robot

jam-noun

robot (plural robot dem, quantified robot)

Mi n'ave nuh big money fi spen' pon taxi. See one robot a come deh. Mek wi tek it.

I don't have a lot of money to spend on a cab. Here's an illegal taxi. Let's take that.

“Slang expression for a vehicle that is operating as a taxi without the proper license that is required. […]”

2013, “Robot – Patois Definition”, in Jamaican Patwah (in English):


die

Di neks die, dat a did di Sabat die[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 27:62:

The next day, which was the Sabbath day […]


star

Me full ah gun pon di Gaza. Run some boy file and find out dem a barber. Jah know star, what dem ah try?

2008 August 26, “Kill Dem” (track 9), in Most Wanted, performed by Vybz Kartel:

I empty a gun on the Gaza. I run some boy's file and find out they're a barber. God knows mate, what are they trying to do?

Whe dem a go run go, Whe dem a go run go star? Start way dem caan run go far.

2009, “Whe Dem A Go Run Go”performed by Vybz Kartel, 01:58-02:01:

Where are they going to, where are they going to run to friend? They start to go away but they can’t get far (before getting shot).


man

Dat no miin se man kyan du widout uman ar uman widout man, kaaz Gad neva mek dem fi du widout dem wan aneda.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 1 Korintiyan 11:11:

So then, I have to insist that in the Lord, neither is woman inferior to man nor is man inferior to woman.

"No-no, not a man a get this pretty one."

2002, Frederic Cassidy Gomes, Dictionary of Jamaican English:

"No no, nobody is going to have this pretty one."

a fellow, friend, person (of any gender)


el

Ef unu rait yai a mek unu sin, tier it out an dash it we! Aftaraal it beta fi luuz onggl wan badi paat, dan di wol a di badi get fling dong a el.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:29:

If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! After all, it is better to lose one body part than for the whole body to be thrown into hell.


an

So im se tu di man se, “Chrech out yu an.” Di man chrech out im an, an im an get beta.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Maak 3:5:

Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and his hand was healed.


bat

Duppy bat still a fly like hawk.

Black witch moths are still flying around like hawks.

“Hundreds of species of butterflies and moths live in Jamaica. Jamaicans call large moths "bats." The black witch moth is known as "the duppy bat." A duppy is a spirit in Jamaican culture that sometimes causes mischief. Duppy bats have brown [...]”

2003, Amber Wilson, Jamaica: The Land (in English), page 30:


bat

When yu get one lick from me wid di bat... yu wi know.

If I hit you once with this bat, you'll understand.

bat (instrument for hitting or striking)


hit

From Jamaican Creole it, from English it
IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /hɪt/


pear

Mi waan sum ackee an pear.


respect

Run whey di two a dem, dem nuh have nuh respect fi yuh.

Get rid of both of them. They have no respect for you.

“Our problem is that the police dem nah deal with people wid nuh respect. […]”

2020, Romardo Lyons, “Mixed reactions to state of emergency”, in The Jamaica Star (in English):

Our problem is that the police aren't approaching the people with respect. […]


fag

Bot wa unu nuo buot tumaro? Unu no iivn nuo ou unu laif a-go go tumaro. Unu laif komiin jos laik fag. Di fag kom dong fi likl bit, an den az di son kom out so, di fag jos disapier.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jiemz 4:14:

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. Your life is like a fog that comes in for a little while, then when the sun comes out the fog vanishes away.


Jamaican

Jamaican (plural Jamaican dem, quantified Jamaican)

dem (Jamaican plural)
Jamaican (quantified)
Jamiekan (alternative)
Jumiekan (alternative)

Mi haffi tell unnu dat mi a Jamaican.

I must say (to you all) that I'm a Jamaican.

“[…] 'nutten eena di world nuh sweet like when fi mi Jamaican dem go fi spoke […]”

2005, Mervyn Morris, Making West Indian Literature (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN, page 80:

[…] nothing in the world is better than when Jamaicans attempt to speak eloquently […]


don

Derived from English don, particularly in the sense of a crime boss.

Dem figet seh mi a di one don?

Have they forgotten that I'm the one true leader?

From di word start go roun' seh him want turn di don, a whole heap a man start pree him and warn him fi be careful.

As soon as word got around that he wanted to become the community leader, a lot of people took notice of him and warned him to be careful.

don, leader, community leader, crime boss, head of a garrison


ed

Wen unu kip we fram fuud fi worship Gad, ail unu ed an wash unu fies man,

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 6:17:

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,


trace

Mi big bad and brave bwoy. Duh weh yuh wah fi duh. Yuh sey a your place. Duh weh yuh wah fi duh. And yuh nuh watch face. Duh weh yuh wah fi duh. It just trace yuh a trace.

2011 June 27, “Big Bad and Brave (Duh Weh Yuh Wah Fi Duh)”performed by Vybz Kartel:

I'm big, bad and brave, boy. Do whatever you want to do to me. You say to meet you at your place to fight. Do whatever you want to do to me. Any you don't care about my reputation. Do whatever you want to do to me. It's just bullshit that you're chatting.


beli

Derived from English belly, from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”).

der

Afta Jiizas neehn nyam notn fi uol-a faati die an faati nait, im beli did a baal tu ou im onggri.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 4:2:

After Jesus hadn't eaten anything for forty days and forty nights in a row, his stomach rumbled, due to how hungry he was.


yard

jam-noun

yard (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling yaad)

Unnu love people yard too much.

Y'all love spending time in other people's homes too much.

Nuh weh nuh nice like yard.

“You say use a condom and dem say, "Mi naah use condom, mi have mi wife a mi yard and mi wife clean and me clean."”

1999, Kamala Kempadoo, Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean (in English), →ISBN, page 138:

You say use a condom and they say, "I'm not going to use a condom. My wife's at home and my wife and I are both clean."


yard

yard dem (plural)
yard (quantified)
yaad (alternative)
yawd (alternative)


batty man

batty man (plural batty man dem, quantified batty man)

batty man dem (plural)
batty man (quantified)


batty boy

batty boy (plural batty boy dem, quantified batty boy)

batty boy dem (plural)
batty boy (quantified)


ackee

ackee (plural ackee dem, quantified ackee)

ackee dem (plural)
ackee (quantified)
akee (alternative)
aki (alternative)

Possibly from Akan aŋkye or Kuwaa a-kee.

Nuttn nuh nice like ackee and saltfish an' fry dumplin' fi breakfast.

There's nothing better than ackee and salted codfish with fried dumplings for breakfast.


posse

posse (plural posse dem, quantified posse)

Nuh walk inna posse, mi nuh walk inna gang.

I don't belong to any criminal crews. I don't belong to any gangs.


batty

batty (plural batty dem, quantified batty)

Dem a wear buss batty pants.

They're wearing pants with rips by the butt.

A voice along with the music was “chatting” the lyrics, “Gal batty broad, she come in a mi yard, me tek off mi shirt and [...]”

2009, Hezie Samuels, Soul Sand Grains: The Cost of No Change (in English), →ISBN, page 12:

The girl's butt is wide. She came to my home. I took off my shirt and …


dovecot

dovecot (plural dovecot dem, quantified dovecot)

dovecot dem (plural)
dovecot (quantified)

Probably from Dovecot Memorial Park in Spanish Town, Jamaica (though there are three gravesites located in Jamaica with this name).

Me a talk wid gunshot, mi done chat. Send bwoy go Dovecot, mi love dat

2008 October 12, “Me Talk With Gunshot”performed by Vybz Kartel:

I talk with (a) gunshot, I'm done chatting. I send (the) boy to the grave, I love that

Tuff chatting, dovecot. Me kuff kaff him cause him love chat

2009, “Thug Anthem”performed by Blak Rhyno:

Tough chatting (leads to) the grave. I shoot him because he loves to chat (tough).

The grave (a sometimes metaphorical location of death, or the state of death itself)


spar

I'm so far, my main spars dem no near mi. Singing my song to let my enemies hear mi.

2007, “They Fear Me” (track 6), in Gangsta for Life:The Symphony of David Brooks (2007), performed by Mavado (singer):

I'm so far better than the competition that my main friends aren't near me in ability. Singing my song to let my enemies hear me.


nanny

nanny (plural nanny dem, quantified nanny)


waif

“It rait dong se, ‘Eni man we lef dem waif fi gi ar di piepa we shuo se dem no marid agen.’ Bot ier wa mi a se: eni man we brok op wid im waif, an a no laik se shi did a kip man wid im ar a gwaan wid no ada seks sin, ef da uman de go marid wan neks man, a di fos ozban wuda mek shi a liv iina sin kaa nou shi wudaana sliip wid wan neks man. An di man we marid da uman de afta ar ozban lef ar, im a liv iina sin tu, kaa im a sliip wid wan neks man waif

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:31-32:

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


boots

boots (plural boots dem, quantified boots)

Me fling weh di boots cah me waan gi' you a baby.

I got rid of the condom because I want to give you a baby.

I hear some of the lyrics "Yuh pum pum clean and ready,
 Suh mi dash weh di boots, And mi cum inna yuh belly
 Giddy up pon di cocky"
 Wha de rass.....? […]”

2014, Janelle James, Emotry: Self Expression (in English), page 32:

I listen to some of the lyrics, "Your pussy is clean and ready[/perfect]. So I throw away the condom and I cum in your belly. Ride my cock. Giddy up!" What the fuck? […]


partner

partner (plural partner dem, quantified partner)

partner dem (plural)
partner (quantified)
pardner (alternative)
partnah (alternative)

A just me and mi partner 'Dread' know how fi entertain di people.

Only my partner, 'Dread', and I know how to entertain the people.

It a work and a it me a throw partner out of and a it all put food pan mi table.

It works and I use some of that money to contribute to the informal saving scheme I'm a part of. It puts food on the table.


spliff

spliff (plural spliff dem, quantified spliff)

Yuh can drink a beer but don't yuh dare bun a spliff.

You can have a beer but don't you dare smoke a joint.

A conical marijuana cigarette; a joint; a spliff.


scheme

scheme (plural scheme dem, quantified scheme)

Foreigners if unno neva know ask di tourist board 'bout my scheme

2007 October 27, “My Scheme” (track 2), in Riddim Driven: Shadowz (2008), performed by Vybz Kartel:

Foreigners, if you don't know then ask the tourist board about my neighbourhood.

housing scheme; council estate; a housing project; neighbourhood.


browning

browning (plural browning dem, quantified browning)

browning dem (plural)
browning (quantified)
brownin (alternative)
brownin' (alternative)

Psst! Browning! Sexy dawta! Yuh nuh hear big man a call yuh?

Hey, light-skinned girl! Sexy lady! Don't you hear me calling you over?

One such song went thus:
 […]
 Dem a bleach up dem skin
 To look like browning
 […]

2002, Mervyn C. Alleyne, The Construction and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in the Caribbean (in English), →ISBN, page 225:

One such song went thus: […] They're using skin-lightening creams to look like light-skinned girls. […]


browning

Dis waan likkle supn. Put een likkle browning.

This needs a little something. Add a little browning.

“Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Grease a loaf pan with baking spray or margarine; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy, add vanilla, molasses (if use[sic]) browning, stout, melted butter and sugar, mix until the granules dissolve. […]”

2019, Krysta Anderson, “Bun in the oven?”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


natty

natty (plural natty dem, quantified natty)

natty dreadlocks
natty dreadlocks#Jamaican_Creole


pickney

pickney (plural pickney dem, quantified pickney) (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling pikni)

pickney dem (plural)
pickney (quantified)
pickeney (alternative)
pikni (alternative)
pikny (alternative)

Derived from English pickaninny. Compare Bajan pickney, Bislama pikinini, Pijin pikinini, and Tok Pisin pikinini.

A: O much pickney yuh gat? B: Mi av a yute an two daughter.

A: How many children do you have? B: I have a son and two daughters.

“An' he have a bone-hole; when he ate de meat, t'row it into de hole. An' Anansi tak him wife an' t'ree pickney an' he say de five gwine to de house an' get into de pot eat de meat. […]”

2020, Martha Warren Beckwith, compiler, Jamaica Anansi Stories (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

He had a hole for his bones. When he ate his meat, he threw the bone into the hole. Anansi gathered his wife, and their three children and he told them that the five of them were going to enter the house to eat from that pot of meat […]


punaany

punaany (plural punaany dem, quantified punaany)

punaany dem (plural)
punaany (quantified)


Fraide

Fraide (plural Fraide dem, quantified Fraide)

Sonde · Monde · Chuuzde · Wenzde · Torzde · Fraide · Satde [edit]


K

One ting me haffi tell dem, Dutty got di woody woody. Frontway, backway, dutty K-man have di shooby shooby.

2002 November 12, “Like Glue” (track 4), in Dutty Rock, performed by Sean Paul:

One thing I have to tell them, I've got an erection, Forwards, backwards, the dirty gunman wielding a Kalashnikov has to shove it, shove it.

Any bwoy diss di link make di paper. Di 'K full him of hole like strainer

2007 January 1, “Ay Ya Ay Ya” (track 14), in Riddim Driven: Shadowz (2008), performed by Blak Rino:

If any boy cuts out the middle man to make money then the AK will fill him up with holes like a strainer.

Dem shoulda memba say di Haskell a spray, di sixpance a play. Weh dem a guh wid dem Chiney K?

2008 September 12, “Weh Dem A Go” (track 46), in Jamaican Style, Vol.3, performed by Vybz Kartel,Jah Vinci:

They should remember that the Haskell(Hi-Point) 45 ACP Semi-auto Pistol sprays (bullets), the six-shooter will play. Where are they going with their (imitation) Chinese Kalashnikovs?

Me get a K from Vagga from De La Vega weh mek Chiney man skin black like naega

2008 December 27, “Last Man Standing” (track 24), in Pon Di Gaza 2.0, performed by Vybz Kartel:

I get a Kalashnikov from my friend Vagga from De La Vega which makes a Chinese man's skin black like a nigga's.

Inna middle day, gun play. Bad man ah beat di Chiney K. Night turn to day, all mama pray. Dem ah beat di Chiney K.

2008, “Chiney K” (track 18), in Gaza vs Gully EP Part 1, performed by Mavado:

In the middle of the day, there's gun play. Bad men shoot the Chinese imitation Kalashnikovs. Night turns to day, all mothers pray. They shoot the Chinese (imitation) Kalashnikovs.


Monde

Monde (plural Monde dem, quantified Monde)


Nanny

Nanny (plural Nanny dem, quantified Nanny)

Nanny dem (plural)
Nanny (quantified)
nanny (alternative)

A portrait of Maroon leader Nanny is printed on the obverse, hence the term.

Bredren, yuh can bruck a nanny?

My friend, do you have change for a J$500?

“I do not know when the $100 became a 'bills', as it is commonly referred to (it has been more recently referred to as a 'dollar', no doubt as its purchasing power falls). Of course, the $500 note is known as a 'Nanny' and I am reminded of a story about a motorist's encounter with a traffic policeman. […]”

2007, Melville Cooke, “What can a 'bills' do?”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


Sonde

Sonde (plural Sonde dem, quantified Sonde)


buckra

buckra (plural buckra dem, quantified buckra) (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling bakra)


sweetie

sweetie (plural sweetie dem, quantified sweetie)

sweetie dem (plural)
sweetie (quantified)

Unadapted borrowing from English sweetie.

ubor

She love sweetie, she know weh di lollipop is

2010 March 10, “Grab Up Yuh Crotches” (track 12), in Remedy Riddim, performed by Vybz Kartel:

She loves (to eat) sweeties, she knows where the lollipop is.


scallion

jam-noun

scallion (plural scallion dem, quantified scallion)

scallion dem (plural)
scallion (quantified)

Scallion a $20, $30, but right now it a sell fi $120 because di rain naah fall.

Spring onions cost between J$20 and J$30, but they're being sold for J$120 at the moment because there hasn't been any rain.

bunching onion, green onion, leek, scallion, spring onion, Welsh onion


juu

Di sitn dem we wi a tiich piipl komiin laik juu pan graas.

2021, “Wa Wi Kyan Lorn Fram Di Sitn Dem We Wi Si Iina Di Sang We Jeuova Did Tel Muoziz Fi Rait?”, in JW.org:

The things we teach people are like [as numerous as] dew drops on the grass.


batty rider

batty rider (plural batty rider dem, quantified batty rider)

batty rider dem (plural)
batty rider (quantified)

Yuh a wear batty rider wid yuh drop dung batty jaw. It look cayliss bad.

You're wearing booty shorts with a sagging butt. It looks sloppy.

“F8, 26 August 2001 batty rider(s) noun a very short and skimpy skirt or fashion shorts worn to expose as much as they conceal JAMAICA From BATTY (the buttocks). • By this time she had started to peel off her top and was unzipping her batty […]”

2015, Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (in English), →ISBN, page 122:


elda

Da leta ya a kom fram mi, di elda — tu mi speshal fren, Gaiyos. Mi fren, mi riili riili lov yu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 3 Jan 1:1:

This letter comes from the elder to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.


garrison

garrison (plural garrison dem, quantified garrison)

garrison dem (plural)
garrison (quantified)

Di yute dem nuh stop buss dem matic an' block road inna di garrison.

The young men are constantly firing their semi-automatic rifles and blocking streets in the gang-controlled slums.

“The gang structure was deliberately organized during the seventies to defend partisan poltiical turf. Whole sections of the capital city of Kingston and other large towns became what are called "garrison" communities. A garrison community is a poor, inner city area sometimes naturally divided by a geographic item such as an open drainage sewer (called "gully" in Jamaica e.g. "McGregor Gully") or sometimes arbitrarily. […]”

2005, Don Barker, The Fear Factor: an Analysis of Crime in Jamaica and the Search for Solutions (in English), →ISBN, page 11:

A de facto autonomous district controlled by a don and the don's armed gang, typically loyal to a political party; a favela; a slum.


yardie

yardie (plural yardie dem, quantified yardie)

yardie dem (plural)
yardie (quantified)
yaadie (alternative)
yawdie (alternative)
Yaadie (alternative)
Yardie (alternative)
Yawdie (alternative)

Nuff yardie weh live a farin wish dem coulda guh back a yard.

Many Jamaicans who live overseas wish they could go back to Jamaica.

“Nuff foreign yardie was flying dung fe de holidays. De fair skin airplane lady a de airport was preaching to evrybaddy fe please, Check on only two piece a baggage an carry de littlest one pon de plane.”

2011, Kamille Gentles-Peart, Maurice L. Hall, Re-Constructing Place and Space: Media, Culture, Discourse (in English), →ISBN, page 47:

Lots of overseas Jamaicans were heading back home for the holidays. The white air hostess at the airport announced that everyone should check only two items of luggage and take one item as a carry-on.


bills

bills (plural bills dem, quantified bills)

Yuh cyaan buy nuttn wid a bills again.

There isn't anything you can buy with a J$100 nowadays.

“Because she dance 'maddy maddy', the man dem use to give her a bills and she would skank dung di place. […]”

2020, “Caught my husband with a madwoman”, in The Jamaica Star (in Jamaican Creole):

She was a crazy dancer and so the men used to give her J$100 and she would go wild. […]


peas

Mek sure yuh soak di gungo peas good.

Why di peas dem (inna di rice and peas) cummn like sugar inna dem suh?

Why does it seem as if the beans (in this Jamaican rice and peas dish) have added sugar?


bak

Mi bak de hat mi.


welkom

Enibadi we welkom unu, welkom mi. An enibadi we welkom mi, welkom di wan we sen mi kom

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 10:40:

Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me


cocky

cocky (plural cocky dem, quantified cocky)


ting

Di sed ting apm tu di sekan breda, di tord wan, an aal a dem dong tu breda nomba sevn.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 22:26:

The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.

[…]mi kiah tel nof gud tingz deh du.

2014, Larry Change, Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language:

I can talk bout all the good things they do.

(endearing) a woman, especially one familiar to the speaker.


crep

→ English: crep


kunu

kunu dem (plural)
kunu (quantified)
kianuu (alternative)
kianu (alternative)


broda

broda (plural broda dem, quantified broda)


guot

Bot im se tu im faada se, ‘Aal dem ier ya mi wok laka sliev fi yu an mi du evriting we yu tel mi fi du. Bot aal dem taim de no iivn wan dege-dege yong guot yu no gi mi fi selibriet wid mi fren dem

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 15:29:

but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.


rait

Evribadi av di rait fi uon prapati bai demself[…]

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 17:

Everyone has the right to own property alone […]


patty

patty (plural patty dem, quantified patty)

Dis need 10 more dalla fi buy patty and juice.

If you want a Jamaican patty and something to drink, you'll need ten dollars extra.

a Jamaican patty; a pastry that contains various fillings and spices baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric. (Jamaican pastry)


calaban

calaban (plural calaban dem, quantified calaban)

calaban dem (plural)
calaban (quantified)

“CALABAN […] A box-like trap made of sticks, used to catch ground-walking birds. […]”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 89:

A box-and-stick type trap for birds. (bird trap)


Yardie

Yardie (plural Yardie dem, quantified Yardie)


lime

It sour like lime.

When the virus get drastic, mi a guh draw fi mi garlic and lime.

When the virus gets worse, I'm going to start taking garlic and lime.

hangout, get-together (social gathering)


higgler

higgler (plural higgler dem, quantified higgler)

higgler dem (plural)
higgler (quantified)
higgla (alternative)

Nuff higgler sell inna di market pon Saturday.

Many vendors sell in the market on Saturday.

“From Friday to Sunday, yuh can run it fi yuhself an' carry di higgler dem to Coronation Market. […]”

2015, H. Earle Watson, The One Way Out (in English), →ISBN:

From Friday to Sunday, you can use it to transport the vendors to Coronation Market. […]


yai

Kaaz wid mi uon tuu yai dem, mi si di sumadi we yu sen fi siev piipl.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 2:30:


dédekum

From English there they come, referring to the reflections in the mirror.

(Maroon Spirit Language, Moore Town) Mirror.

Maroon Spirit Language; Moore Town; Maroon Spirit Language; Moore Town


lépman

(Maroon Spirit Language, Charles Town) Toad.

Maroon Spirit Language; Charles Town; Maroon Spirit Language; Charles Town


junjo

/ˈd͡ʒʌnd͡ʒʌ/

Junjo inna di judge dem wig?

