Jamaican Patois–English Dictionary

Look up Jamaican Patois words and get English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Browse the common-word table below or type a Jamaican Patois word into the lookup tool.

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Browse common Jamaican Patois vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
mi	pronoun	I	Mi redi now. I am ready now.
yu	pronoun	you	Yu very kind. You are very kind.
im	pronoun	he	Im de a yaad. He is at home.
shi	pronoun	she	Shi a mi fren. She is my friend.
wi	pronoun	we	Wi a go go tumara. We will go tomorrow.
dem	pronoun	they	Dem de outside now. They are outside now.
wa	pronoun	what	Wa yu waan? What do you want?
we	adverb	where	We di buk de? Where is the book?
wen	adverb	when	Wen shi a go kom? When will she come?
a hu	pronoun	who	A hu dat man? Who is that man?
wa mek	adverb	why	Wa mek yu a laf? Why are you laughing?
ou	adverb	how	Ou yu nuo? How do you know?
de	verb	to be	Dem de a skuul. They are at school.
av	verb	to have	Mi av wan kaa. I have a car.
du	verb	to do	Mi du mi wok. I do my work.
go	verb	to go	Wi go a taon. We go to town.
kom	verb	to come	Pliiz kom ya now. Please come here now.
si	verb	to see	Mi si di muun. I see the moon.
nuo	verb	to know	Mi nuo di ansa. I know the answer.
tingk	verb	to think	Mi tingk bout laif. I think about life.
waan	verb	to want	Dem waan muo fuud. They want more food.
niid	verb	to need	Wi niid muo taim. We need more time.
mek	verb	to make	Shi mek gud bred. She makes good bread.
tek	verb	to take	Tek di buk go insaid. Take the book inside.
gi	verb	to give	Gi mi sam wata. Give me some water.
se	verb	to say	No se dat. Do not say that.
tel	verb	to tell	Tel mi di truut. Tell me the truth.
aks	verb	to ask	Aks di tiicha now. Ask the teacher now.
faan	verb	to find	Mi faan mi buk. I found my book.
luk	verb	to look	Luk pan di skaai. Look at the sky.
yuuz	verb	to use	Yuuz dis chia kyarifuli. Use this chair carefully.
wok	verb	to work	Dem wok evri die. They work every day.
nyam	verb	to eat	Wi nyam rais evri die. We eat rice daily.
dringk	verb	to drink	Dringk sam kuol wata. Drink some cold water.
sliip	verb	to sleep	Di pikni sliip eri. The child sleeps early.
waak	verb	to walk	Mi waak go yaad sluoli. I walk home slowly.
ron	verb	to run	Di bwai ron faas. The boy runs fast.
riid	verb	to read	Shi riid di buk. She reads the book.
rait	verb	to write	Rait yu niem ya. Write your name here.
taak	verb	to speak	Dem taak sof sof. They speak very softly.
lisn	verb	to listen	Lisn di myuuzik. Listen to the music.
yier	verb	to hear	Mi yier di rien. I hear the rain.
bai	verb	to buy	Wi bai fresh fruit. We buy fresh fruit.
sel	verb	to sell	Dem sel fish ya. They sell fish here.
pie	verb	to pay	Pie di moni now. Pay the money now.
elp	verb	to help	Elp yu mada tide. Help your mother today.
lov	verb	to love	Mi lov mi faamili. I love my family.
liv	verb	to live	Wi liv a Kingston. We live in Kingston.
ded	verb	to die	Di uol chrii ded. The old tree died.
lorn	verb	to learn	Pikni lorn a skuul. Children learn at school.
tiich	verb	to teach	Dem tiich wi wel. They teach us well.
oupen	verb	to open	Oupen di duor now. Open the door now.
kluoz	verb	to close	Kluoz di windo pliiz. Close the window please.
puosn	noun	person	Dat puosn kind. That person is kind.
man	noun	man	Di man taal. The man is tall.
uman	noun	woman	Di uman a sing. The woman is singing.
