Word of the day

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a:

Lamézon /lah-may-zohn/

Meaning : Mansion

Lamézon-mwen penti an koulè wouj èk blan.

lah-may-zohn mwehn pehn-tee ahn koo-leh woozh ehk blahn.

My mansion is painted in the colours red and white. 

 

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a

Word of the day. - Mo pou jòdi-a :

Li /lee/

Meaning : To read

 Annou li lèt lanmou-y ansanm!

ahn-noo lee leht lahn-moo- ee ahn-sahm

 Let's read his love letter together!  

   

All about food (part 2)

In the last lesson, you were introduced to basic food-related vocabulary, and the most important food-related verb "manjé" with means "to eat." Remember that when speaking Kwéyòl, the word "manjé" can also be the noun for food. In today's lesson, you will learn some more vocabulary, and phrases. These lessons are aimed at helping you build vocabulary and expand your ability to communicate clearly in Kwéyòl.

Kalité manjé an Kwéyòl - Kinds of food in Kwéyol

 

These are very generic names for food items. The names of specific foods will be listed in the lesson which follows this one.

vyann (vyahnn)

la viande

meat

Mwen pa ka manjé vyann pyès ankò!

I don't eat meat at all any more!

pwéson (pway-sohn)

le poisson

fish

Si maman'w ka alé laplas-la, di y achté dé pwéson ban mwen, souplé.

If your mother is going to the market, tell her to buy two fish for me, please.

lédjim / pwodwi-tè. (lay-jeem / pwoh-dwee-teh)

les légumes

vegetables

Ès ou té mété anpil lédjim adidan diwi-a?

Did you put lots of vegetables in the rice?

fwi /fwitay (fwee /fwee-tay)

les fruits

fruit

Papay sé yon kalité fwi ki gouté bon.

Pawpaw (or papaya) is a kind of fruit which tastes good.

fwi-lanmè / pwodwi-lanmè (fwee-lah-meh / pwoh-dwee lah-meh)

les fruits de mer

seafood

Yo ka vann fwi-lanmè an wéstowan-sala.

Seafood is sold at that restaurant.

pen (peh)

les pains

bread

La pa ni pyès pen an boulanjwi-a.

There is no bread at the bakery.

Patat / ponm-tè (pah-taht / pohm-teh)

les pommes de terre / les patates

potatoes

Pa mété patat adan bouyon-an souplé.

Do not put potatoes in the stew please.

lasoup / soup (lah-soop/ soop)

les soupes

soups

George té di mwen, i enmen manjé lasoup-poul épi nouy Japoné.

George told me he likes to eat chicken soup with Japanese noodles.

fwomaj (fwoh-mahz)

les fromages

Cheeses

Mwen dézolé, fwomaj ka fè mwen malad, konsa mwen pa sa manjé y.

I'm sorry, cheese makes me sick, so I can't eat it.

Word of the day. - Mo pou jòdi-a.

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a :

Chanté (vèb) /shahn/tay/


Meaning : To sing.
 

TFC : Kan mwen té tann nouvèl-la, mwen koumansé chanté, maman!

Kahn mweh tay tann noo-vehl- lah mweh coo-mah-say shah-tay mah-mah

ENG : When I heard the news, I really started to sing!

All about food (Part one)

Food is one of the necessities of life, so here are some key Kwéyòl words and phrases related to food. In this lesson, you will be introduced to food related vocabulary.

Trinidadian French Creole for "food": manjé (mahn-zhay) or  laboufay (lah-boo-fay)

French for food: nourriture

Example:

I need food.

Mwen bezwen manjé.

Ki kalité manjé sa yé?
What kind of food is that? 

Ki kalité manjé ou enmen?

What kind of food do you like?

 It's important to know that Trinidadian French Creole for "to eat" is also "manjé".

Example:

Nou ké manje ansanm oswè-a.
We'll eat together tonight.

Mwen manjé manjé-a.
I eat the food.

 or

Mwen manjé laboufay-la.

 Food 

food (noun) → manjé

eat (verb) → manjé

I ate the food. → Mwen té manjé manjé-a.

The food is delicious. → Manjé-a bon/goutan.

The food smells good. → Manjé-a ka santi bon.

 

The food needs more pepper  → Manjé-a méwité plis piman.

The food is spicy (hot). → Manjé-a piké.

Have you eaten already? → Èskè'w ja manjé?

Would you like some food? → Èskè'w voudwé yon ti manjé?

No, thank you.  I've already eaten. → Non, mèsi. Mwen ja manjé.

Yes, I would like some food, thank you. → Wi, mwen sé vlé tigwenn manjé, mèsi.
  
Thank you for the food. → Mèsi pou manjé-a.

I need food to eat; I'm hungry. → Mwen bizwen manjé pou manjé; mwen fen.

* Èskè is another form of 'ès' which is used when asking questions that simply require a yes or no answer.

 

Wipa - Meals

 

Breakfast - dité (dee-tay)

Lunch - déjné (deyzh-nay)

Snack - goutni (goot-nee)

Dinner - dinen/soupé (dee-neh)/ (soo-pay)

Food related verbs

To have breakfast - pwan dité (pwahn /dee-tay)

To have lunch - déjnen (deyzh-nehn)    

To have a snack - pwan goutni (pwahn /goot-nee)

To have dinner - dinen (deen-eh)

 

Meal courses 

Appetizers - òdèv (o-dehv)

Soup - soup / lasoup (soop /lah-soop)

Main course - gwan wipa (gwahn /wee-pah)

Salad - (sah-lahd)
Dessert - dézé (day-zay)

Kitchen - tjwizin (chwee-zeen)

Dining room - Chanm-a-manjé (sham-ah-mah-zhay)

Restaurant - kay manjé / wéstowan (kai-mah-zhay)


 Here are the Kwéyòl words for some staples, seasonings, and other miscellaneous foods.  