Nuh junjo nuh deh deh.


badi

badi dem (plural)
badi (quantified)
bady (alternative)

Ef unu rait yai a mek unu sin, tier it out an dash it we! Aftaraal it beta fi luuz onggl wan badi paat, dan di wol a di badi get fling dong a el.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:29:

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

body (physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism)

body (organisation, company or other authoritative group)


uman

Dat no miin se man kyan du widout uman ar uman widout man, kaaz Gad neva mek dem fi du widout dem wan aneda.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 1 Korintiyan 11:11:

So then, I have to insist that in the Lord, neither is woman inferior to man nor is man inferior to woman.


samfie

samfie (plural samfie dem, quantified samfie)

samfie dem (plural)
samfie (quantified)
sam fie (alternative)
samfi (alternative)

Nuh badda gi' 'im nuh money. Da bredda de a real samfie.

Don't give him any money. That guy is a known scammer.

“Mi a go tell yu di trut(h), mi naa go tell yu no lie
No bodder follow dem ya man, dem full up a samfie. […]”

1995, Carolyn Cooper, Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender, and The"Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture. (in English), →ISBN, page 153:

I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm not going to tell lies.
Don't emulate these guys. They're a bunch of scammers. […]

con artist, con man, scammer, swindler, trickster


muun

“Sain a-go de iina di son, di muun an di staar dem. Pan di ort, di piipl dem we a no Juu a-go twis an ton an no nuo wa fi du wen dem ier di sii a ruor.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 21:25:

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,


tiit

tiit dem (plural)
tiit (quantified)
teet (alternative)

Dem ier luk laik uman ier, an dem tiit komiin laik laiyan tiit

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 9:8:

their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;


pardner

pardner (plural pardner dem, quantified pardner)

pardner dem (plural)
pardner (quantified)


breda

breda (plural breda dem, quantified breda)


kier

Uman we a mada an pikni disorv speshal kier an elp. Evri pikni, weda ar nat dem mada an faada did marid a di taim wen dem baan, fi enjai di siem protekshan we sosaiyati aafa.

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25:

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection


nyanga

nyanga (plural nyanga dem, quantified nyanga)

→ English: nang

Borrowed from Mende nyanga (“ostentation; showing off”).


punani

jam-noun

punani (plural punani dem, quantified punani)

punani dem (plural)
punani (quantified)
punany (alternative)
punaany (alternative)

Possibly from Akan oponaani (“keyhole”) or from Hawaiian pua nani (“beautiful flower”).

Watch 'ow di gyal punani phat an' sexy. Bloodclaat!

Look at how phat and sexy that girl's pussy is. Whoa!

“He is the narcissistic “stamina daddy,” a paramour who makes “gyal ben' down backways an' accept di peg.” The worship of his womb turner and conquest of the punani (pussy) are the subjects of his burlesque boasts. […]”

2002, Paula Ressler, Dramatic Changes: Talking about Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with High School Students Through Drama (in English), →ISBN, page 96:


leta

Da leta ya a kom fram mi, di elda — tu mi speshal fren, Gaiyos. Mi fren, mi riili riili lov yu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 3 Jan 1:1:

This letter comes from the elder to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.


brinks

brinks (plural brinks dem, quantified brinks)

From the company of the same name which provides armoured trucks for transporting money and valuable goods.

Mi brinks..hairdresser mi wan fi go!

Hey, sugar daddy, I have to go to the hairdresser.

“brinks (brinks): n. - a wealthy person, usu. male; (slang) a sugar-daddy […]”

2006, Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds, Jabari: Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language (in English), →ISBN, page 18:


laad

laad dem (plural)
laad (quantified)
lawd (alternative)

“Likl muo, di ada yong gyal dem kom bak. Ier dem no, ‘Laad, laad, uopm di duor fi wi no!’. Bot im ansa bak, ‘Ier mi no, an a chuu mi a taak, mi no iivn nuo unu!’

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 25:11-12:

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

(historical) lord (master of the servants of a household or the master of a feudal manor)

A so Gad did plan it fi apm fram wie bak wen, an im mek Krais Jiizas wi laad mek it apm siem laik ou im did plan it.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ifiijan 3:11:

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord


fies

Evribadi we did a sidong iina di plies we dem miit faasn dem yai pan Stiivn an si se im fies did a shain laik wan ienjel.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Aks 6:15:

And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel


duppy

duppy (plural duppy dem, quantified duppy) (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling dopi)

Possibly derived from Bube dupe (“ghost”) or Akan adɔpe. Compare Bajan duppy.

Yuh fraid a duppy?

Di duppy dem a mash up di place.

The poltergeists are wrecking the place.

“Duppy did inna me house one time. Dem did a mek me couldn’t sleep […]”

2018, “Man uses obeah to chase duppies from house”, in The Jamaica Star (in English):

Once there were poltergeists in my home. I had trouble sleeping because of them […]

ghost; an evil spirit; duppy; poltergeist (ghost)

Cassidy/JLU orthography
University of the West Indies Press


Concorde

Concorde (plural Concorde dem, quantified Concorde)

Concorde dem (plural)
Concorde (quantified)

The Aérospatiale-BAC supersonic airliner; Concorde.

Inna di eighties, hundred dolla neva call "bills", dem time deh dem seh "Concorde."

In the eighties, people didn't call the J$100 banknote "bills". Back then, they said "Concorde."


night-bat

night-bat (plural night-bat dem, quantified night-bat)

night-bat dem (plural)
night-bat (quantified)


banton

banton (plural banton dem, quantified banton)

“It's not clear whether the Banton name came from a local term used to describe a storyteller or from Jamaican performer Burro Banton (perhaps both)”

1998, Howard J. Blumenthal, The World Music CD Listener's Guide (in English), →ISBN, page 23:


dutchy

dutchy (plural dutchy dem, quantified dutchy)


falara

falara (plural falara dem, quantified falara)

Derived from English follower. By surface analysis, fala + -er.

Wen Jiizas si di kroud a piipl dem, im go op pan di mountn go sidong, an im falara dem kom tu im.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:1:

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him


faks

Jiizas se tu im se, “Faks av uol an di bod dem av nes, bot di Man we Gad Pik no av no we fi pudong im ed.”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 9:58:

Jesus said unto him, “the fox has its hole, and the birds have their nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”


nyam

Borrowed from Wolof nyam, nyami, nyamnyam (“food; to eat”), or from Fula nyama, nyami, nyamgo (“to eat”). Possibly via Ghanaian Pidgin English. Cognate of Sranan Tongo nyan (“food; to eat”). Many other West African languages use similar terms for "flesh" or "meat", such as: Chichewa nyama, Efik unam, Esimbi ɛnyimi, Hausa nama, Lingala nyama, Swahili nyama, and Zulu inyama. Also compare Hausa nyamnyam, yamyam (“cannibal”) and Luba-Kasai nyama (“animal”).


bankra

bankra (plural bankra dem, quantified bankra)

Pack di bankra an ram dem in. For di bankra mus' full.

Stuff as many of them as you can into the basket, because this basket needs to be full.

“BANKRA / bangkra , bóngkra / sb chiefly dial ; 1868 bankra , 1877 bunkra , 1895 bancra , 1934 bonkra ; < Twi boŋkárá ... 1934 Williams 36 , The Ashanti bonkara , a travelling basket , is the Jamaica bonkra , or as it is sometimes spelt bankra.”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 27:


runnings

Ef yuh waan eat a food out yah, yuh haffi know di runnings, yuh zimmi?

If you want to be successful in this place, you need to know how the system works, a'ight?

“DI RUNNINGS: The natural order of things, how things are done, what is to be expected etc. […]”

2014, Joan Williams, Shawn Grant, Original Dancehall Dictionary: Learning to speak like a Jamaican (in English), →ISBN:

How a system or bureaucracy works; how people operate; the status quo


evn

“So, a so unu fi prie:
“‘Wi Faada we iina evn,
mek piipl av nof rispek fi yu an yu niem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:9:

Pray then like this:
"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

(Christianity) heaven (abode of God and of the angels and saints in His presence)


wies

Derived from English waist, from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg-s- (“to multiply, increase”).

der

Nou a kluoz we mek outa Kyamil ier Jan did wier, an im did av wan leda belt roun im wies. An fi im fuud a did graasapa an oni we im get outa di dezot.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 3:4:

Now, John wore clothes made out of camel's hair, and had a leather belt around his waist. And his food were grasshoppers and honey, which he found in the desert.

(anatomy) waist (part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach)


wip

So im get som ruop an tek dem mek wan wip. Den im yuuz di wip an ron out di uol a di sela dem outa di yaad: dem an dem kou an dem shiip an dem dov. Im lik uova di piipl dem we a chienj out moni kain dem, an im ton uova aal a dem tiebl dem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 2:15:

And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.


ier

Dem ier luk laik uman ier, an dem tiit komiin laik laiyan tiit.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 9:8:

Their hair looks like women's hair, and their teeth like lion teeth.


ier

Iebriyam a did aalmuos wan onjrid ier uol, im did nuo se im suun ded an dat im waif kudn av no pikni, bot iivn wid aal a dat Iebriyam stil biliiv. No taim at aal im did biliiv se Gad naa go du we im pramis fi du.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ruoman 4:19:

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.

Kaaz wen Gad did mek di pramis tu Iebriyam im did se, “Bout da taim ya neks ier, mi wi kom bak an Siera wi av wan bwai pikni.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ruoman 9:14:

For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.


fuckery

fuckerie (alternative)
fuckries (alternative)

$257 fi one dozen ackee? Fuckery a gwaan man.

J$257 for a dozen ackees? That's bullshit, man.

Fuckery a gwaan an evrybaddi keep quiet.

This is a bloody injustice and nobody's saying a word.


shotta

jam-noun

shotta (plural shotta dem, quantified shotta)

Beware cause de shotta dem strap. Rastaman a tell de yutes dem fi low de Glock.

Be careful. The gangsters are strapped. We Rastas are telling the youngsters not to touch the Glock.


daag

Mi a waan unu, wach out fi di daag aat piipl dem. Wach out fi dem — dem a uol wikid. Wach out fi dem man de we aalwiez a kot kot op dem bad

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Filipiyan 3:2:

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

“An, no tek unu gud kliin sitn dem, we a fi Gad, gi daag, an unu gud gud porl dash gi pig. Dem naa go tep tep op pan dem, den ton roun tier unu op.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 7:6:

"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.


fren

Da leta ya a kom fram mi, di elda — tu mi speshal fren, Gaiyos. Mi fren, mi riili riili lov yu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 3 Jan 1:1:

This letter comes from the elder to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.


bammy

bammy (plural bammy dem, quantified bammy)

bammy dem (plural)
bammy (quantified)
bammie (alternative)

Bammy!? Everybady else ah eat fry dumplin fi dem brekfas' Sunday mawnin, an' mi have fi a nyam stick root.

Bammy!? Everybody else got fried dumplings for their Sunday morning breakfast and here I am eating the root of a plant.

“Me have coakinat , skellion , toomatis an' Ole Harbour bammy. Wat yuh want mam? Pum'kin? yuh wi haffe buy cho-cho wid i, dem married, same like 'ow cassava Is married to yampi . Is me wan gat bammy dis week [...]”