pikni	noun	child	Di pikni a sliip. The child is sleeping.
bwai	noun	boy	Di bwai ron outsaid. The boy runs outside.
gyal	noun	girl	Di gyal riid wel. The girl reads well.
faamili	noun	family	Mi faamili big. My family is large.
mada	noun	mother	Mi mada a kuk. My mother is cooking.
faada	noun	father	Mi faada wok aad. My father works hard.
fren	noun	friend	Shi a mi fren. She is my friend.
ous	noun	house	Di ous nyuu. The house is new.
yaad	noun	home	Wi a go yaad. We are going home.
skuul	noun	school	Di skuul niibaai. The school is nearby.
siti	noun	city	Dis siti bizi. This city is busy.
kantri	noun	country	Wi kantri byuutiful. Our country is beautiful.
worl	noun	world	Di worl a change. The world is changing.
striit	noun	street	Di striit wet. The street is wet.
ruum	noun	room	Di ruum klian. The room is clean.
taim	noun	time	Taim go faas. Time goes very fast.
die	noun	day	Tide a wan gud die. Today is a good day.
nait	noun	night	Di nait kwaiet. The night is quiet.
maanin	noun	morning	Di maanin kuol. The morning is cool.
iivnin	noun	evening	Di iivnin nais. The evening feels nice.
wiik	noun	week	Dis wiik bizi. This week is busy.
mont	noun	month	Neks mont a go beta. Next month will be better.
yier	noun	year	Dis yier fiil lang. This year feels long.
tide	adverb	today	Mi a wok tide. I am working today.
tumara	adverb	tomorrow	Wi a go lef tumara. We will leave tomorrow.
yestuode	adverb	yesterday	Shi kom yestuode aftanuun. She came yesterday afternoon.
now	adverb	now	Kom ya now pliiz. Come here now please.
son	noun	sun	Di son hot. The sun is hot.
muun	noun	moon	Di muun brait. The moon is bright.
staa	noun	star	Dat staa brait. That star is bright.
skaai	noun	sky	Di skaai luuk blue. The sky looks blue.
faiya	noun	fire	Di faiya hot. The fire is hot.
wata	noun	water	Di wata kuol. The water is cold.
rien	noun	rain	Di rien a faal. The rain is falling.
chrii	noun	tree	Di chrii taal. The tree is tall.
floua	noun	flower	Di floua smel swiit. The flower smells sweet.
mountn	noun	mountain	Di mountn ai. The mountain is high.
riva	noun	river	Di riva waid. The river is wide.
sii	noun	sea	Di sii luuk kaalm. The sea looks calm.
fuud	noun	food	Di fuud smel gud. The food smells good.
bred	noun	bread	Di bred fresh. The bread is fresh.
rais	noun	rice	Wi kuk rais evri die. We cook rice daily.
miit	noun	meat	Di miit a kuk. The meat is cooking.
fish	noun	fish	Di fish test gud. The fish tastes good.
eg	noun	egg	Mi bwail wan eg. I boiled one egg.
milk	noun	milk	Di milk wom. The milk is warm.
fruit	noun	fruit	Di fruit swiit. The fruit is sweet.
tii	noun	tea	Di tii hot. The tea is hot.
kawfi	noun	coffee	Di kawfi trang. The coffee is strong.
ed	noun	head	Mi ed aat mi bad. My head hurts badly.
yai	noun	eye	Ar yai red. Her eye is red.
yier	noun	ear	Mi yier aat mi tide. My ear hurts today.
maut	noun	mouth	Oupen yu maut waid. Open your mouth wide.
nuoz	noun	nose	Mi nuoz kiip up. My nose feels blocked.
an	noun	hand	Wosh yu an fus. Wash your hand first.
fut	noun	foot	Mi fut aat mi. My foot is hurting.
niem	noun	name	Wa yu niem? What is your name?
buk	noun	book	Di buk interesting. The book is interesting.
wod	noun	word	Dat wod ruud. That word is rude.
