Haitian Creole phrasebook

Haitian Creole (kreyòl ayisyen) is one of the official languages of Haiti along with French. The former is spoken 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 the United States and the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and French Guiana. It is based on 18th century French and several West and Central African languages with minor Spanish influence. 90% of Haitian Creole is based on French, although it differs greatly from standard French because of the lack of grammatical gender and verb inflection.

Pronunciation guide

Creole pronunciation is very phonetic, unlike French—the language it's based on. If you can make friends with a Haitian who speaks English and they will usually be glad to help with your pronunciation. Sounds marked with an asterisk (*) are particularly difficult for English speakers. The nasal sounds can be pronounced as if the 'n' were not there, and the 'r' can be pronounced as a 'w.' While not quite correct and these pronunciations will be generally understandable.

Vowels

a 

/a/ as in father

e 

/e/ as in aim

è 

/ɛ/ as in bet

i 

/e/ as in bee

o 

/o/ as in toe

ò 

/ɔ/ as in saw

ou 

/u/ as in food

ui 

/ɥi/ as in weed

Nasal Vowels

Nasal sounds are pronounced without fully articulating the 'n.' Think making the sound, but stopping 3/4 of the way through the 'n.'

an* 

/ã/ as in genre, but nasal

en* 

/ẽ/ as in hen, but nasal

on* 

/õ/ as in on, but nasal

Consonants

ch 

/ʃ/ as in shoe

g 

always hard, as in go

j 

/ʒ/ as in treasure

r* 

/ɣ/ no English equivalent, but pronounced like the 'r' in French

y 

/j/ as in yellow

Phrase list

Basics

Hello. (morning)

Bonjou. (BOH-joo)

Hello. (afternoon)

Bonswa. (BOH-swa )

How are you? 

Koman ou yè? (KOH-mah oo yay?)

Not bad. 

Pa pi mal. (pah pee mahl)

What is your name? 

Koman ou rèlè? (KOH-mah oo RAY-lay?)

My name is ______ . 

Mwen rèlè ______ . (mway RAY-lay _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 

Enchantè. (on-shahn-TAY)

Please. 

Souple. ( )

Thank you/very much. 

Mesi/anpil. (meh-SEE/on-PEEL)

You're welcome. 

Pa de kwa. (pah-day-kwaah)

Yes. 

Wi. (wee)

No. 

Non. (no)

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

Eskise'm. (es-KEEZ-eh m)

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 

Padone'm. ( )

I'm sorry. 

Dezole. ( )

Goodbye 

Bye Bye. (bah-buy)

I can't speak kreyol. 

Mwen pa kap pale kreyol. (mway pah kahp PAH-lay kway-OHL)

Do you speak English? 

Eske ou pale Angle? (ES-kay oo PAH-lay on-GLAY?)

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

Gen moun isit ki pale Angle? ( ?)

Help! 

Anmwe! ( !)

Look out! 

Atensyon! (!)

Good morning. 

Bonjou. ( )

Good evening. 

Bonswa. ( )

Good night. 

Bon wit. ( )

I don't understand. 

Mwen pa konprann. (mway pah kone-PWAN)

Where is the toilet? 

Kote twalet la? (KOH-tay twah-LET la?)

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

Time

Clock time

How long? 

Pou konben tan?

Days

Sunday 

dimanch

Monday 

lendi

Tuesday 

madi

Wednesday 

mèkredi

Thursday 

jedi

Friday 

vandredi

Saturday 

samdi

Today 

jodi a

Tomorrow 

denmen

Yesterday 

yè

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

Colors

black 

nwa

white 

blan

red 

wouj

green 

vèt

blue 

ble

orange 

zoranj

yellow 

jòn

Transportation

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?

Directions

I'm lost. 

Mwen se pèdi.

How do I get to ____ ? 

Koumon mwen pve ale o ____ ?

Which way? 

Ki wout?

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.

Money Matters & ATM's in Haitian Creole phrasebook

How much does it cost? 

Konbyen sa koute?

Can I exchange euros/dollars/pounds here? 

Mwen pve chanje ewo/dolar/lib si?

Muslim Friendly Shopping in Haitian Creole phrasebook

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!