1949, Louise Bennett, Mek Wi Talk: Jamaican Dialect Poems, →ISBN, page 128:

I have coconuts, spring onions, tomatoes and bammies from Old Harbour. What would you like, ma'am? Pumpkin? You'll have to take the chayote as well. They're a couple. The same goes for cassava. It's married to the yam. I'm the only one who has bammy this week. …


piis

Mi a lef go we, bot mi a-go mek unu av piis iina unu aat — di kain-a piis we mi av iina fi mi aat. A no di sed kain-a piis yu get fram di worl. No mek unu aat bada unu, an no kech unu fried.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 14:27:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.


taim

Chrii taim di siem ting apm.


bwoy

bwoy dem (plural)
bwoy (quantified)
boy (alternative)
bwai (alternative)
bway (alternative)

Nancy love di bwoy whole 'eap suh shi tief weh a night time fi go look fi 'im.

Nancy loved the boy a lot, so she'd sneaked out at night to go see him.

Rasta one: Bwoy, no try dem kinda rhatid ting wid de I, Zeen? […]

2011, Marcus Bethel, Scars and Stripes: The Lasting Impression (in English), →ISBN, page 95:

Rasta one: Boy, don't play any fucking games with me, you dig? […]


pramis

pramis (plural pramis dem, quantified pramis)

Kaaz wen Gad did mek di pramis tu Iebriyam im did se, “Bout da taim ya neks ier, mi wi kom bak an Siera wi av wan bwai pikni.”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ruoman 9:9:

For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."


bumbo

bumbo (plural bumbo dem, quantified bumbo)


boops

boops (plural boops dem, quantified boops)

Me did have a little boops who did well want a baby.

I had a sugar daddy who really wanted to have a baby.

“Women who engage in these long term profitable relationships call their benefactor a “Boops.” The Boops is usually a man of means who gives money and gifts in exchange for sex with his favored women heard in “Boops” by Super Cat (1986): ... […]”

2014, Alan Bradshaw, Avi Shankar, Production & Consumption of Music (in English), →ISBN:


dutty

From English dirty and, possibly, from Akan dɔte. Compare Sranan Tongo doti.

Rain a fall, but dutty tough.

The rain's falling but the land is hard and dry.


labrish

But yuh dun kno sey di real peeple dem wahn know di laytis mix-up, 'cause a suh Jamdung run fram lang time, likkle labrish naw kill nuh baddy.

But you already know that real folks want to know the latest gossip. Because that's how Jamaica's always been. A little gossip never killed anybody.


jooks

jooks (jüks): n./v. a robbery, usu. involving a weapon; to stay on point; to tarry

2006, Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds, Jabari: Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language:

A robbery, especially one involving a weapon.


dutchie

dutchie (plural dutchie dem, quantified dutchie)

dutchie dem (plural)
dutchie (quantified)


bredda

bredda (plural bredda dem, quantified bredda)

bredda dem (plural)
bredda (quantified)
breda (alternative)
broda (alternative)

Mi a look fi mi bredda.

“Oonoo call me bredda fi me! Beg yuh tell him come yah quick […]”

1989, Stewart Brown, Mervyn Morris, Gordon Rohlehr, Voiceprint: An Anthology of Oral and Related Poetry from the Caribbean (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

Go get my brother! Please tell him to come here quickly […]

It start gather up a big crowd and it happen that it just a develop till mi go buy a likkle amplifier from a bredda downtown.

More and more people started coming and it became so popular that I decided to buy an amplifier from a guy in Kingston.

“Something wrong wid him. Da bredda dey need to [sic] good lick […]”

2006, Eric Jerome Dickey, Chasing Destiny (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

There's something off about him. Someone ought to slap that guy around a few times. […]


Shearer

Shearer (plural Shearer dem, quantified Shearer)

Shearer dem (plural)
Shearer (quantified)
shearer (alternative)

A portrait of former Prime Minister of Jamaica Hugh Shearer is printed on the obverse, hence the term.

Di way di dollar a move, Shearer soon cyaan buy patty.

The way the Jamaican dollar's going, soon you won't be able to buy a Jamaican patty with J$5,000.

“The country will be painted orange and green, with a touch of blue. There will be free hats, T-shirts, liquor, lunch and dinner, and you can get a 'Shearer' for 10 people, which is equal to 10 votes. […]”

2011, Hezekan Bolton, “Election fever is in the air”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


gyal

gyal dem (plural)
gyal (quantified)
gal (alternative)

desctree

→ English: gal; gyal
→ Icelandic: gella
→ Japanese: ギャル (gyaru)
→ English: gyaru

Nuh ramp wid har. A bad gyal dat.

Don't mess around with her. That girl's tough.

“"Gyal make haste wid di water nuh man! Why you one haffi have five bucket?" one woman shouted. She kicked aside a white bucket that was under the pipe and the water from the tank started to fall on the ground. "Do nuh take it out pan di water!" a woman standing nearby shouted hysterically. […]”

2007, Robert Lalah, “Portia's potable water - Hot topic in cool Manchester”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


Jumiekan

jam-noun

Jumiekan (plural Jumiekan dem, quantified Jumiekan)

Jumiekan dem (plural)
Jumiekan (quantified)
Jamiekan (alternative)
Jamaican (alternative)


Jumiekan

Jamiekan (alternative)
Jamaican (alternative)

Jamaican, Jamaican Creole (creole language)


cotch

A lady give me a cotch at her house.

Beg yuh a cotch fi di night?

“'Beg yuh a cotch fe di night,' Rastaman yawned at Croakie. […]”

2014, Pamela Bennett, Croakie and Rastaman (in English), →ISBN:

'May I spend the night at your place,' said the Rastaman to Croakie yawningly. […]

accommodation, place, space (accommodation)

Beg yuh a cotch?

(public transport) A shared space on a seat.


rudie

rudie (plural rudie dem, quantified rudie)


abeng

abeng (plural abeng dem, quantified abeng)

Yuh know omuch time dem sen soldiers an militia fi attack Nanny Town an Nanny pop dem? […] She always wear her abeng horn tie pon a string roun her wais […]

2003, Louise Bennett, Mervyn Morris, Aunty Roachy Seh, →ISBN, page 14:

Do you know how often soldiers and militias were sent to attack Nanny Town and Nanny routed them? […] She always wore her abeng on a lanyard around her waist […]

(music) An abeng (horn of the Jamaican Maroons).


Magnum

Magnum (plural Magnum dem, quantified Magnum)

“[…] collection of empty Guinness, Red Stripe, Magnum Tonic Wine, and Appleton Rum bottles filling a few tables out front. […] head and swivels her hips lazily next to a heavyset older man in a green Jamaican soccer jersey, a red Obama ski hat, […]”

A Magnum. A bottle of the popular fermented mead drink.


niem

— Wa yu niem?
— Mi niem Jaaj.

“Lisn op! Di uman we neehn sliip wid no man a-go get biebi — a wan bwai shi a-go av, an dem a-go kaal im Imanyuwel.” Da niem de miin, “Gad de ya wid wi.”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 1:23:

"Listen! The woman who never slept with a man will have a child — she will have a boy, and they will call him Immanuel." The name means "God is with us".


puss in a bag

You just get ketch my yute. you go buy puss in a bag.

You sure got fooled, my boy. You bought a pig in a poke.


respeck

“Nuff, nuff respeck due to the runners-up Bad Gyal Jade and Hungupungeh, who consistently shelled di place from week to week. […]”

2018, Miss Kitty, “Dancehall is a Jamaican gold mine”, in The Jamaica Star (in English):

Lots of respect to the runners-up Bad Gyal Jade and Hungupungeh, who consistently stunned the crowd from week to week. […]


saalt

saalt (plural saalt dem, quantified saalt)

saalt dem (plural)
saalt (quantified)
saal (alternative)

Ou fresh waata an saalt waata fi kom outa di siem spring, iihn?

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jiemz 3:11:

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?


choch

choch (plural choch dem, quantified choch)

church (Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place)

An ier wa mi a se no, yu a Piita, wan rak. An a pan dis ya rak mi a-go bil fi mi choch, an no powa dong a el naa go kyan mash dat op

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 16:18:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Church (Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community)


pum-pum

pum-pum (plural pum-pum dem, quantified pum-pum)

pum-pum dem (plural)
pum-pum (quantified)


escallion

escallion (plural escallion dem, quantified escallion)

escallion dem (plural)
escallion (quantified)


sky juice

sky juice (plural sky juice dem, quantified sky juice)

sky juice dem (plural)
sky juice (quantified)
sky-juice (alternative)

Mi cyaan drink bag juice inna di sun hot. Sell me a sky juice, Fudgie.

It's too hot out to drink bag juice. I'd like a sky juice, Fudgie.

A snow cone served in a clear plastic bag instead of a cone ; sky juice


suck-suck

suck-suck (plural suck-suck dem, quantified suck-suck)

suck-suck dem (plural)
suck-suck (quantified)

Reduplication; derived from English suck because the drink is sucked out of the bag.

Yuh nyam too much bun an' cheese and drink too much suck-suck. A suh come yuh suh pop-dung.

You eat too much of that Jamaican sweet spice bread with cheese and you drink too much sky juice. That's why you're so weak.

A snow cone served in a clear plastic bag instead of a cone; sky juice


coco bread

coco bread (plural coco bread dem, quantified coco bread)

coco bread dem (plural)
coco bread (quantified)

/ˈkʷoːkʌ ˈbɹɛd/

Compound and shortening of coconut milk + bread.

Patty nuh nice widout coco bread.

I don't enjoy Jamaican patties without coco bread.

A Jamaican bread made with coconut milk.


red peas

red peas (plural red peas dem, quantified red peas)

red peas dem (plural)
red peas (quantified)

Compound of red (“red”) + peas (“bean, pea”).

Di red peas soup wah mi madda mek fi dinna sweet mi yo si.

I really enjoyed the kidney bean soup my mother made for dinner.


Bustamante backbone

Bustamante backbone (plural Bustamante backbone dem, quantified Bustamante backbone)

Bustamante backbone dem (plural)
Bustamante backbone (quantified)

Refers to the resoluteness of Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante, Jamaica's first prime minister.

Yuh see whentime you read it inna
Star seh stranger come in a district
And lickle more a pickney disappear?
Is Fallen Angel carry dem way
Fallen Angel love sweetie,
bulla cake or Bustamante backbone
and especially paradise plum.

1996, Honor Ford Smith, My Mother's Last Dance, page 80:

“The Bustamante Backbone was so very good, she remembered. They were a delicious jaw-breaking delight. The children called them "Busta". She could almost taste them, still. Verona wondered whether that particular candy was still being ... […]”

2006, L. A. Augustin, Sound Awareness (in English), →ISBN, page 62:

Bustamante backbone
Bustamante backbone#English


grater cake

grater cake (plural grater cake dem, quantified grater cake)

grater cake dem (plural)
grater cake (quantified)

Compound of grater (“grated”) + cake (“cake”).

