Word Of The Day

Saying goodbye

There are several ways you can say "goodbye" in Kwéyòl / Patois 

Ayo: Bye!
ah-yo 
Ou pati é ou pa menm di mwen ayo!
You left and you did not even tell me bye!

Babay: Bye bye
bab-eye
Alé di tout moun babay.
Go and tell everyone bye bye.

An dòt sòlèy: Another sun (another day / another time)
uh dot suh-leh-ee
Nou ké jwenn nou an dòt sòlèy.
We'll meet again another time.

Dédé: Goodbye
day-day
Vini di papa-ou dédé!
Come and say goodbye to your father!

Fò mwen alé: I must go
faw mweh ah-lay
Fò mwen alé, ès mwen ké wè ou oswè-a?
I must go, will I see you tonight?

Oplèz: goodbye, farewell 
oh-plehz
Apwé li di tout moun oplèz, li pati asou chimen-li.
After he told everyone goodbye, he went on his way.

Pli ta: later
plee-tah
Mwen ké wè ou pli ta doudou.
I will see you later darling.

Mwen ka alé: I am going (departing/leaving)
Ében mwen ka alé konpè!
Well, I'm leaving buddy!

Mwen ka pati: I'm leaving (departing)
mweh kah pah-tee
Ki lè i yé? Yon ka apwé mennwi!?  Woy, mwen ka pati!
What time is it? A quarter after midnight!? Wow, I'm leaving!

Tjenbé wèd: Stay firm / keep good
chem-bey wehd
Tjenbé wèd machè!
Stay firm my dear (address a woman with machè)

Ovwa: Goodbye, farewell
oh-vwah
Ovwa mézanmi!
Goodbye friends!

Mo Pou Jòdi-a

Ansanm

Pronunciation: uh-suhm

Meaning: Together

Démen nou ké alé ansanm.

Tomorrow we will go together.

Question:Is there an expression in Creole equivalent to "counting your chickens before they hatched"?

Yes there is a Creole equivalent, in Trinidad we say

Fò pa konté zé an bonda poul.

(faw pah con-tay zay uh bon-dah pool)

Question: How do you say "what is your name?"

What is your name?

Sa ki non'w?
(sah kee noh oo)

Ki non'w?
(kee noh oo)

Kouman'w ka kwiyé'w?
(coo-mah oo cah kwee-yay oo)

Kouman yo ka kwiyé'w?
(coo-mah yo cah kwee-yay oo)

Question: What does "fè manti" mean?

The word manti (mahn-tee) means "to lie"

The phrase fè manti (feh mahn-tee) also means to lie

To tell a lie.

Fè manti (feh mahn-tee)

Bay manti (bye mahn-tee)

Nan manti èk (nah mahn-tee ehk)

Tiwé mansonj (tee-way mah-sonzh)

or 

Benyen épi/èvè manti (beh-yeh ai-pee mahn-tee) [use when there's an object]

or

Béwé épi manti (bay-way ai-pee mahn-tee) [use when there's an object]

Examples:

He lies.
Li kapab fè manti (lee kah-pab  feh mahn-tee)
Li ka manti (lee kah mahn-tee)
Li ka tiwé mansonj (lee kah tee-way mah-sonzh)
Li nan manti (lee nah mahn-tee) 

He lied to everyone.
Li bay tout moun manti (lee bye toot moon mahn-tee)
Li béwé tout moun épi manti (lee bay-way toot moon ai-pee mahn-tee)
Li benyen tout moun èvè manti (lee beh-yeh toot moon eh-veh mahn-tee)

You lied to me.
Ou ban mwen manti (oo bah mweh mahn-tee)

I can't lie.
Mwen pa sa fè manti (mweh pa sah feh mahn-tee)
Mwen pa sa bay manti (mweh pa sah bai mahn-tee)
Mwen pa sa manti (mweh pa sah mahn-tee)

You are lying to yourself.
Ou ka bay kò'w manti. (oo kah bai kau-oo mahn-tee)
Ou ka manti ba kò'w. (oo kah man-tee bah kau oo)


I can't say that I love you, I won't lie to myself.
Mwen pa fouti di mwen enmen'w, mwen pa ké manti bay kò-mwen.