langwij	noun	language	Langwij jain nuff piipl. Language connects many people.
moni	noun	money	Mi niid sam moni. I need some money.
wok	noun	work	Wok staat eri. Work starts very early.
lov	noun	love	Lov mek laif swiita. Love makes life sweeter.
myuuzik	noun	music	Di myuuzik soun byuutiful. The music sounds beautiful.
stuori	noun	story	Ar stuori soun chuu. Her story sounds true.
wie	noun	way	Dis wie iizia. This way is easier.
ting	noun	thing	Dat ting brok. That thing is broken.
laif	noun	life	Laif kyan aad. Life can be hard.
duor	noun	door	Di duor oupen. The door is open.
tiebl	noun	table	Di tiebl klian. The table is clean.
chia	noun	chair	Di chia brok. The chair is broken.
kaa	noun	car	Di kaa faas. The car is fast.
gud	adjective	good	Dis fuud gud. This food is good.
bad	adjective	bad	Di weda bad. The weather is bad.
big	adjective	big	Dat ous big. That house is big.
likl	adjective	small	Di ruum likl. The room is small.
nyuu	adjective	new	Mi bai wan nyuu kaa. I bought a new car.
uol	adjective	old	Di uol buk tiar. The old book is torn.
lang	adjective	long	Di ruod lang. The road is long.
shaat	adjective	short	Di stuori shaat. The story is short.
ai	adjective	high	Di mountn ai. The mountain is high.
hot	adjective	hot	Di tii hot. The tea is hot.
kuol	adjective	cold	Di wata kuol. The water is cold.
api	adjective	happy	Di pikni fiil api. The child feels happy.
sad	adjective	sad	Shi luuk sad. She looks very sad.
byuutiful	adjective	beautiful	Di floua byuutiful. The flower is beautiful.
iizi	adjective	easy	Dis wok iizi. This work is easy.
aad	adjective	hard	Dis lesn aad. This lesson is hard.
faas	adjective	fast	Dat kaa faas. That car is fast.
sluo	adjective	slow	Di uol man waak sluo. The old man walks slow.
rait	adjective	right	Yu ansa rait. Your answer is right.
rang	adjective	wrong	Dat ansa rang. That answer is wrong.
impuortant	adjective	important	Faamili impuortant to mi. Family is important to me.
chuu	adjective	true	Di stuori chuu. The story is true.
ful	adjective	full	Di kop ful. The cup is full.
empi	adjective	empty	Di batl empi. The bottle is empty.
yong	adjective	young	Di yong bwai smail. The young boy smiled.
trang	adjective	strong	Dat man trang. That man is strong.
wiik	adjective	weak	Mi fiil wiik tide. I feel weak today.
red	adjective	red	Di floua red. The flower is red.
blue	adjective	blue	Di skaai blue. The sky is blue.
griin	adjective	green	Di chrii griin. The tree is green.
yelo	adjective	yellow	Di floua yelo. The flower is yellow.
blak	adjective	black	Di daag blak. The dog is black.
wait	adjective	white	Di shuot wait. The shirt is white.
yes	interjection	yes	Yes, mi undastan now. Yes, I understand now.
no	interjection	no	No, mi cyaan kom. No, I cannot come.
no	adverb	not	Mi no redi. I am not ready.
an	conjunction	and	Rais an fish test gud. Rice and fish taste good.
ar	conjunction	or	Tii ar kawfi aalrait. Tea or coffee is fine.
bot	conjunction	but	Mi chrai, bot mi fail. I tried, but failed.
if	conjunction	if	If it rien, tan insaid. If it rains, stay inside.
bikaaz	conjunction	because	Mi tan a yaad bikaaz rien faal. I stayed home because rain fell.
wid	preposition	with	Shi kom wid mi. She came with me.
widout	preposition	without	Im lef widout moni. He left without money.
fi	preposition	for	Dis gif a fi yu. This gift is for you.
fram	preposition	from	Mi get dis fram ar. I got this from her.
to	preposition	to	Wi wen to taon. We went to town.