University of the West Indies Press
w:University of the West Indies Press

A dessert consisting of shredded coconut in sugar paste; grater cake.


gizzada

gizzada (plural gizzada dem, quantified gizzada)

gizzada dem (plural)
gizzada (quantified)

From guisado, past participle of Spanish guisar (“to prepare, to cook, to stew”).

der

A sweet Jamaican pastry with a coconut filling; gizzada.


mampy

jam-noun

mampy (plural mampy dem, quantified mampy)

mampy dem (plural)
mampy (quantified)
mampi (alternative)
mampie (alternative)

Mawga gyal cyaan satisfy me. A one real mampy mi waan.

A skinny girl can't satisfy me. I need a Big Woman.

“MAMPY: An extremely obese woman. Sexist Dancehall has not coined a special word for fat men so we still call them big belly man and believe it or not, they are in demand. […]”

2014, Joan Williams, Shawn Grant, Original Dancehall Dictionary: Learning to speak like a Jamaican (in English), →ISBN:


musmus

Reduplication; Derived from English mouse; Compare Sranan Tongo moismoisi.

Faya de a musmus tiel im tingk a kuul briiz.

A fire is at the mouse's tail but he thinks it's a cool breeze.


butu

Derived from Akan butu (“to overturn, to stoop down”).

der+

Di new neighbour dem a some real butu. Mawnin', noon, an' night dem haffi blas' dem music an' mek up bere noise lakka dancehall dem deh.

The new neighbours are truly low-class people. They blast their music and create a commotion all day as if they were in a discotheque.

“butoo; butu (bü-tü): n. - a dummy; someone who is regarded as foolish, backward or loutish […]”

[2006, Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds, Jabari: Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language (in English), →ISBN, page 22:

An uncouth and stupid person; a boor; a low-class person.


elp

2. Uman we a mada an pikni disorv speshal kier an elp. Evri pikni, weda ar nat dem mada an faada did marid a di taim wen dem baan, fi enjai di siem protekshan we sosaiyati aafa.

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25:

2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection


yanga

jam-noun

yanga (plural yanga dem, quantified yanga)

Possibly from or related to nyanga, from Mende nyanga (“ostentation; showing off”). Possibly influenced by Spanish yanga (“carelessly; without necessity”). Compare Proto-Bantu *-yȧng- (“dance in joy”) and Kongo -yangalala (“be happy”).


Manley

jam-noun

Manley (plural Manley dem, quantified Manley)

Manley dem (plural)
Manley (quantified)
manley (alternative)

A portrait of former Prime Minister of Jamaica Michael Manley is printed on the obverse, hence the term.

O much patty a Manley can buy?

How many Jamaican patties can you buy with a J$1,000 note?

“Their battle cry is, "What have you done for me lately?" Or: "Let off a Manley ($1,000 bill) on mi nuh, boss." […]”

2012, Nitram Gemsingh, “Stop nurturing 'sufferer poor'”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


battyman

battyman (plural battyman dem, quantified battyman)

battyman dem (plural)
battyman (quantified)
batty man (alternative)

“Den yuh hear him, 'Lawd!' Him cyaan fight. Di ongle ting him have a him mouth . Him trace like a any batty man […]”

1986, Honor Ford Smith, Sistren (Organization), Lionheart Gal: Life Stories of Jamaican Women, →ISBN, page 45:

Do you hear him? 'My God!' He can't fight. All he has his talk. He runs his mouth off like a fag […]

(vulgar, slang, derogatory) homosexual, fag (homosexual)


Laad

Laad dem (plural)
Laad (quantified)
Lawd (alternative)

Chrai fain out we di Laad riili waahn unu fi du.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ifiijan 5:10:

and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.


maakit

maakit (plural maakit dem, quantified maakit)


kuol

Mi nuo evriting bout unu. Mi nuo se unu no kuol an unu no at. Mi wish unu did koul ar at.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 4:15:

"'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!


guinep

guinep (plural guinep dem, quantified guinep)

The fruit of Melicoccus bijugatus — a tree of the Sapindaceae family, native to Central and South America.


guango

guango (plural guango dem, quantified guango)

After yuh pass the guango tree pon di lef hand side, guh roun di corner yu si wah cow tie pon a light post ...

Go past the rain tree on your left. Then go round the corner. There you'll see a cow tied to a lamppost ...

Albizia saman
Albizia saman#Translingual

Albizia saman, guango, monkey pod tree, rain tree


raasclaat

“Yuh nuh 'fraid yuh get a shot in ha yuh raasclaat? […]”

2013, Calvin Riley, Victor of Circumstances: Highlight the Day-to-Day Struggle that the Underprivileged Undergo to Find Love and Security. (in English), →ISBN, page 166:

Aren't you afraid they'll shoot your ass? […]


grabba

grabba (plural grabba dem, quantified grabba)

If yu nuh put di grabba in dey, yu nuh get di right vibes.

If you don't mix it (cannabis) with tobacco, you won't enjoy it as much.

a form of tobacco normally added to cannabis before smoking


bowcat

bowcat (plural bowcat dem, quantified bowcat)

/ˈbɔʊ̯ˌkʲat/

From Brazilian Portuguese boquete (“blowjob”). Compare the derivation of Russian мине́т (minét, “fellatio”) likewise inexplicably switching the sexual organ.

bor

“bowcat (bow-k'at): n. - one who engages in oral sex […]”

2006, Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds, Jabari: Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language (in English), →ISBN, page 17:

(vulgar, slang, often derogatory) A man who performs cunnilingus.


cerasee

Mi bwile cerasee bush and medina.

“"Yu waahn dis mint or yu waahn cerasee?" […]”

2016, Sylvia Gilfillian, The Road to Timnath: Di Ruod Tu Timnat (in English), →ISBN:

Would you like mint tea or bitter melon? […]


bobi

Derived from English booby or bubby. Compare Sranan Tongo bobi.


fuckry

(slang, vulgar) alternative spelling of fuckery


epistemalaji

Borrowed from English epistemology, from Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistḗmē, “science, knowledge”), from ἐπίσταμαι (epístamai, “I know”) + -λογία (-logía, “discourse”), from λέγω (légō, “I speak”).


guzu

goozoo (alternative)
guzum (alternative)

Muma yuh wuk guzu!?


faada

jam-noun

faada (plural faada dem, quantified faada)

Iebriyam did a Aizak faada, an Aizak did a Jiekob faada, Jiekob pikni dem a did Juuda an Juuda breda dem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 1:2:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,


bakra

bakra (plural bakra dem, quantified bakra)

bakra dem (plural)
bakra (quantified)
buckra (alternative)

Derived from Efik mbakara; compare Belizean Creole bakra, Nicaraguan Creole bakra, Guyanese Creole English bakra, English bakkra, English buckra, and Gullah buckra.


bammie

bammie (plural bammie dem, quantified bammie)


quattie

quattie (plural quattie dem, quantified quattie)

quattie dem (plural)
quattie (quantified)

From English quarter. A coin whose value was a quarter of a sixpence, i.e. 1½p.

Not a quattie worth sell.

The money we got for what we sold was chicken feed.

(idiomatic) chicken feed, a paltry sum (a negligible amount)


balmyard

balmyard (plural balmyard dem, quantified balmyard)

balmyard dem (plural)
balmyard (quantified)
balm yaad (alternative)
balm yard (alternative)
balm-yard (alternative)

/ˈbɑːm ˈjɑːd/

Mi a go carry him go a balm yard! For there is healing in the balm yaad.

I'm going to take him to the balmyard! Because there's healing in the balm yard.

“This healing is in many cases linked up with obeah, for if it is true that a man gets ill because a duppy has been set on him, then the obeahman or the 'balmyard' healer and not the doctor is the right person to give advice. This kind of healing ...”

1957, Michael Garfield Smith, Gerardus Johannes Kruijer, A Sociological Manual for Extension Workers in the Caribbean (in English), page 71:

A place where obeah and pocomania rituals are practised.


gungo peas

/ˈɡʊŋɡʊ ˈpiːz/


bomboclaat

bomboclaat (plural bomboclaat dem, quantified bomboclaat)

bomboclaat dem (plural)
bomboclaat (quantified)
bumboclaat (alternative)
bombaclaat (alternative)
bambaclaat (alternative)
bumbaclot (alternative)
bumboclat (alternative)
bumboclot (alternative)
bomboclat (alternative)

From bumbo (“vagina”) + claat (“cloth”).


badmind

Compound of bad (“evil”) + mind (“mind”)

badmine (alternative)
bad mine (alternative)
bad mind (alternative)
bad-mind (alternative)

Badmind a wah a mash up di country right yah now.

Envy is what's destroying the country nowadays.

Bun bad mind!

“"Dem face no pretty but dem no ha bad mind," said Kapo's caption at his recent exhibition at Hills Galleries.”

1961, Spotlight: Caribbean Newsmagazine, volumes 22-23, page 30:

"Their faces aren't pretty but they aren't green with envy", said Kapo's caption at his recent exhibition at Hills Galleries.

Badmind a kill dem.

“Nex' ting yu know , one ah dem jus' get fed up an' decide to drop dead jus' for bad mind . She say some people does dead for spite.”

1984, Paul Keens-Douglas, Lal Shop: Short Stories and Dialect Poetry, →ISBN, page 106:

"The next thing you know, one of them just get fed up and decided to drop dead out of spite.

bitterness, malice, malicious nature, malicious ways, resentment, spite (malice)


ratbat

ratbat (plural ratbat dem, quantified ratbat)

ratbat dem (plural)
ratbat (quantified)
rat bat (alternative)

From English bat. The compound includes the word rat because of the animal's appearance.

Mi fraid a rat bat bad.

Some fly inna the market weh big like a ratbat.

There are flies in that market which are as big as bats.


rat bat

rat bat (plural rat bat dem, quantified rat bat)

rat bat dem (plural)
rat bat (quantified)


gyallis

gyallis (plural gyallis dem, quantified gyallis)

gyallis dem (plural)
gyallis (quantified)
gallis (alternative)
gyalis (alternative)

Man like me haffi have a bag a gyal. Mi a real gyallis.

A guy like me has to have a lot of girls. I'm a real player.

“Unuh know my style already, me nah push nuh gun lyrics, just nice motivation songs, gyallis songs and songs wid nice vibes weh people can hold a vibe to. […]”

2018, Shereita Grizzle, “Weh Dem Up To: Family man Specialist looking to make comeback”, in The Jamaica Star (in English):


crocus bag

crocus bag (plural crocus bag dem, quantified crocus bag)

crocus bag dem (plural)
crocus bag (quantified)

She use fi get di crocus bag from di wholesale.

She used to get her burlap bags at the wholesaler.


Dutch pot

Dutch pot (plural Dutch pot dem, quantified Dutch pot)

Dutch pot dem (plural)
Dutch pot (quantified)
dutchy (alternative)
dutchie (alternative)

Nuff time mi see di pothole dem and mi feel seh dat ah people dig dem fi spite as dem shape too perfect! Some look lakka dutch pot!

I often see potholes and I get the impression that people intentionally create them as their contours are so even! Some of them even resemble Dutch ovens.

a cast iron pot for roasting, baking, and frying; Dutch oven (Dutch oven)


gungo

Possibly from a coastal dialect of Kongo ngungu.


bandwagonist

bandwagonist (plural bandwagonist dem, quantified bandwagonist)

bandwagonist dem (plural)
bandwagonist (quantified)
wagonist (alternative)

From English bandwagoner with the suffix -ist.