To tell a lie on someone. 
Fè manti asou yon moun (fè mahn-tee ah-soo yoh moon)
Bay manti asou yon moun (bai mahn-tee ah-soo yoh moon)

You lied about me.
Ou té fè manti asou mwen (oo tay feh mahn-tee ah-soo mweh)
Ou té bay manti kont mwen (oo tay bai mahn-tee kont mweh)

Question: How is everything?

How is everything?
Kouman tout bagay yé?
(koo-mah toot bay-eye yea)

Question: I'm fine, how about you?

I'm fine, how about you?
Mwen byen é ou menm
(mweh byeh ay oo mem)

Common phrases in Martiniquais Creole

Question: How do you say Hello and welcome?

Hello and welcome!
Bonjou é byenvini!
(boh-zhoo ay byeh-vee-nee)

Hello and welcome to Trinidad & Tobago.
Bonjou é byenvini nan péyi Twinidad èk Tobago.
(boh-zhoo ay byeh-vee-nee nah pay-ee twee-nee-dad ehk tobago)

or

Bonjou é byenvini an Twinidad èk Tobago.
(boh-zhoo ay byeh-vee-nee ah twee-nee-dad ehk tobago)

Superlatives (part 2)

Part 2

In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adverb or adjective that expresses a degree of the adverb or adjective being used that is greater than any other possible degree of the given descriptor.

The absolute superlative is expressed by byen, twòp or tout before the adjective.

Ex 1. Wi monchè, bal maské-a té byen bèl!
     Yes my dear, the masked ball was very beautiful!

Ex 2. Pa di'y zafè'w, nonm-sala ka palé twòp.
         Don't tell him your business, he talks too much.

 Ex 3. Bato-yo tou piti, mwen pa ké achté'y.
          Their boat is too small, I will not buy it.

Sometimes a doubling of the adjective adds force to the superlative.

Ex 1. Yè oswè mwen bité anlè yon bèl bèl fanm.

          Last night I came upon an exceedingly beautiful woman.

Ex 2. Viktò vlé bati yon gwo gwo kay.

         Victor wants to build a huge house.

Ex. 3 Pinèz sé bèt ki piti piti.

        Bedbugs are very small insects.

Superlatives (Part 1)

Part 1

In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adverb or adjective that expresses a degree of the adverb or adjective being used that is greater than any other possible degree of the given descriptor.

The determiner for Trinidad French Creole superlative is 'pli'.

The ten Trinidad French Creole superlatives that you must memorize are:

1. pli gwo - biggest

2. pli bon - best

3. pli bèl - most beautiful

4. pli piti - smallest

5. pli fò - strongest

6. pi fasil - easiest

7. pli dous - sweetest

8. pli bon - best

9. pli mové - worst


10. pli cho - hottest (has nothing to do with the word 'sexy hot')

The superlative is formed in the same way as the comparative, and must be deduced from the context of the sentence.

e.g. Pli bèl wòb mwen pa janmen wè. 

      The prettiest dress I've ever seen.

Often the superlative is expressed by a relative phrase containing the comparative with the phrase "pasé tout" added.

e.g. Doudou, ou  jòlòt pasé tout lézòt-la.

      Honey, you're cuter than all the others.

 For superlatives, the order usually goes like this:  pli + modifier + article

When the superlative adjectives modify a noun in Trinidad French Creole, if that adjective is of the group which usually come after the noun, then the best way to translate that sentence is to add the relative pronoun 'ki' before 'pli'.


Examples with adjectives that usually come BEFORE the noun in Trinidad French Creole.

The most beautiful - pli bèl la.
The most beautiful gem - pli bèl bijou a.
The most beautiful gem - bijou ki pli bèl la.

The eldest - pli gwan an.
The eldest boy - pli gwan gason an.
The eldest boy - gason ki pli gwan an.

The tiniest - pli piti a.
The tiniest atom - pli piti atonm lan.
The tiniest atom - atonm ki pli piti a.


Examples with adjectives that usually come AFTER the noun in Trinidad French Creole.

The white teeth - dan blan an.
The whitest teeth - dan ki pli blan an.

The sweetest - pli dous la.
The sweetest kiss - bo ki pli dous la

The shortest - pli kout la
The shortest class - klas ki pli kout-la.

The most wicked - pli méchan an.
The most wicked devil - djab ki pli méchan an.

