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Haitian Creole phrasebook

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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

/a/ as in aim
è 
/ɛ/ as in leg
ou 
/u/ as in food
/e/ as in bee
/o/ as in toe
ò 
as in saw

[edit] Consonants

always hard, as in go
/ʒ/ as in azure
/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

zewo
en
de
twa
kat
senk
sis
sèt
wit
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 

[edit] Months

January 
Janvye
February
Fevriye
March 
Mas
April 
Avril
May 
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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