The Language of Haiti....
Kreyol Grammer and Dictionary

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Kreyol Crash Course: Grammar

 

Pronunciation

These pronunciation examples are based on US English.

a is sounded like o in lot
e is sounded like the first half of the long a in day *
è is sounded like e in let
i is sounded like ee in seed
o is sounded like the first half of the long o in go *
ò is sounded like o in or
ay is sounded like i in ice
ou is sounded like o in movie

In Creole the letter u is only used in the ou combination.

ch is sounded like sh in ship
g is sounded like the g in go
j is sounded like the s in measure
s is sounded like s in soft
w is sounded like w in win
y is sounded like y in yes

The letters c and h are only used in the ch combination.

Other letters are sounded as in English.

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Rules: Articles

One difference in Creole verses English is that in Creole a definite article like the or la or yo or nan follows the noun.

the letter : lèt-la
the room : chanm nan
the street : ri a
the dog : chen an

 

The indefinite article (A,AN) is yon or youn and they are placed before the noun.

a street : yon ri
some streets : kèk ri
a man : youn moun

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Rules: Possession

Kreyol doesn't use 's to show possession, nor does it use "of".

To expression possession or "of the", you place the thing possessed in front of the possessor.

Jean's house. : kay Jan.
the man's dog. : chen moun nan.
the dog of the man : chen moun nan.

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Rules: Adjectives

Adjectives require no verb and are translated as "to be..."

Sick : malad
I am sick. : M malad.
We are sick. : Nou malad.

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Rules: More Than One

To indicate that something is plural, place the plural article yo after the noun.

cow : bèf
the cows : bèf yo

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Pronouns

I, me, my

:

mwen

or

m'

he, she, it, him,
her, his, its

:

li

or

l'

you, your (sing.)

:

ou

or

w'

we, us, our

:

nou

or

n'

you, your (pl.)

:

nou

or

n'

they, them, their

:

yo

or

y'

         
theirs : payo    
his, hers, its : pali or pal
yours : paou    
mine : pam    
ours : panou    
         
many, much : anpil    
all, everyone : tout    
several, many : plizyè    
a few, some : kèk    
a little, few : enpe    
enough : ase    
only : sèlman    
no (one) : okenn    
any (one) : nenpòt    
nobody : pèsonn    
each (one) : chak    
only one : sèl    
one : youn    
         
nothing : anyen  
nobody : okenn moun  
anyone : nenpòt kimoun  
someone : youn moun  
nothing : okenn bagay  
no one : okenn moun  
         

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Conjugating a Verb

Coming Soon - an interactive verb conjugater. Select your verb and see how it is conjugated.

Infinitive      
to speak Pale  
Imperative    
Speak! Pale!    
Let's speak! Annou pale!    
Let me speak. Kitè m pale.    
Present  
I speak m pale we speak nou pale
you speak ou pale    
he speaks li pale they speak yo pale
Present Progressive  
I am speaking m ap pale we are speaking nou ap pale
you are speaking w ap pale    
he is speaking l ap pale they are speaking y ap pale
Past  
I spoke m pale we spoke nou pale
you spoke ou pale    
he spoke li pale they spoke yo pale
Past Progressive  
I was speaking mwen tap pale we were speaking nou tap pale
you were speaking ou tap pale    
he was speaking li tap pale they were speaking yo tap pale
Future  
I will speak m a pale we will speak nou a pale
you will speak w a pale    
he will speak l a pale they will speak y a pale
Future with ale  
I am going to speak m pral pale we are going to speak nou pral pale
you are going to speak ou pral pale    
he is going to speak li pral pale they are going to speak yo pral pale
Perfect  
I have spoken m te pale we have spoken nou te pale
you have spoken ou te pale    
he has spoken li te pale they have spoken yo te pale
Conditional  
I would speak mwen ta pale we would speak nou ta pale
you would speak ou ta pale    
he would speak li ta pale they would speak yo ta pale
Past Conditional  
I would be able to speak mwen ta ka pale we would be able to would speak nou ta ka pale
you would be able to speak ou ta ka pale    
he would be able to speak li ta ka pale they would be able to speak yo ta ka pale
Conditional Pluperfect  
I would have been able to speak mwen te ka pale we would have been able to would speak nou te ka pale
you would have been able to speak ou te ka pale    
he would have been able to speak li te ka pale they would have been able to speak yo te ka pale
Imperfect  
I used to speak
I was speaking
m kon pale we used to speak
we were speaking
nou kon pale
you used to speak
you were speaking
ou kon pale    
he used to speak
he was speaking
li kon pale they used to speak
they were speaking
yo kon pale
       

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Question Words

Who : kimoun
Where : kikote
When : kilè
What : kisa
How : kijan
Which, Who : kilès
Whence : kidonk
Where : kibè
What : sa, sak


  Where did you put it? : Ki kote ou te mete li?
  When will you go to his house? : Ki lè ou pral ale lakay li?
Who(m) do you know there? : Ki moun ou konnen la?
Which among them do you prefer? : Kilès nan yo ou pito?
Why does he not want to come tomorrow? : Pouki sa li pa vie vini demen?

 

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