Kwéyòl
Learn the language: St Lucian Kwéyòl Dictionary
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Sample Kwéyòl via the following radio broadcasts:
- Kwéyòl News Edition (Mon - Fri)
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- Kwéyòl for Kids - Northampton
Sound |
Kwéyòl Example |
English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a | ka | quarter |
| an | kan | crease |
| é | kés | court, court case |
| è | syèl | sky |
| en | sen | saint |
| i | dimi | half |
| o | dlo | water |
| ò | dòmi | sleep |
| on | don | gift |
| ou | lou | heavy |
Sound |
Kwéyòl Example |
English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| b | blan | white |
| ch | chè | expensive, dear |
| d | dan | tooth |
| dj | djab | devil |
| f | finèt | window |
| g | gab | guard |
| h | hèdi | pull |
| j | jwè | play |
| k | kat | four |
| I | lékòl | school |
| m | mawi | husband |
| n | nwè | black |
| p | penchen | pinch |
| r | rèkòd | record |
| s | sav | know |
| t | tab | table |
| tj | tjè; | heart |
| v | van | wind |
| x | zè | egg |
The definite article ( la) follows the noun, with a contracted form ( a) to be used with nouns ending in a vowel. The indefinite article ( yon) precedes the noun.
English |
Kwéyòl |
Kwéyòl Example |
English Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| the | a la |
ba mwen chapo- a ba mwen manmay- la |
give me the hat give me the child |
| the | sè...la | ba mwen sè-kouch- la |
give me the beds |
Pronouns have an identical form, whether subject, object or possessive.
Pronoun |
Kwéyòl |
English |
|---|---|---|
| I me |
mwen sé Sent Lisi ba mwen manmay-la |
I am St Lucian give me the child |
| you | ou sé Sent Lisi mwen kay bat ou |
you are St Lucian I'am going to beat you up |
| she, he, it, her, him | i sé jan yo bat li (after a consonant) yo wè i (after a vowel) |
he is john they beat him up they see him |
| we |
nou sé jan épi mawi |
we are john & mary |
| you | zot sé jan épi mawi mwen kay bat zo |
you are john & mary |
| they, them | yo sé jan épi mawi mwen kay bat yo |
they are john & mary I am going to beat them up |
Possessive pronouns are the same as personal pronouns (except he/she/it), and follow the noun.
Pronoun |
Kwéyòl |
English |
|---|---|---|
| my | no mwen sé jan | my name is john |
| your | no ou sé jan | your name... |
| her, his, its |
no li sé jan |
his name... |
| our |
no nou sé jan épi mawi |
our names are john & mary |
| your | no zot sé jan épi mawi |
your names are |
| their | no yo sé jan épi mawi | their names are... |
These come after the nouns. For example, kité chapo-sa-la (remove this hat):
Pronouns |
Kwéyòl |
|---|---|
| This, that, those | sa-la |
| mine | sw-mwen |
| hers, his, its |
saw-ou |
| their, theirs |
sa-li |
| myself | ko-mwen |
| yourself | ko-ou |
| himself, herself | kok-i |
Tenses are indicated by auxiliary words.
Tense |
Structure |
Kwéyòl |
English |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | ka + verb | mwen ka alé lékol | I am go to school |
| past | té + verb | yè mwen té alé lékol | yesterday, I went to school |
| future | kay + verb | démen mwen kay alé léko | tomorrow, I will go to school |
| conditional | té kay + verb | démen mwen té kay alé lékol | tomorrow, I may go to school |
To be:
Tense |
Kwéyòl |
English |
|---|---|---|
| present | sé | for: I am, are, is |
| past | sé té |
When sé appears at the end of a sentence, sé is changed to yé = ki lé i yé ? (What time is it?)
To have:
Tense |
Kwéyòl |
Kwéyòl example |
English example |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | ni | mwen ni la fyév | I have some fever |
| past | té-ni | yè, mwen té ni la fyève | yesterday, I had some fever |
| there is/are | la ni | la ni dé moun malad andidan lacay-la | there are two sick persons inside the house |
Negative form:
The negative form is implemented with the addition of pa before the verb.
mwen pa ka alé lékol pyès
I do not go to school at all.
can:
ka replaces sa in the sentence.
i sa palé anglè
He can speak English
Imperative:
The imperative is expressed by a verb with no subject.
ba mwen dlo
give me some water
Let's go and do something is translated by anou.
anou maché an vil
let 's go and walk downtown
Orders such "you have to" is expressed by the following construction : subject + ni pou + verb.
ou ni pou vini
you must come
Negative orders would be expressed with the following construction : subject + ni pa pou + verb.
ou ni pa pou fé dézòd
tu ne dois pas faire la pagaille
Kwéyòl |
English |
|---|---|
| apwe | after |
| a | to |
| ba | for |
| dépi | since |
| épi, èk, évèk | with |
| pandan | meanwhile |
| magwé | in spite of |
| san | without |
| apami | among |
| bo / akoté | near |
| pwè | near, close |
| jik | until |
| anlé / anho / asu | above |
| anba | below |
| lwen | far |
| andidan | inside, in |
| déyò | outside |
Kwéyòl |
English |
Kwéyòl example |
English example |
|---|---|---|---|
| pli... pasé | more than | mwen pli malad pasé ou | I am more sick than you |
| mwen... pasé |
less than |
ou ni mwen ti-manmay pasé mwen | You have less children than me |
| mem kò | as, like | mwen gwo mem kò papa mwen | I am big as my dad |
Kwéyòl |
English |
Kwéyòl example |
English example |
|---|---|---|---|
| toupatou | everywhere | ki moun ka pisé toupatou? | who has passed water everywhere? |
| jòdi | today | mwen ka alé wé dokte-a jòdi | I go and see the doctor today |
| pyès koté | nowhere | ||
| bonè | soon | ||
| isi-a | right here | ||
| ta | late | ||
| talè | later | ||
| an chay | a lot | ||
| mé | but | mwen vlé fè i, mé mwen pa sa | I want to do it but I can't |
| ouben / ében | or | viwé la-caye ou, oubé mwen kay chéché maman-ou | go back home, or i'll call your mummy |
| ki | who, what, that | ki moun ka pisé toupatou? | |
| paski | because | ||
| lè | when | lé ou ka vini, kité manmay-ou lakay-ou | when you come, leave your child at home |
| pou | in order to | yo di mwen sa pou fé mwen pè | they said that to frighten me |
| kò-sa | as soon as | kò-sa i wè yo, i kwié polis-la | as soon as he saw them he called the police |
| magwé | although | ||
| si | if | ||
| pis, pas | because, since | nou émé zot, pis zot sé janti ti-manmay | we love you since you are kind children |
Interrogative |
English |
Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ki-lés | what |
Ki-lés bagay ou vlé? Which thing do you want? |
| kisa | what |
kisa ki wivé-ou? what happened to you? |
| ki | who |
ki moun ka alé épi mwen? who comes with me? |
| Ko / koté / ki koté | where |
ko ou té yé? where were you yesterday? |
| ki lé /ki tan | when |
kitan lékol ka fini When school is going to stop? |
| ki manyè / kouman | how |
ki manyè pou mwen pwand wèméd-la? how should I take this medicine? |
| pou ki / poutji | why |
poutji ti-manmay-la. té pa vini wè dokté-a mwa pasé? why the small child hasn't come to see the doctor last month? |
| komén | how many |
komên jou dépi ou té vini wé mwen? how many days since you came to see me? |