“Little Jamaica is a big deal because of our athletes. So mi no want nobody a bash dem and a talk negative about dem. Some a di bandwagonist dem need fi go hide under dem bed and no come out at all!”

2017, Miss Kitty, “Salute our athletes no matter what”, in The Star:

Little Jamaica is a big deal because of our athletes. So I don't want anybody to bash them or to say bad things about them. These bandwagoners ought to go hide under their bed and never come out from under it!


natty dread

natty dread (plural natty dread dem, quantified natty dread)

natty dread dem (plural)
natty dread (quantified)
dread (alternative)
natty (alternative)
natty-dread (alternative)
natty dreadlocks (alternative)

/ˈnatɪ ˈd͡ʒɹɛd/

Compound of natty (“knotty”) + dread (“dreadlocks”).

Cut who fa hair? Doah run dem joke wid natty dread.

Cut whose hair? Don't make those kinds of jokes around the Rasta man.

“In Jamaica, Rastas are sometimes referred to as Natty Dread due to their thick dreadlocked hair. […]”

2014, Annette Lynch, Mitchell D. Strauss, Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia (in English), →ISBN, page 248:


wagonist

wagonist (plural wagonist dem, quantified wagonist)

wagonist dem (plural)
wagonist (quantified)

Dem a war wagonist, dem a two side cutlass.

They're opportunists who love contention. They're two-faced.

They're war opportunists. They're a double-edged machete.


rude bwoy

rude bwoy (plural rude bwoy dem, quantified rude bwoy)

rude bwoy dem (plural)
rude bwoy (quantified)
rudeboy (alternative)
rudie (alternative)
rude boy (alternative)
rudeboy (alternative)
rude bway (alternative)

Di rude bwoy dem a lick shot.


batty bwoy

batty bwoy (plural batty bwoy dem, quantified batty bwoy)

batty bwoy dem (plural)
batty bwoy (quantified)
batty boy (alternative)
batty bwai (alternative)
batty bway (alternative)

“[...]
 "Batty bwoy fi burn in hellfire."
 "Gainst all natural law."
 "I never tell you how I fix that batty bwoy on Flatbush. Me see him walking one night in [...] Me turn to Chalice, me tell him, lewwe beat this batty bwoy [...]"”

2004, Noel D. Williams, Julie Mango: Stories (in English), →ISBN, page 196:

"… Homosexuals should burn in hell. They go against all natural law." "Did I ever tell you how I messed up that faggot on Flatbush? I saw him walking one night in … I turned to Chalice and said let's beat this queer up.

(vulgar, slang, derogatory) homosexual, fag, faggot, queer (homosexual)


pum pum

pum pum (plural pum pum dem, quantified pum pum)

pum pum dem (plural)
pum pum (quantified)
pum-pum (alternative)
pumpum (alternative)

Reduplication; possibly derived from Akan pumpung.

Memba mi seh, yuh cyaan dun pum pum but pum pum can dun you.

Mark my words, you can't slay all the pussy there is, but pussy can slay you.

“Lawd help mi tiday, di likkle gyal pum pum smell a fish […]”

2015, Deanne Heron, Contemplation (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

Lord, help me today. This girl's pussy smells like fish […]


peenie wallie

peenie wallie (plural peenie wallie dem, quantified peenie wallie)

peenie wallie dem (plural)
peenie wallie (quantified)
peeniewallie (alternative)
peenywally (alternative)
peeny wally (alternative)

/ˈpiːnɪ ˈwɑːlɪ/

What a way di peenie wallie dem pretty a night time.

It's so lovely to see the fireflies at night.

“Den now, when night come, everybaddy bungle up pon de porch inna di darkness. Wid peenie wallie a flash like when matches hard fe light. […]”

2010, Jennifer M. Keane-Dawes, Dear Jamaica: Expressions of Indigenous Knowledge (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN, page 9:

And so, when it got dark, everyone huddled together on the porch in the darkness, with fireflies blinking like a match which you're having trouble lighting. […]

A firefly. A nocturnal beetle that emits a flashing light.


tambrin

tambrin (plural tambrin dem, quantified tambrin)

tambrin dem (plural)
tambrin (quantified)

“TAMBRAN, TAMBRIN sb dial; the common folk pronunc of tamarind (through normal loss of -d, effect of vowel harmony changing i>a, and articulative intrusion of b after m). Tamarind. […]”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 437:


politrickster

politrickster (plural politrickster dem, quantified politrickster)

politrickster dem (plural)
politrickster (quantified)

Yuh cyaan trus di politrickster dem. A ongle election time yuh see dem.

You can't trust those crooked politicians. You only see them when there are elections.

“(Sake of yuh really cyaan trus' how long
yuh politrickster frien' dem
cyan hold down de pot lid […]”

1978, Joe R. Pereira, Profiles & Poemics (in Jamaican Creole), Valley Publications, page 38:

(Because you really can't trust how long
your crooked politician friends
will keep the lid on the situation […]


June plum

June plum (plural June plum dem, quantified June plum)

June plum dem (plural)
June plum (quantified)

Jeezas! Da June plum yah sour bad!

“June plum (Spondias dulcis Parkinson) […]”

2019, David R. Katerere, Wendy Applequist, Oluwaseyi M. Aboyade, Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Modern Era (in English), →ISBN:

Spondias dulcis
Spondias dulcis#Translingual

Spondias dulcis or its fruit; ambarella; June plum.


chargie

chargie (plural chargie dem, quantified chargie)

chargie dem (plural)
chargie (quantified)

→ English: chargie (MLE)

/ˈt͡ʃɑːd͡ʒɪ/

Possibly from English charged. Literally another person charged for the same crime, a partner in crime.

Yuh a mi chargie.

“Socio-linguistically speaking, it is normalised for Jamaican men to express manly affection by saying, "nuff/much love", "mi rate yuh", or "yuh a mi chargie" to each other. […]”

2020, Oneil Madden, The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


cerfiticket

cerfiticket (plural cerfiticket dem, quantified cerfiticket)

cerfiticket dem (plural)
cerfiticket (quantified)
cerfiticate (alternative)
certificate (alternative)

Mi a guh a RGD fi pick up mi pickney birth cerfiticket.

I'm going to the RGD to collect my child's birth certificate.

“I giamaicani spesso invertono l'ordine delle lettere o le cambiano, dicendo per esempio flim al posto di 'film', o cerfiticket invece di 'certificate' (certificato). […]”

2009, Richard Koss, Giamaica (in Italian), →ISBN, page 348:

Jamaicans often invert the order of letters or change them, saying, for example, flim instead of 'film', or cerfiticket instead of certificate […]


prekeh

What a prekeh! Yuh nuh hear wah gwaan dung deh?

What a scandal! Haven't you heard what's happening over there?

“What a prekeh! Bangarang time again inna Jamaica! Unuh know seh when election inna di air, tingz nuh normal! […]”

2017, Miss Kitty, “Hell, fire and bangarang”, in The Jamaica Star (in Jamaican Creole), archived from the original on 2020-10-17:

What a scandal! It's controversy time once again in Jamaica! You all know that when it's election season, nothing is normal! […]


flim

flim dem (plural)
flim (quantified)
film (alternative)

Tek out di flim outta di camera.


forty leg

forty leg (plural forty leg dem, quantified forty leg)

forty leg dem (plural)
forty leg (quantified)
forty-leg (alternative)

/ˈfɑːtɪ ˌlɛɡ/

Some centipedes literally appear to have forty legs. Compare Hindi चालीसपद (cālīspad), Turkish kırkayak.

If forty leg bite yuh, yuh fenneh.

If a centipede bites you, you'll be in a lot of pain.

“Me seh fi stop spread propaganda pon di dread
Cause di dread nuh have nuh forty-leg inna him head […]”

2018, Michael Abrahams, “Stop spread propaganda pon di dread”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):

I'm asking you to stop spreading propaganda about the Rastaman
Because the Rastaman doesn't have centipedes in his hair […]

A centipede. A segmented arthropod of class Chilopoda.


cocobay

From Akan kokobé. Cognate of Sranan Tongo kokobe.

“A kind of leprosy or elephantiasis once prevalent among negroes in Jamaica. […]”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 113:

“(Having) a skin that looks diseased or repulsive with sores. […]”

2003, Richard Allsopp, Jeannette Allsopp, Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage (in English), →ISBN, page 161:

Any skin condition that displays bumps, warts, sores, or a scaly appearance.


manley

manley (plural manley dem, quantified manley)


Jamdung

“Jah-Mek-Ya, Jamdung: Jamaica […]”

1990, Harry S. Pariser, Jamaica: A Visitor's Guide (in English), →ISBN, page 38:


cocobeh

“COCOBEH, COCOBEY see COCOBAY. […]”


dead lef

Compound of dead + lef. Literally, "what the dead have left behind."

deadlef (alternative)
dead-lef (alternative)

Di pickney dem a malice dem one anedda an' a fight over dead lef.

The children aren't speaking to each other and they're fighting over the legacy.

“Di noise dem a meck
would a meck anybody def
an through wha
why you tink dem a gwan so
no true di grampa riches
as di ole man close im eye
dem start fi war over di dead lef
 […]”

2003, Easton Lee, Encounters: Voices and Echoes : Poems from a ... (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN, page 78:

The noise they were making
would make anybody deaf
And for what reason?
Why do you think they're behaving like that?
It's because of grandpa's riches
As soon as the old man closed his eyes
They started to fight over the legacy […]

nine night

Caribbean funerary tradition consisting of a wake lasting several days


forty-leg

forty-leg (plural forty-leg dem, quantified forty-leg)

forty-leg dem (plural)
forty-leg (quantified)


brown man

brown man (plural brown man dem, quantified brown man)

brown man dem (plural)
brown man (quantified)

Shi seh a brown man shi want. Mi tell her seh di darka di berry, di sweeta di juice.

She told me she wanted a light-skinned guy. I told her the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.

“There was one striking exception of a brown man breaking out of stereotype. He was either loading or unloading a washing machine or dryer with his right hand; and holding a baby quite precariously in his left hand. […]”

2018, Carolyn Cooper, “Black man + brown woman = perfect match?”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


chrii

chrii (plural chrii dem, quantified chrii)

chrii dem (plural)
chrii (quantified)
three (alternative)
tree (alternative)

Wan gud chrii kyaahn bier bad fruut, an wan bad chrii kyaahn bier gud fruut. Notn no go so.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 7:18:

A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.


leggo beast

leggo beast (plural leggo beast dem, quantified leggo beast)

leggo beast dem (plural)
leggo beast (quantified)
leggo beas' (alternative)
leggo-beas' (alternative)
leggo-beast (alternative)

/ˈlɛɡʌ‿biːs/

let + go + beast. Literally, "an animal which has been let loose."

A dutty gyal dat, shi come een like leggo beast.

That's a nasty girl. She acts like a slut.

“In 1982, Steel Pulse, the reggae masters would launch their True Democracy album, featuring the track "Leggo Beast," which one site commentator described as an indictment of a blast at prostitution. "Leggo beast, lips of flattery / eyes of lust / leggo beast, she says carnal lust is a must." […]”

2014, Steinberg Henry, Calypso Drift (in English), →ISBN, page 50:

(vulgar) slut, whore (promiscuous woman)

Di man call di people dem pickney leggo beast true dem carry on bad an' run weh di teacha.