Gospel according to John 1 chapter, verses 1-9

Liv Bon Nouvèl Jan té ékwi a

The Gospel According to John

First chapter, verses 1-9

Pwèmyé chapit, vèwsé 1-9 

1 Avan Bondyé té fè ayen, pawòl-la té ja la. Pawòl-la té èvè Bondyé, épi pawòl-la sé té Bondyé 

2 Pawòl-la té la èvè Bondyé dépi nan koumansman-an. 

3 Bondyé fè tout bagay èvè pawòl-la, adan tout sa ki té fèt, pa ni ayen ki fèt san pawòl-la. 

4 Lavi-a sé nan li té yé, sé lavi-sala ki bay tout moun limyè. 

5 Limyè té kléwé adan fenwè-a mé fenwè-a pa té wékonnèt li.

6 Bondyé té voyé an nonm yo ka kwiyé Jan, 

7 li sé té yon témwen pou palé asou limyè-a, li té vini pou palé ba tout moun, pou yo tann mésaj-li épi kwè an mésaj-la i té ka palé a. 

8 Sé pa li menm ki té limyè-a, li té vini pou sèvi kon an témwen pou palé asou limyè-a.

9 Limyè sala, sé li ki limyè toubon an. Sé li menm ki vini asou latè-a ka kléwé ba tout moun.

First chapter, verses 1-9

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

2 The same was in the beginning with God. 

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true light, which lighteth every man which cometh into the world.

Speaking about the day

Speaking about the day

Day
Jou
zhoo

Today 

Jòdi-a

zhau-dee ah

All day.  

Tout lajouné.

toot lah-zhoo-nay

Every day.
Chak jou / Toulé jou.
shak zhou / too-lay zhou

Broad daylight.  

Gwan lajouné. 

gwah lah-zhoo-nay

During the day.

Pandan jouné-a. 

pahn-dahn zhoo-nay-a

How is you day going? 

Kouman jouné ou yé? 

coo-mah zhoo-nay oo yay

How was your day? 

Kouman jouné ou té yé? 

coo-mah zhoo-nay oo tay yay

I had a bad day.

Mwen pasé yon mové jou / jouné.

mweh pah-say yoh moh-vay zhoo / zhoo-nay

I had a good day.
Mwen pasé yon bon jou.
mwen pasé yoh bon zhoo

What day is today?
Ki jou jòdi-a yé?
kee zhoo zhau-dee ah yay

Today is Thursday.
Jòdi-a sé Jédi.
zhau ah say  zhay-dee

This present day.
Jouné jòdi-a / jòdijou.
zhoo-nay zhau-dee ah / zhau-dee-zhoo

How to speak in the Past Tense [It's very Easy]

Past Perfect tense

The PAST PERFECT TENSE indicates that an action was completed (finished or "perfected") at some point in the past before something else happened. This tense is formed with the past tense form of "to have" (HAD) plus the past participle of the verb (which can be either regular or irregular in form):

I had walked two miles by lunchtime.
I had run three other marathons before entering the Boston Marathon


If you ever took Spanish or French in school, you're more than likely hate the word conjugation. Right?

GOOD NEWS, the beautiful language of Patois (also known as Trinidadian French Creole) does not conjugate its verbs, or in other words the verbs don't change depending on time or condition. Even English conjugates its verbs.

Example: I talk / Yesterday I talked

So how does one speak using the past perfect tense in Trinidadian French Creole / Patois?

It’s as EASY as “Té” (sounds like tay)

Yes, just those 2 letters!

By SIMPLY adding this word “té” before any verb, it makes the sentence past tense.

Even though in English we typically speak in the past tense by adding “ed” at the end of a word, the creole word “té” is easier to remember by relating it to the English word “had”.

Examples:

1. Mwen té palé = I had talked / I talked
2. Mwen té wè = I had seen / I saw
3. Mwen té manjé = I had eaten / I ate
4. Mwen té kouté = I had listened / I listened 
5. Ou té kwéyé = You [singular] had created / you created


So my friends, now you know how to speak in the Past Perfect Tense.

If you enjoy the Free Creole Lessons on my blog, please SUBSCRIBE to this blog so you get updates with more free and FUN Creole Lessons. 

