English–Jamaican Patois Dictionary

Browse common English words and their Jamaican Patois translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Use this dictionary to look up everyday vocabulary or as a starting point for learning Jamaican Patois.

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Browse common Jamaican Patois vocabulary

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