He called their kids wild animals because they'd behaved badly and chased away their teacher.

“'Government hang the man and leave the youths with neither mother or father and nobody to take care of them. Now them beat from one relative to the other. I hear that one of the biggest boy get mad. Him is like leggo beast in the district.' […]”

1981, Neville Farki, Countryman Karl Black (in English), →ISBN, page 60:

(vulgar) hothead; tearaway; a wild animal (wild, unruly person)


carochies

/kʌˈɹʷoː.t͡ʃɪz/

Derived from Spanish corotos, plural of coroto.

Tek yuh carochies an' come outta mi house.

“CAROCHIES, CAROCHY /karúochiz, koróchi/ sb chiefly dial (usually plur); <Amer Sp corotos, playthings, tools of trade, chattels, trumpery, trash, stuff (Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia). Things of little value; rubbish. […]”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 92:


Blackheart Man

Compound of black (“black”) + heart (“heart”) + man (“man”).

com

blackheart man (alternative)
Blackheart man (alternative)

When time di pickney dem 'ear seh Blackheart Man deh near, dem tek off lakka rocket.

As soon as the kids heard that the bogeyman was nearby, they ran like the wind.

“There is also the mythical "Blackheart man," a shadowy and dangerous bearded figure believed to eat living human hearts and abduct children by enticing them with sweets. […]”

[2009, Charles Price, Becoming Rasta: Origins of Rastafari Identity in Jamaica (in English), →ISBN, page 24:

a man from a Jamaican urban legend who kidnaps little children; bogeyman


dunce bat

jam-noun

dunce bat (plural dunce bat dem, quantified dunce bat)

dunce bat dem (plural)
dunce bat (quantified)

“dunce bat (bat): n. - an extremely ignorant or illiterate person […]”

2006, Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds, Jabari: Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language (in English), →ISBN, page 43:


fassy

fassy (plural fassy dem, quantified fassy)

Nuh deal wid da guy deh. Di man a real fassy.

Don't have any dealings with that guy. He's a real asshole.

“FASSY: In the olden days, fassy was an adjective used to describe parts of the body covered with sores. […] In modern language however, fassy has become a noun. Sometimes it means a male homosexual and at other times it means a traitor or one who deliberately lets down or huts his friends. […]”

2014, Joan Williams, Shawn Grant, Original Dancehall Dictionary: Learning to speak like a Jamaican (in English), →ISBN:


mouth a massy

mouth a massy (plural mouth a massy dem, quantified mouth a massy)

mouth a massy dem (plural)
mouth a massy (quantified)
mout-a-massy (alternative)
mouth-a-massy (alternative)

Compound of mouth (“mouth”) + a (“have”) + massy (“mercy”).

compound

Lawd, da mouth a massy cyaan 'tap talk now, man?

Lord, please make this chatterbox stop talking.

Me nuh chittie, me nuh do chatty
Me nuh likkle mouth a massy […]

I'm not a talker
I'm not a chatterbox […]

Every day dis mouth a massy talk bout 'ow 'im woulda neva lef yard, an see it deh, from 'im get visa, we nuh see 'im again.

This hypocrite always spoke about how he'd never leave Jamaica but once he got that visa, he was gone.

Say dem a fenky fenky, mouth-a-massy
Nuff of dem a chatty chatty
Gwaan like dem a Tikki tikki
Dem a make I sicky sicky […]

They're weak hypocrites
Many of them talk too much
They're like little river fish
They make me sick […]


pongonut

jam-noun

pongonut (plural pongonut dem, quantified pongonut)

pongonut dem (plural)
pongonut (quantified)
pongo-nut (alternative)
pongo nut (alternative)

Probably the dialectal pronunciation of pomegranate.

Pongonut a nuh fi me. 'Im too sour.

I'm not a fan of pomegranates. They're too sour.

“alright <,> this is Jamaica nice and that was <,> medicine chest reminding you that medicine chest <,> was brought to you <,> courtesy of ocean spray cranberry pongonut juice <,> ocean spray drink to life and Benjamin’s a trusted name for over a century medicine chest Jamaica nice soon come back […]”

[2019, Michael Westphal, “A History of Jamaican Creole in the Jamaican Broadcasting Media”, in association for anglophone postcolonial studies (in English), archived from the original on 2020-12-29, page 252:


ram puss

ram puss (plural ram puss dem, quantified ram puss)

ram puss dem (plural)
ram puss (quantified)
ram-puss (alternative)

Compound of ram (“male [of an animal]”) + puss (“cat”).

compound

Da ram puss yah waan dash weh. Afta 'im naw ketch nuh mice-rat.

This tomcat is no good. He doesn't catch any mice.


miggle

Nuff space deh inna di bus. Guh dung likkle more and siddung inna di miggle.

There's a lot more space in this bus. Go a little further and sit in the middle.

“Dog an all know seh 'prosperity' a di JLP slogan. It big an broad pon dem website, "Partnership For Prosperity". One green bell inna di miggle a di 'o' inna 'Prosperity'. […]”

[2016, Carolyn Cooper, “JLP no own prosperity!”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in Jamaican Creole):

Everybody and their dog knows 'prosperity' is the JLP slogan. "Partnership For Prosperity" is displayed prominently on their website. There's a green bell in the middle of the 'o' in 'Prosperity'. […]


bollo work

Possibly a clipping and compound of combolo (“friend/comrade”) + work (“work”).

Di party seh a nuh bollo work, but everybody dun know seh true election deh near mek dem dweet.

The party pointed out that these weren't temporary emergency jobs, but we all knew that they created them because elections are approaching.

It’s not a vote-buying, ‘bollo work’ public works programme, we are led to believe.

2018 November 16, Martin Henry, “Martin Henry”, in Jamaica Gleaner:

Temporary emergency jobs created by the government to reduce unemployment.


weda

So im se, “Wen iivnin kom ef di skai red unu se, ‘Di weda a-go gud tumaro kaa di skai red’

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 16:2:

He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'


kolcha

jam-noun

kolcha (plural kolcha dem, quantified kolcha)

Evribadi av di rait fi fiil frii fi jain ina di laifstail (kolcha) a di ieriya we dem liv (komyuuniti), fi enjai di kriyietiv skil dem an shier di pruogres we mek ina saiyans an di gud tingz dem we kom fram da pruogres de

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 27:

Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.


Chiney

Chiney (plural Chiney dem, quantified Chiney)

Dem shoulda memba say di Haskell a spray, di sixpance a play. Weh dem a guh wid dem Chiney K?

2008 September 12, “Weh Dem A Go” (track 46), in Jamaican Style, Vol.3, performed by Vybz Kartel,Jah Vinci:

They should remember that the Haskell(Hi-Point) 45 ACP Semi-auto Pistol sprays (bullets), the six-shooter will play. Where are they going with their (imitation) Chinese Kalashnikovs?

Me get a K from Vagga from De La Vega weh mek Chiney man skin black like naega

2008 December 27, “Last Man Standing” (track 24), in Pon Di Gaza 2.0, performed by Vybz Kartel:

I get a Kalashnikov from my friend Vagga from De La Vega which makes a Chinese man's skin black like a nigga's.

Inna middle day, gun play. Bad man ah beat di Chiney K. Night turn to day, all mama pray. Dem ah beat di Chiney K.

2008, “Chiney K” (track 18), in Gaza vs Gully EP Part 1, performed by Mavado:

In the middle of the day, there's gun play. Bad men shoot the Chinese imitation Kalashnikovs. Night turns to day, all mothers pray. They shoot the Chinese (imitation) Kalashnikovs.

Mi know dem ends like mi design di map. Rifle with the spikey back, K from Chiney clap

2017 December 8, “Up Top”, in Strictly the Best, Vol. 59, performed by Teejay:

I know the ends like I designed the map. The rifle with the spikey back, the Kalashnikov from China claps.


Chiney K

Chiney K (plural Chiney K dem, quantified Chiney K)

Chiney K dem (plural)
Chiney K (quantified)

They should remember that the Haskell(Hi-Point) 45 ACP Semi-auto Pistol sprays (bullets), the six-shooter will play. Where are they going with their imitation Chinese Kalashnikovs?

Put di body ah di spot right where di box keep. Park di Chiney K, di Russian chopstick.

2009, “Real Killer (No Chorus)” (track 9), in Mr. Brooks... A Better Tomorrow, performed by Mavado:

Put the body on the spot where the box is kept. Spark (shoot) the imitation Chinese Kalashnikov, the Russian chopstick (gun).

Chiney K (Chinese-made imitation Kalashnikov rifle)


kaaz

Nobadi nofi luuz dem prapati widout gud kaaz.

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 17.2:

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.


jinarieshan

jinarieshan (plural jinarieshan dem, quantified jinarieshan)

jinarieshan dem (plural)
jinarieshan (quantified)

/d͡ʒɪnaˈɹɪ̯ɛʃan/

kaaz im si an memba mi im puo sorvant. Fram nou aan, evri jinarieshan a-go se mi a Gad-bles uman

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 1:48:

for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed


konchri

konchri (plural konchri dem, quantified konchri)

konchri dem (plural)
konchri (quantified)

Nou, chuu Gad did don waan dem aaf, an tel dem iina wan jriim se dem no fi go baka Erad, dem tek wan neda wie go baka dem konchri.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 2:12:

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

An juu tu ou di konchri a selibriet di 100 bortdie a di Anarebl Louise Bennett Coverley, uu a did wan a di bigis champian fi di Jamiekan langwij;

2019, “Recognize Patois As An Official Language; Says UWI”, in JamaicanInsider.com:

And whereas, as part of Miss Lou 100, the country is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Honourable Louise Bennett Coverley, one of the biggest champions of the Jamaican language;

country, land (set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, speakers of the same language etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc.)


yaad

Wen Jiizas riich a Piita yaad, im si se Piita mada-in-laa did lai dong iina bed. Shi did av fiiva

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 8:14:

And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever

yard (small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building)


simitri

simitri (plural simitri dem, quantified simitri)

simitri dem (plural)
simitri (quantified)


worl

worl dem (plural)
worl (quantified)
wol (alternative)
world (alternative)

"Ef di piipl dem iina di worl iet unu, memba se dem did iet mi fos

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 15:18:

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you

Mi lef fram wich paat mi Faada de an kom iina di worl. Rait ya nou, mi a lef di worl fi go baka mi Faada."

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 16:28:

I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."


aatagrafi

aatagrafi (plural aatagrafi dem, quantified aatagrafi)

aatagrafi dem (plural)
aatagrafi (quantified)

Sens lietli, di Jumiekan LangwijYuunit op a Yunivoersiti a di Wes Indiz tek di Cassidy sistim fi divelopi, kandok pailat prajek ina skuul, ah inchajuusi tu di poblikaz di tandad aatagrafi.

