
Poukisa ou fè m mache anpil konsa?

one more example:

M pa konprann poukisa ou bezwen pale tout pale sa a.
or
M pa konprann poukisa ou fè tout pale sa a.

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Monday, September 28, 2015

What are words for "to scam or to screw or to fuck someone" For example, " He scammed(screwed, fucked) me out of a hundred dollars"

As long as it's not sexual, you can use pete, blo or blofe, woule, lolo, plimen, etc...
If it's sexual (screw, fuck) then you'd use plimen, taye, konyen, koupe, frape etc....

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Explain me this proverb please. "Yo pa voye wòch sou mango vèt.”

"Yo pa voye wòch sou mango vèt" or sometimes you'll also hear "Se sou mango mi yo voye wòch"
means Don't bother doing what you're doing because your effort will be fruitless.

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Saturday, September 26, 2015

What word is usually used for "pinch"? As in, "Don't pinch me!" (said when a child runs up to you and pinches you to see if your skin turns pink.)

For the term To pinch we say in Creole penchen, pichkennen, pichkannen, zongle,  or pense

Don't pinch me
Pa pichkannen m.

Stop pinching me.
Sispann zongle m.

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Awesome! Go Chili!

mwen kontan, mwen se chilean, travay ak sekreté,
nan lopital, mwen aprann kreyol pou dé haysien ki vini nan chili. 

Yo estoy
muy contenta me encanta esta pagina, estoy estudiando creole, para ayudar a los
imigrantes haitianos que llegan a Chile.

Mandaly says:
Keep it up!


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Friday, September 25, 2015

Would "lakolèt" and "fè lakolèt" mean "offering/collection" and "to take up offering/collection" in a church context respectively? ...

Would "lakolèt" and "fè lakolèt" mean
"offering/collection" and "to take up offering/collection" in a church context
respectively?  For example, "In the protestant church, they take up
offering/collection every Sunday" Have you also heard of  "kèt", "ketay/ketaj"
and "fè kèt", "kete" to mean "offering/collection" and "to take up
offering/collection" respectively? Also, what are words for "usher" in the
church context in creole? And what are other words for "offering/collection" and
"to take up offering/collection"?

Yes, we use kèt and lakolèt or fè kèt and fè lakòlèt
It does not necessarily have to be in a church setting.
I haven't used the other terms that you have up there, that does not mean that they don't exist.

And the word that I have used for usher is ofisye.

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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Hello Mandaly, how would translate these phrases (Top/upper left-hand corner, middle left-hand side, bottom/lower left-hand corner, top/upper right-hand corner, middle right-hand side, bottom/lower right-hand corner) in creole? For example, "Write your name on the top/upper right-hand corner of the page" or "Click on the start button on the bottom/lower left-hand corner of the desktop"

corner - kwen, pozisyon
top/upper - nan tèt, anwo, 
bottom/lower - anba, 
left hand corner - nan pozisyon goch, sou bò goch
right hand corner - nan pozisyon adwat, nan kwen adwat, sou bò dwat
middle - nan mitan

upper left-hand corner - anwo nan pozisyon goch, anwo nan kwen agoch, anwo sou bò goch
bottom right-hand corner - anba sou bò dwat, anba nan pozisyon dwat

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In your blog, it’s says that “malatchong” in creole means fake but what does boul malatchong means? I think it is related to the lottery if I refer to the song of Nemours Jn Baptiste.

malatchong - yes it means fake, bogus, also something which involves, trickery,  a sham, fraud, etc...
yon boul malatchong - yon boul fo manmit, bagay magouy

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What are verbs for "to pride oneself in/on something"? For example, "She pride herself in her ability to spot a shoplifter" or "I pride myself on my ability to find compromises"

to pride oneself in/on .... - tire satisfaksyon nan ..., pran fyète nan ...., jwenn satisfaksyon nan ....

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