Saying Let's (let us) in Trinidadian Kwéyòl

In Trinidad French Creole, saying Let's or Let us do something is very straightforward, The word Annou (ahn-noo) is placed before the verb. Most people say Annou but you will also find that some people contract the word and just say Ann.

===

1. Annou /Ann palé ba yo.
   Let's speak to them.

2. Annou /Ann chanté ansanm épi'y.
   Let's sing together with him.

3. Annou / Ann sispann goumen.
    Let's stop fighting.

4. Annou / Ann vansé.
   Let's go forward.

5. Annou / Ann pa gadé dèyè.
    Let's not look back.

6. Annou / Ann désann an vil.
    Let's go into town.

7. Annou / Ann fè yon sòti òswè-a.
    Let's go on a date tonight.

8. Annou / Ann glowifyé Senyè-a!
    Let's praise the Lord!

9. Annou / Ann pa pèdi lafwa.
    Let's not loose faith.

10. Annou / Ann pa bay yo an lokazyon pou akizé nou.
      Let's not give them an opportunity to accuse us.

11. Annou / Ann fè lanmou.
      Let's make love.

Song of the day - Chanté pou jòdi-a

Song of the day - Chanté pou jòdi-a 

Koté ou yé? - Where are you?

Days of the week - Sé jou simenn-nan

The days of the week

Sé jou simenn-nan

 

La ni sèt  (7) jou nan simenn-nan

There are seven (7) days of the week

English	Kwéyòl	Pronunciation
Monday	Lendi	lehn-dee
Tuesday	Madi	mah-dee
Wednesday	Mékwédi	may-kway-dee
Thursday	Jédi	zhay-dee
Friday	Vandwédi	vahn-dway-dee
Saturday	Sanmdi	Sam-dee
Sunday	Dimanch	dee-mash

Here are a few sentences in which the days of the week are used

The 1st day is Monday.

Pwèmyé jou-a sé lendi.

pwehm-yay zhoo ah say lehn-dee

The 2^nd day is Tuesday.

Dézyem jou-a sé madi.

dayz-yehm zhoo ah say mah-dee

The 3^rd day is Wednesday.

Twazyèm jou-a sé mékwédi.

twahz-yehm zhoo ah say may-kway-dee

The 4^th day is Thursday.

 Katyèm jou-a sé jédi.

kat-yehm zhoo ah say zhay-dee 

The 5^th day is Friday.

Senkyèm jou-a sé vandwédi.

sehnk-yehm zhoo ah say vahnd-way-dee

The 6th day is Saturday.

Sizyèm jou-a sé sanmdi.

seez-yenm zhoo ah say sam-dee

The 7th day is Sunday.

Sètyèm jou-a sé dimanch.

set-yehm zhoo ah sé dee-mash

We go to school for 5 days.

nou ka alé lékòl senk jou.

noo kah ah-lay lay-kul sehk zhoo

I go to market every Saturday.

Mwen ka alé laplas toulé sanmdi

mweh kah ah-lay lah-plahs too-lay sam-dee

I go to church on Fridays and Saturdays.

Mwen ka alé légliz lé vandwédi èk sanmdi.

mweh kah ah-lay lay-gleez vahnd-way-dee ehk lé sam-dee

I will see yon at church on Sunday.

Mwen ké wè ou  nan légliz-la dimanch.

 mweh kei weh oo nahn lay-gleez lah dee-mash 

We will leave on Tuesday.

Nou ké pati madi.

Noo kei pah-tee mah-dee

I would rather leave on Thursday.

Mwen plito pati jédi.

mweh plee-toh pah-tee zhay-dee

How many days are in a week?

Konbyen jou nan yon simenn?

kohn-byehn zhoo nahn yohn see-menn

There are seven (7) days in a week.
La ni sèt (7) jou nan yon simenn.
lah nee set zhoo nahn yohn see-menn

Proverb of the day - Ti-pawòl pou jòdi-a

 Proverb of the day - Ti-pawòl pou jòdi-a

Chyen pa ka palé, sé pou yo pa ba’y fè konmisyon.

Dogs don't talk, so that people won't send them on errands.

Meaning: Some people hide their abilities in order to avoid being sought out.

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a

Pawadi : /pah-wah-dee/

Meaning: Heaven or paradise

Nou ké wè jézi nan pawadi.

[noo kay weh zhay-zee nahn pah-wah-dee]

We will see Jesus in heaven.