2014 May 28, Larry Chang, Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language, Gnosophia Publishers, →ISBN, page 63:

Latterly, the Jamaican Language Unit at the University of the West Indies took the Cassidy system to develop it, conduct pilot projects in schools, and introduce it to the public as standard orthography.


suod

Dem stuon som a dem, an tek saa kot dem iina tuu an yuuz suod kil dem aaf tu[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Iibruu 11:37:

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword […]

Ef nobadi fi get lak op iina prizn, a dat a-go apm tu dem. Ef nobadi fi get kil wid di suod, dem a-go get kil wid di suod[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 13:10:

If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain […]


fingga

fingga (plural fingga dem, quantified fingga)

Dem tai aan evi luod pan piipl shuolda we aad fi kyari, bot dem no iivn waahn lif op wan fingga fi elp dem

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 23:4:

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.


jred

jred dem (plural)
jred (quantified)
dread (alternative)


pikni

pikni (plural pikni dem, quantified pikni)

Derived from English pickaninny. Compare Bajan pickney, Bislama pikinini, Pijin pikinini, and Tok Pisin pikinini.


fambili

fambili (plural fambili dem, quantified fambili)

fambili dem (plural)
fambili (quantified)
faambli (alternative)

Di sumadi uufa iez Piita did chap aaf, did a fambili wid wan a di liida fi di priis dem sorvant dem. Ier im tu Piita, “No yu mi si wid im iina di gyaadn?”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 18:26:

One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"


faambli

faambli (plural faambli dem, quantified faambli)

faambli dem (plural)
faambli (quantified)


fuud

“So mi a tel unu, no bada fret bout unu laif, a wori op unuself bout wa unu a-go iit ar jringk, ar wa unu a-go wier. Kaaz laif no muo impuotant dan fuud, iihn? An di badi no niid muo dan kluoz?

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 6:25:

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?


ienjel

ienjel (plural ienjel dem, quantified ienjel)

Den wen Juozif wiek op, im du jos wa di ienjel tel im fi du. Im tek Mieri an go marid ar.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 1:24:

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife


infamieshan

... infamieshan wi no gi If a man a moles mi an mi famili Mi naa ron fi poliis ar sikuoriti Mi uda chek fi mi ruud bwai kompini

1995 February 8, Carolyn Cooper, Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender, and the"Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture, Duke University Press, →ISBN:

We are not informers, we don't give information If someone is molesting me and my family I wouldn't run to […]


ozban

ozban (plural ozban dem, quantified ozban)

“Mi no av no ozban,” shi se tu im.[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 4:17:

"I have no husband", she said to Him. […]


siniek

siniek (plural siniek dem, quantified siniek)

Wich wan a unu we a faada, wuda gi unu pikni wan siniek wen dem aks unu fi wan fish?

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 11:11:

Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish?


nuoz

An iivn duo mi siknis did mek tingz aad fi unu, unu neva kin op unu nuoz pan mi ar ton unu bak pan mi.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Gyalieshan 4:14:

And even though my sickness made things hard for you, you never turned up your nose at me nor turned your back on me.


laiyan

laiyan (plural laiyan dem, quantified laiyan)

Dem ier luk laik uman ier, an dem tiit komiin laik laiyan tiit.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 9:8:

Their hair looks like women's hair, and their teeth like lion teeth.


ischri

Fi di fos taim iina ischri, Jeuova a gyada tugeda miliyanz a piipl fram aal uova di ort fi worship im iina chuut

2024 March 7 (last accessed), “Wa Mek Gad Av wan Aaganaizieshan?”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

For the first time in history Jehova Witnesses will gather million of people from all over the world to worship Him in truth


iez

Kaaz dem piipl ya blak dem main,
brok tik iina dem iez,
an lak dem yai dem,
so dem kyaahn si wid dem yai dem,
ar ier wid dem iez dem
an andastan wid dem main,
an ton we fram wa rang, an mi wuda iil dem.’

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Aks 28:27:

For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.'


chrezha

chrezha (plural chrezha dem, quantified chrezha)

chrezha dem (plural)
chrezha (quantified)

No bada gyada op chrezha fi unuself, we de ya-so pan ort. Yu si ya-so, worm an dem sitn de wi kom nyam nyam op unu sitn dem, an dem wi get rosti an mash op. Plos tiif de ya, an dem wi kom brok iin an tek we unu sitn dem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 6:19:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.


jojment

Bot notn no lef fi wi du dan fi wiet an fried a Gad jojment we a kom, plos di wikid wikid faiya we im a-go tek bon op di piipl dem we fait gens im.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 10:27:

but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.


sofarieshan

sofarieshan (plural sofarieshan dem, quantified sofarieshan)

sofarieshan dem (plural)
sofarieshan (quantified)

English:

English: sufferation

Dong in di geto we mi baan an gruo / sofarieshan we mi riili nuo / mi mama lok di duo mi afi sliip outaduo / mi duohn av no bed mi afi sliip on di fluo / sofarieshan we mi nuo

Down in the ghetto where I was born and raised / I know what sufferance is / my mama locked the door and I had to sleep outdoors / I had no bed I had to sleep on the floor / I know what sufferance is

Bot mi afi go chuu som siiros sofarieshan, an mi aat evi til it don!

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 12:50:

But I have to go through some serious suffering first, and my heart is heavy until it is done!

Dat miin se di Centre a go du nof wok fi mek shuor se wi no figet bout wi ischri an di sofarieshan we wi lang-taim piipl dem go chruu iina slievri diez.

2018, Carolyn Cooper, “Two crocodile, one belly”, in Jamaica Gleaner:

That means that the Centre will make sure that we don't forget our history and the suffering our ancestors went through during slavery.


uona

Di uona stil sen wan neda sorvant, bot dem kil im.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Maak 12:5:

The owner sent another of his servants, and they killed him.


piipl

piipl (plural piipl dem, quantified piipl)

We di piipl dem ina wan sosaiyati waahn, afi bi di foundieshan a di aatariti a di govament;

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 21.3:

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;


Chuuzde

Chuuzde (plural Chuuzde dem, quantified Chuuzde)

Chuuzde dem (plural)
Chuuzde (quantified)


Wenzde

Wenzde (plural Wenzde dem, quantified Wenzde)


Torzde

Torzde (plural Torzde dem, quantified Torzde)


Satde

Satde (plural Satde dem, quantified Satde)


kiangkro

kiangkro (plural kiangkro dem, quantified kiangkro)

kiangkro dem (plural)
kiangkro (quantified)

Kiangkro waah go liiwod siibriiz koh bluo im de. Ebri tob mek fisidong pan yuona batam. Wen kiangkro simaaga kou, ih ruos plaahn fiim. No wiet teljrom biit bifuo yu grain yu hax. Uu no vii no vaa, ah uu no vaa no vii[…]

2014 May 28, Larry Chang, Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language, Gnosophia Publishers, →ISBN, page 100:

turkey vulture (common New World vulture)

(figuratively, colloquial) vulture (person who profits from the suffering of others)


futbaal

Derived from English football. By surface analysis, fut + baal.

association football
association football


dayalek

dayalek (plural dayalek dem, quantified dayalek)

dayalek dem (plural)
dayalek (quantified)


sitn

Shi aks im fi du sitn fi ar.

Az yu andastan aal a di gud sitn dem we Gad gi wi kaaz wi an Krais Jiizas a wan, mi prie se di fiet we yu shier wid wi an aal a Gad piipl wi gruo.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Failiiman 1:6:

I pray that you will put the generous nature of your trust in God into action as you recognize all the good things we share in Christ.


sopm

Evri chaans unu get fi du sopm gud, du i.

Every chance you get to do something good, do it.


foundieshan

foundieshan (plural foundieshan dem, quantified foundieshan)

foundieshan dem (plural)
foundieshan (quantified)

Di fambili a di riil foundieshan we faam ina sosaiyati, an disorv di protekshan a sosaiyati and di govament.

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 16.3:

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.


oudi

Derived from English howdy, or how do you do.

der+

Epafras we iina prizn jos laka mi kaaz im tiich bout Jiizas, sen oudi fi yu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Failiiman 1:23:

Epaphras who is here in prison with me sends his greetings.


laif

Evribadi av di rait tu a kwaliti a laif we gud inof fi di elt an welnes (welbiin) a imself an im fambili[…]

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25.1:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family […]


notn

Notn ina dis ya dakyument ya bout Di Raits dem we Evribadi Av ina di Worl fi get yuuz outa plies bai eni konchri[…]

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 30:

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State […]


uol

Jiizas se tu im se, "Faks av uol an di bod dem av nes,[…]"

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 9:58:

Jesus said unto him, "the fox has its hole, and the birds have their nests, […]


powa

Gad gi Paal powa fi du som powaful mirikl.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Aks 19:11:

God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.


liida

jam-noun

liida (plural liida dem, quantified liida)

Wel, di man lef go we go tel di Juu liida dem se a Jiizas did mek im get beta.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 5:15:

Then the man went to the Jewish leaders to inform them, "It was Jesus who healed me!"


mesij

mesij (plural mesij dem, quantified mesij)

Im wi priich wan mesij tu yu. Da mesij de wi tel yu an evribadi iina yu ous ou unu kyan get siev.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Aks 11:14:

He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.


priis

priis (plural priis dem, quantified priis)

Nou a uol iip a priis yu did afi av. Kaaz priis wuda ded an so ada priis wuda afi kom tek uova.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Iibruu 7:23:

When one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests.


ruul

Aal a dem ruul ya a taak bout fuud an jringk we onggl yuuz wan taim an we no wot notn afta dat.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Koloshan 2:22:

Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.


chuut

chuut (plural chuut dem, quantified chuut)

Unu gweehn nuo di chuut, an di chuut gweehn frii unu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 8:32:

and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.


buguyaga

buguyaga (plural buguyaga dem, quantified buguyaga)

buguyaga dem (plural)
buguyaga (quantified)

Caribbean English bugo-bugo (“rough/crusty”) + Ewe yakayaka (“slovenly?”) + Hausa buguzunzum (“fat slob”)

Bwai a de-so piipl a-go sofa. Choch memba ar no choch memba. Big shot ar buguyaga.

1973, 02:44 from the start, in The Heart of Man:

Boy, there [hell] people are going to suffer. Church members or not. Big shot or poor worthless person.

(derogatory) sloppy, low-class, worthless person


tiicha

tiicha (plural tiicha dem, quantified tiicha)

Derived from English teacher. By surface analysis, tiich + -a.

Den som a di Laa tiicha an di Farisii dem se tu Jiizas se, ‘Tiicha wi waahn fi si yu shuo wi wan sain.’

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 12:38:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."


siikrit

siikrit (plural siikrit dem, quantified siikrit)

siikrit dem (plural)
siikrit (quantified)

So im ansa dem se, “Unu get di chaans fi nuo di siikrit sitn dem bout Gad kindom. Bot di piipl dem we de outsaid, mi yuuz tuori tel dem evriting,

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Maak 4:11:

And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

We di piipl dem ina wan sosaiyati waahn, afi bi di foundieshan a di aatariti a di govament; dis we di piipl dem waahn afi kom out chruu regyula an fier ilekshan, we afi bies pan worlwaid an iikwal raits fi vuot, an dis mos bi bai siikrit vuot ar a simila frii vuotin sistim

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 21:

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures


wikidnis

Kaaz di Laad a wach uova aal a di piipl dem we a liv rait an im a lisn tu dem wen dem prie, bot im no iina notn wid di piipl dem we a du wikidnis

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 1 Piita 3:12:

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil