Haitian Creole phrasebook
From Wikitravel
Contents
Haitian Creole (kreyòl ayisyen) is the one of the official languages of Haiti along with French and is spoken by by 8.5 million people in Haiti, which is nearly the entire population. It is also spoken by large Haitian communities in several nearby countries, among them Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cuba, French Guiana, and the United States. It is based on 18th century French and several West and Central African languages with minor Spanish influence. 90% of Hatian Creole is based on French, although it differs greatly from standard French because of the lack of grammatical gender and verb inflection.
[edit] Pronunciation guide
Creole pronunciation is very phonetic. If you can make friends with a Haitian who speaks English, they will usually be glad to help with your pronunciation.
[edit] Vowels
- e
- /a/ as in aim
- è
- /ɛ/ as in leg
- ou
- /u/ as in food
- i
- /e/ as in bee
- o
- /o/ as in toe
- ò
- as in saw
[edit] Consonants
- g
- always hard, as in go
- j
- /ʒ/ as in azure
- y
- /j/ as in yellow
[edit] Common diphthongs
[edit] Phrase list
[edit] Basics
- Hello. (morning)
- Bonjou. ( )
- Hello. (afternoon)
- Bonsoi. ( )
- How are you?
- Commen ou yé? ( ?)
- Not bad.
- Pa pi mal. ( ?)
- What is your name?
- Commen ou rélé? ( ?)
- My name is ______ .
- Mouin rélé ______ . ( _____ .)
- Nice to meet you.
- Enchanté. ( )
- Please.
- Si ou plai. ( )
- Thank you.
- Mêci. ( )
- You're welcome.
- De rien. ( )
- Yes.
- Oui. ( )
- No.
- Non. ( )
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- Excuser’m. ( )
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- Pâdonner mouin. ( )
- I'm sorry.
- Mouin désolé. ( )
- Goodbye
- Au revoi. ( )
- I can't speak kreyol.
- Mouin pa ca pâler créole. ( )
- Do you speak English?
- É-ce que ou pâler anglai? ( ?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Gain moun ici qui pâler créole? ( ?)
- Help!
- An mouin! ( !)
- Look out!
- Attention! ( !)
- Good morning.
- Bonjou. ( )
- Good evening.
- Bonsoi. ( )
- Good night.
- Bonne nui. ( )
- I don't understand.
- Mouin pa comprenn. ( )
- Where is the toilet?
- Qui côté toilette là? ( ?)
[edit] Problems
[edit] Numbers
- 0
- zewo
- 1
- en
- 2
- de
- 3
- twa
- 4
- kat
- 5
- senk
- 6
- sis
- 7
- sèt
- 8
- wit
- 9
- nèf
- 10
- dis
- 11
- onz
- 12
- douz
- 13
- trèz
- 14
- katòz
- 15
- kenz
- 16
- sèz
- 17
- disèt
- 18
- dizwit
- 19
- diznèf
- 20
- ven, vent
- 30
- trant
- 40
- karant
- 50
- senkant
- 60
- swasant
- 70
- swasenndis
- 80
- katreven, katrevent
- 90
- katrevendis, katreven-dis
- 100
- san
- 1000
- mil
- 2000
- de mil
- 5000
- senk mil
- 10,000
- di mil
- 100,000
- san mil
- 1 000 000
- milyon
- 1 000 000 000
- bilyon
[edit] Time
[edit] Clock time
- How long?
- Pou konben tan?
[edit] Duration
[edit] Days
- Sunday
- dimanch
- Monday
- lendi
- Tuesday
- madi
- Wednesday
- mèkredi
- Thursday
- jedi
- Friday
- vandredi
- Saturday
- samdi
- Today
- jodi a
- Tomorrow
- denmen
- Yesterday
- yè
[edit] Months
- January
- Janvye
- February
- Fevriye
- March
- Mas
- April
- Avril
- May
- Mè
- June
- Jen
- July
- Jiyè
- August
- Daou
- September
- Septanm
- October
- Oktob
- November
- Novanm
- December
- Desanm
[edit] Writing time and date
[edit] Colors
- black
- nwa
- white
- blan
- red
- wouj
- green
- vèt
- blue
- ble
- orange
- zoranj
- yellow
- jòn
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Bus and train
- How much is a ticket?
- Konben koute biye?
- Does this bus stop in ____ ?
- Tap la arete nan ____ ?
- Can you stop here?
- Ou pve arèt isit?
[edit] Directions
- I'm lost.
- Mwen se pèdi.
- How do I get to ____ ?
- Koumon mwen pve ale o ____ ?
- Which way?
- Kè wout?
[edit] Taxi
- I need a taxi.
- Mwen bezwen yon taksi.
- Hey! Taxi!
- Woy! Taksi!
- How much to go to ...
- Konben pou ale ...
- Stop here, please
- Rete isit, souple.
[edit] Lodging
[edit] Money
- How much does it cost?
- Konbyen sa koute?
- Can I exchange euros/dollars/pounds here?
- Mwen pve chanje ewo/dolar/lib si?
[edit] Eating
[edit] Bars
[edit] Shopping
- Do you sell ____ ?
- Èske ou vann ____ ?
- Where can I buy ____ ?
- Kote mewn ka achte ____ ?
- That's too expensive.
- Se twò chè.
- I will give you ____ .
- Si mewn ba ou ____ .
- OK!
- Dakò!
[edit] Driving
[edit] Authority
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