Jam/Jelly - konfiti (kohn-fee-tee)

Croissant - kwasan (kwah-sahn)

Flour (white) - fawin-fwans (fah-ween/fwahns)
  
Olive oil - lwil dòliv  (lweel dohl-eev)

Mayonnaise - mayonnèz (ma-yohn-nehz)

Mustard - moutad (moo-tahd)

Egg(s) - zè (zeh)

Bread - pen (pehn)

Toast (bread) - pen gwilé (pehn gwee-lay)  

Pasta - pat (paht)

Pepper - piman (pee-mahn)

Rice - diwi (dee-wee)

Salt - sèl (sel)

Sugar - sik (seek)

Introduction to Kwéyòl sentences

A sentence (yon fwaz) is a group of words including at minimum a subject and a verb, and may also include any or all of the parts of speech.

Sentence Parts

Sentences can be separated into a subject (yon sijè), which may be stated or implied, and a predicate (yon pwédika). The subject is the person or thing performing the action, and the predicate is the rest of the sentence, which usually begins with the verb:

Mwen sé yon dòktè.
Je suis médecin.
I am a doctor. 

Subject: Mwen - I
Predicate: sé yon dòktè - am a doctor

Jean èk mwen enmen Lababad.
Jean et moi aimons la Barbade.
Jean and I love Barbados. 

Subject: Jean èk mwen - Jean and I
Predicate: enmen Lababad - love Barbados

Jenn tifi-a joli.
La jeune fille est mignonne.
The young girl is pretty.

Subject: Jenn tifi-a - the young girl
Predicate: joli - is pretty

Sentence Types

 There are four types of sentences: statements, exclamatives, interrogatives, and commands.

 1) Statement - Assertive Phrase

These statements are the most common type of sentence, they state something:

Mwen las.

Je suis fatigué(e).

I am tired.

Mwen kwè mwen enmen'w.

Je pense que j'taime.

I think I love you.

Mwen ké édé'w.

Je vous aiderai.

I will help you.

Mwen ni lèspwa, ou ké la.
J'espère que tu seras là.

I hope you'll be there.

There are two subcategories of statements: affirmative statements as above, and negative statements.

Mwen pa ka alé.

Je n'y vais pas.

I am not going.

Mwen pa las.
Je ne suis pas fatigué.

I am not tired.

  

Mwen pa vlé édé'w.

Je ne veux pas vous aider.

I do not want to help you. 

I pa ké la.
Il ne sera pas là.
He will not be there.

2) Exclamative Phrases

 Exclamatives express a strong reaction such as surprise or indignation. They look just like statements except for the exclamation point, and for this reason are sometimes considered a subcategory of statements, rather than a different type of sentence:

Mwen vlé alé!
Je veux y aller!
I want to go!


 Fout y bèl!
 Il est très beau!
He's really handsome! 


Sa sé an bon lidé!
C'est une bonne idée!
That's a great idea! 

 3) Interrogative

Interrogatives, more commonly known as questions, ask for or about something:


Ès ou ni liv-mwen?
As-tu mon livre ?
Do you have my book?


Ès yo pawé?
Sont-ils prêts?
Are they ready? 


 Ki koté i yé?
Où est-il?
Where is he?

 Ki koté Louv-la yé?
 Où se trouve le Louvre?
Where is the Louvre located? 


 4) Command

Commands are the only kind of sentence without an explicit subject; instead, the subject is implied by the tense markers used with the verb, which is in the imperative:


Fèmé lapòt-la!
Fermez la porte.
Close the door!


Pa palé!
Ne parle pas! 
Don't speak!


Annou manjé atjòlman!
Mangeons maintenant!
Let's eat now!

Dansé!
Danser!
Dance!

 

The verb "ALÉ"

Today, we will be learning all about the Kwéyòl verb "Alé" (ah-lay) This verb is derived directly from the French verb "Aller" and it carries the same meaning. The verb Alé is one of the most commonly used verbs; it is also used in a few idiomatic expressions.

The verb Alé  means "To go", in most senses that the verb is used in English.

Mwen ka alé labank-la toulé lendi.
Je vais à la banque tous les lundis.

I go to the bank every Monday. 

I ka alé épi'w.

Il va avec vous.

He's going with you.

Ki koté'w ka alé?

Où vas-tu?

Where are you going?

Expressions with the verb Alé

Alé chaché.

Aller chercher.

To get, go fetch.

Alé non!

Allons donc!

Go on then!


Annou alé! 
Allons-y!
Let's go! 

The near future.

Alé is used to express any action that will take place in the near or immediate future. This construction is formed by fusing the tense marker "ka" which indicates progressive action, with the verb "alé" which means "To go." The resulting construction is k'alé. K'alé is placed before the verb which indicates the action that is about to occur.

 

Mwen k'alé étidyé.

Je vais étudier. 

I am going to study.

Nou k'alé pati nan senk minit.

Nous allons partir dans cinq minutes.

We are  going to leave in five minutes.

Ès ou k'alé édé nou?

Vas-tu nous aider?

Are you going to help us? 

The verb ALÉ in the simple present tense.

Mwen alé - I go.

Ou alé - You (singular) go.

Li/ i alé - He, she, or it goes.

Nou alé - We go.

 Zòt alé - You (plural) go.

Yo alé - They go.

 

 

Proverb pf the Day:

Wavèt pa ni wézon douvan poul.

wah.veht. pah. nee. way.zoh(n). doo.vah(n). pool.

"Roaches are never right when facing chickens." 

(chickens would pursue any roach in sight.)

Whenever there is disagreement between two parties, the stronger will have its way.