redimusu

→ Dutch: redimoesoe

Literally, “redcap”, compound of redi (“red”) + musu (“cap”). Derived from the red caps worn as part of the uniform of the Negro Free Corps.

(historical) a member of the Negro Free Corps, a colonial military unit in Suriname made up of free blacks and freedmen

(figuratively, derogatory) traitor, race traitor, collaborator


Wiwirikampufesa

Calque of Dutch Loofhuttenfeest, itself a calque of Hebrew חג הסוכות (ḥaḡ has-sukkōṯ). Equivalent to wiwirikampu (“hut made of foliage”) + fesa (“feast”).


didibri

Possibly from analyzing English the Devil as one word.


didibrikondre

Compound of didibri (“devil”) + kondre (“country, realm”)


didibri-apra

Literally, “devil's apple”, compound of didibri (“devil”) + apra (“apple”).

Morinda citrifolia
Morinda citrifolia#Translingual


blakawiwiri

Compound of blaka (“blaka”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Venezuelan pokeweed
Venezuelan pokeweed#English

Venezuelan pokeweed, Phytolacca rivinoides


bruduwiwiri

Compound of brudu (“blood”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


bakruwiwiri

Literally, “baccoo leaf”, compound of bakru (“baccoo”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


aneisiwiwiri

Literally, “anise leaf”, compound of aneisi (“anise”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


busismeriwiwiri

Compound of busi (“bush, jungle”) + smeriwiwiri (“Croton trinitatis; Ocimum campechianum”).


ditibriwiwiri

Compound of ditibri (“three stivers, half shilling”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


tibri

(historical, numismatics) stiver; a former pre-decimalization Surinamese coin worth eight doits


dritibri

Compound of dri (“three”) + tibri (“stiver, coin worth eight doits”).

(historical) The amount of money equal to three pre-decimal stivers or a half shilling

(archaic) The amount of money equal to 4 decimal cents


sren

Likely from Dutch schelling (“shilling”).

(historical, numismatics) A former pre-decimalization coin worth 5 Surinamese stivers

(archaic, informal) The amount of money equal to 8 decimal cents


drisren

Compound of dri (“three”) + sren (“shilling; the amount of money equal to 8 cents”).

Mi sa gi joe aiti drisren nanga vijfi tiensensi.

1913, Jac. van Ginneken, Handboek der Nederlandsche taal. Deel 1. De sociologische structuur der Nederlandsche taal [Handbook of the Dutch language. Part 1. The sociological structure of the Dutch language], Nijmegen: L.C.G. Malmberg, page 269:

I'll give you eight quarters and five dimes.

(archaic, informal, numismatics) quarter (a coin worth 25 cents)


tinsensi

Compound of tin (“ten”) + sensi (“cent”).

(numismatics) dime (a coin worth 10 cents)


twarfusren

Compound of twarfu (“twelve”) + sren (“shilling; the amount of money equal to 8 cents”).


feifi

From Dutch vijf and/or from English five, both from Proto-Germanic *fimf.


pakira

Tayassu tajacu
Tayassu tajacu#Translingual


dyatawiwiri

Possibly from Mende ndatawulo (“Borreria ramisparsa”).


doifiwiwiri

Compound of doifi (“dove”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


gobogobowiwiri

Compound of gobogobo (“Bambara groundnut”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Jacaranda obtusifolia subsp. rhombifolia


feifi-olowiwiri

Compound of feifi (“five”) + olo (“hole”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


fowrulosowiwiri

Compound of fowruloso (“chicken louse”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


gomawiwiri

Compound of goma (“starch; Guarea gomma”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


ede-atiwiwiri

Compound of ede-ati (“headache”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Calotropis gigantea
Calotropis gigantea#Translingual


ede-ati

Compound of ede (“head”) + ati (“pain”).


fowruloso

Compound of fowru (“chicken, bird”) + loso (“louse”).

chicken body louse
chicken body louse#English

chicken body louse, Menacanthus stramineus


ete wan ingiwiwiri

Literally, “one more Amerindian's hair”.

by a hair's breadth
by a hair's breadth#English

in the nick of time
in the nick of time#English

(idiomatic) by a hair's breadth, in the nick of time


isriwiwiri

Compound of isri (“iron”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

blue porterweed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis


ingiwiwiri

Compound of ingi (“Amerindian”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Nationaal Herbarium Nederland
w:National Herbarium of the Netherlands


ingiwiwiri

Compound of ingi (“Amerindian”) + wiwiri (“hair”).

(figuratively, idiomatic) a fleeting instant


kibriwiwiri

Compound of kibri (“hidden, covered”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


konsakawiwiri

Compound of konsaka (“athlete’s foot”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


krasiwiwiri

Compound of krasi (“itch”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

West Indian woodnettle
West Indian woodnettle#English

West Indian woodnettle, Laportea aestuans


korsuwiwiri

Compound of korsu (“fever”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Lantana camara
Lantana camara#Translingual


kromantiwiwiri

Compound of kromanti (“African magic”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


ala piri tifi a no lafu

Literally, "not all teeth baring is smiling".

appearances are deceptive
appearances are deceptive#English

all that glitters is not gold
all that glitters is not gold#English

appearances are deceptive, all that glitters is not gold


tan tiri a no don

Literally, "staying silent isn't (the same as being) dumb".

speech is silver, silence is golden#English


konsaka

kumsákka, der Kumpsack, ein wässerichtes Schwärendes Jucken an den Füssen, auch wohl an Händen.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

Konsaka. The Kumpsack, a watery festering itch on the feet, also occurs on hands.


yampaneisitoriman

Compound of Yampaneisi (“Javanese”) + toriman (“any hitchhiker plant”), probably because this plant was traditionally eaten mainly by ethnic Javanese-Surinamese.

Bidens pilosa
Bidens pilosa#Translingual


syatu

Efu Gado no ben syatu a ten disi, no wan sma bo tan na libi. Ma Gado o syatu a ten fu den sma ede di A ben teki gi Ensrefi.

2002, Nyun, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., Mateus [Matthew] 24:22:

If God hadn't shortened those days, no one would remain alive. But God will shorten the time for the sake of those people whom he has chosen for Himself.


agumawiwiri

→ Dutch: gomawiri

Compound of aguma (“Solanum americanum”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


aguma

Possibly from Yoruba ògùmọ̀ (“'a cultivated variety of Solanum nodiflorum”). Compare Jamaican English gouma (“Solanum americanum”), Bahamian English gooma-bush (“Solanum americanum”), Antillean Creole agouman (“Solanum americanum”).

cog

Solanum americanum, the leaves of which are eaten as a vegetable.


seryusu

→ Dutch: yusu

Yu abi wan seryusu siki.


kowru

Aukan: koo


kownukondre

Compound of kownu (“king”) + kondre (“country”).


grontapu

Aukan: goontapu

Compound of gron (“ground”) + tapu (“top”).

Mi luku a grontapu nanga en gudu / Nowan kondre mi feni pe mi sa tan / Mi kan teigi yu fu tru, mi gudu / Nowan kondre mi lobi leki mi Sranan

1975, Sonora Paramarera (lyrics and music), “Kondre Nomroe Wan”, in Lobi Dee:

I look at the world and its riches / I find no country where I'll live / I can truly tell you, my darling / I love no country like my Suriname

Leki wan bakapisi foe toe grontapoe feti, dan foeroe grontapoe kownoekondre ben trowe na gron èn tra sortoe tirimakti ben teki den presi — republiek, socialistis dictatuur ofoe tra autoritaire tiri.

1983 April 1, “Sortoe sé joe e teki ini na kownoekondrestré-aksi? [Which side are you on regarding the kingdom issue?]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 6:

As a result of two world wars, many of the world's monarchies have been cast aside and other kinds of regime have taken their place – republics, socialist dictatorships or other authoritarian governments.


kibri

mi a no mi / solanga m' no krari / foe kibri, foe tjari / joe gersi na ini mi djodjo.

c. 1957, Trefossa, gronmama [Earth mother], quoted in Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1977, page 50:

I am not me / as long as I'm not ready / to keep, to carry / your likeness in my soul.

(transitive) to hide, to conceal, to withhold

Aisa Mama, yu na mi mama / yu bere mu kibri mi te fu kaba / Aisa, na yu na mi masanga / Aisa Mama, yu na mi dyodyo

2005, Leanda Mac-nack, Patricia Sichtman (lyrics and music), “Aisa Mama E Kong”, in Ala Sani Na Fu Wan Ting, performed by Sangrafu:

Mother Aisa, you are my mother / your womb should harbour me until the end / Aisa, you are my refuge / Mother Aisa, you are my guardian spirit


fransmanmope

Compound of Fransman (“Frenchman”) + mope (“hog plum”).

com

Ximenia americana
Ximenia americana#Translingual

mountain plum, sea lemon, yellow plum, seaside plum, tallowwood (Ximenia americana)


makamakawiwiri

Compound of makamaka (“thorny”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


marbonsu

→ Dutch: marabons, maribons

Probably from Kimbundu madimbondo (“wasps”), a variant of marimbondo, plural of rimbondo (“wasp”), possibly via Portuguese marimbondo. Compare Guyanese English marabunta (“Polistes infuscatus”).

cog

umbrella wasp, any wasp of the genus Polistes


dyaso

Compound of dya (“here”) + so (“so, thus, like that”), possibly influenced by Dutch hierzo (“right here, look here”).


dagublat

By surface analysis, dagu (“dog”) + Dutch blad (“leaf”). Cognate of Dutch dagoeblad.

surf

Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">blad</i> (“leaf”)

Ipomoea aquatica
Ipomoea aquatica#Translingual


Brasyon

Brazil (A large Portuguese-speaking country in South America)


Brasyon

Brazilian (Of, from, or pertaining to Brazil, or the Brazilian people)


Kayana

From French Cayenne, either from French cayenne (“army barracks”), or, as a variant of Guiana, from an Amerindian language, probably Cariban or Lokono; in which case a doublet of Gayana.

Cayenne (the capital city of the French Guiana department)

French Guiana
French Guiana#English:_Q3769

administrative region
administrative region

French Guiana (an overseas department and administrative region of France in South America)


Ingrissei

Literally, “the English side”, compound of Ingris (“English”) + sei (“side”). Compare Franssei (“French Guiana”).

(informal) Guyana (a country in South America)


Argentinia

Possibly coined by a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation team, from Spanish Argentina, from Latin argentum (“silver”) + the feminine of the adjectival suffix -īnus, in reference to the Río de la Plata ("silver river"); likely influenced by Dutch Argentinië.

coinage

Wan toe jari pasa kaba, den ben tapoe na wroko foe Jehovah Kotoigi ini Argentinia, en a no kisi toe jari pasa kaba den ben teki boen foeroe boekoe foe den tapoe na edekantoro foe den ini Buenos Aires en ooktoe 250 Nieuwe Wereldvertaling foe den Santa Boekoe ini Spanjoro tongo.

1980 May 1, “Na disiten bron foe na bijbel e misi hen marki [Modern-day bible burning is missing its mark]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 5:

A few years ago already, they stopped the work of the Yehovah's Witnesses in Argentina, and not even two years ago, they took a good number of their books at their head office in Buenos Aires as well as 250 [copies] of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Spanish.

(rare, literary) Argentina (a country in South America)


Franskayana

Compound of Frans (“French”) + Kayana (“Cayenne, Guiana”).


Franssei

Literally, “the French side”, compound of Frans (“French”) + sei (“side”). Compare Ingrissei (“Guyana”).

(informal) French Guiana (an overseas department and administrative region of France in South America)


difrenti

“Nono. Bijbel e sori krin taki Gado meki libisma, difrenti „sortu” meti nanga sani di e gro”

2024, “Gado gebroiki evolutie fu meki difrenti sani na grontapu?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

“No. The Bible clearly states that God created humans as well as different “kinds” of animal and plant life.”


brifi

Aukan: biifi

Saramaccan: biífi

→ Kari'na: brifi


leisi

Aukan: leisi

Saramaccan: lési

→ Caribbean Javanese: lési

→ Kari'na: resima


Doisrikondre

Compound of Doisri (“German”) + kondre (“country”).


Potogisitongo

Compound of Potogisi (“Portuguese”) + tongo (“language”).


Potogisikondre

Compound of Potogisi (“Portuguese”) + kondre (“country”).


Arabiatongo

Compound of Arabia (“Arabia”) + tongo (“language”).


eksempre

Fu eksempre, son sabiman e taki dati den difrenti tongo no kon de wantronso, ma taki wán „mamatongo” èn safrisafri tra tongo komoto fu a tongo dati.

2013, “Den tongo di wi e taki e komoto fu a „Toren fu Babel”?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

For example, some scholars suggest that different languages did not appear suddenly but that one "mother tongue" and various other languages come from that language.


yusrefi

Compound of yu (“you”) + srefi (“self”).


daguloso

Compound of dagu (“dog”) + loso (“louse”).


bonyo

Saramaccan: bónu

From English bone. The ending -yo may have been added to avoid confusion with bon (“tree”)


busititei

Compound of busi (“forest”) + titei (“rope”)


fowruwiwiri

Compound of fowru (“bird”) + wiwiri (“hair”).


dyuku

Aukan: dyuku

Ultimately from Fula jukka. Compare Jamaican Creole and Bahamian Creole jook (“to stab”), Nigerian Pidgin chook (“to pierce”), Grenadian Creole English djuck (“to stab”).


yesimama

Compound of yesi (“ear”) + mama (“mother”).

com+

Mi no ben kan tan arki den betiyesi tori fu Basedi, bika na bigisma no ben lobi te pikinnengre mofo e warsi na ini en tori efu den bradi den yesimama e arki.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi [A piece of life]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 256:

I couldn't stay to listen to the ear-catching stories of Master Edi, because the old man didn't like it when children's mouths wandered into his tale if they had stretched their eardrums and were listening in.

A bom sutu so tranga taki a broko mi yesimama. Furu yari langa mi no ben man yere bun, ma te fu kaba mi yesi kon betre baka.

2007, “Yehovah kibri wi libi na a ten fu den ogri-ati tirimakti [Jehovah saved our lives in the time of the malicious regimes]”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

The bomb exploded so loudly that it broke my eardrums. For many years I couldn't hear well, but in the end my ears healed again.


yesilinga

Compound of yesi (“ear”) + linga (“ring”)


ondrosuku

Yu abi a gwenti fu leisi a deitekst nanga a komentaar na ini Ondrosuku den Buku fu Bijbel ala dei?

2020, “Yu e kisi wini fu Ondrosuku den buku fu Bijbel ala dei?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Does your spiritual routine include reading the Bible text and comments for the day from Examining the Scriptures Daily?


bakabonyo

Compound of baka (“back”) + bonyo (“bone”).

Di mi gebore na ini 1956, mi ben abi wan siki na den senwetitei fu mi bakabonyo. Dati meki mi no ben man waka bun èn mi ben kisi tra siki tu.

2013, “Yehovah ’e tyari a lai fu mi ala dei’”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

When I was born in 1956, I had an illness in the neural cord of my spine. Because of that, I couldn't walk properly and I got other illnesses too.


anansititei

Compound of anansi (“spider”) + titei (“rope”)

„A bisnis fu mi no ben waka bun èn dati meki mi ben kon abi bigi paiman. Sani kon moro ogri di na ekonomia fu Argentinia go na baka. Mi wefi ben musu du wan oparâsi tu. A ben gersi leki noiti mi ben o man pai ala den paiman fu mi. Mi ben firi leki wan freifrei di fasi na ini anansititei.”

2012, “San unu kan du te unu abi paiman? [What can you do when you're in debt?]”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

“My business wasn't going well and because of that, I ended up having large debts. Things became uglier when Argentina's economy took a downturn. Also, my wife had to have an operation. It seemed like I'd never be able to pay all my debts. I felt like a fly trapped in a spiderweb.”


sribikamra

Compound of sribi (“sleep”) + kamra (“room”).


uduloso

Compound of udu (“wood”) + loso (“louse”).


dreiwatra

Compound of drei (“dry”) + watra (“water”).

Dreiwatra e kiri mi.

2011, José Paulo Ribeiro, Rafael da Silva Oliveira, Wortubuku Sranantongo para brasileiros, FUNAG, page 177:


weti

Aukan: weti

Saramaccan: wéti


gowtusmeti

Borrowed from Dutch goudsmid. Equivalent to gowtu (“gold”) + smeti (“smith”).


gebore

→ Caribbean Javanese: khebore

Borrowed from Dutch geboren (“to be born”).

bor+

I was born in 1956 with spina bifida. Because the neural tube in my spine failed to close completely, nerve damage has made it difficult for me to walk and has caused other serious health problems.


ferstan

→ Aukan: fusutan

desc

→ Caribbean Javanese: ferstang, frestang, prestang

→ Saramaccan: fusután

Borrowed from Dutch verstaan (“to understand”). Doublet of frustan.


fensre

Aukan: fensee

Saramaccan: fensë

→ Caribbean Javanese: fénsré

→ Kari'na: fensere

Tra sani di temreman ben e meki, na sani soleki tafra, sturu, bangi, nanga kisi pe sma ben poti sani na ini, èn sosrefi sani soleki doro, fensre, udu sroto, nanga postu fu poti na a plafon.

2008, “Yu ben sabi a sani disi?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Other things that the carpenter used to make were things such as tables, chairs, benches, and boxes where people put things into, as well as such items as doors, windows, wooden locks, and beams to put on the ceiling.


ferfi

Borrowed from Dutch verven (“to paint”).


ferfi

→ Saramaccan: feífi


fayaworon

Compound of faya (“fire”) + woron (“worm”).


dondru

Aukan: dondoo, donduu


sweti

Lukas di ben de wan datra no e fruklari fa a sweti fu Yesus „tron leki dropu brudu di ben e fadon na gron” (Lukas 22:44).

2013, “Yesus e begi aladi a e sari srefisrefi”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Luke who is a physician does not explain how Jesus’ sweat “became as drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44).


komoto

Aukan: komoto

„[Yehovah] kari unu komoto na ini a dungru fu kon na ini en tumusi moi leti.”—1 PETR. 2:9.

2016, “Gado kari wi komoto na ini a dungru”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

“[Jehovah] called you to come out of darkness and come into his wonderful light.”—1 PET. 2:9.

to come from, originate from, evolve from


fertrow

Borrowed from Dutch vertrouwen (“to trust”). Doublet of frutrow.


woron

Te den kibri a mana kon miti a di fu seibi dei, dan a no e lai nanga woron. A no e tingi tu! Disi na wan tra wondru!

(Can we date this quote?), “Wan nyun sortu nyanyan”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

When they save the manna over to the seventh day, it doesn’t get full of worms. And it doesn’t stink! This is another miracle!


koiri

Borrowed from Dutch kuieren (“to stroll”).

Wan dei Anansi ben koiri ini a busi. Dan di ai koiri a si wan sani di noiti a ben si bifo: wan ston di abi barba.

2002, “Anansi nanga a ston san abi barba”, in SIL - Languages of Suriname:


fayafaya

Fa yu kan sori taki yu e „wakti fayafaya” fu si „a glori fu den manpikin fu Gado”?

2019, “Yu e „wakti fayafaya”?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

How can you show that you are “waiting eagerly to see "the glory of the sons of God”?


wakti

Borrowed from Dutch wachten (“to wait”).

Nownowde yu e wakti langa fu feni wan bus.

Nowadays you wait a long time to catch a bus.

How can you show that you are “waiting eagerly" to see "the glory of the sons of God”?


wakti

A wakti e bigin mindri fu a mun.

The watch begins in the middle of the month.

watch (a particular time period when guarding is kept)


tudewroko

Equivalent to tu (“two”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


dridewroko

Equivalent to dri (“three”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


fodewroko

Equivalent to fo (“four”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


wrokope

Compound of wroko (“work”) + pe (“place”)

com+

Mi no lobi te sma kon suku mi na mi wrokope.

I do not like it when people come looking for me at my workplace.


spuru

Borrowed from Dutch spoelen (“to rinse”).


legre

Di a kon sabi taki Elisa ben de na ini a foto Dotan, a seni a legre fu Siria fu go teki en.

(Can we date this quote?), “Wan bigi legre di de leki faya”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

He found out that Elisha was in the city of Dothan, and he sent the Syrian army there to capture him..


tafra

→ Lokono: tafolo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: tafrá

→ Caribbean Javanese: tafrah, taprah

→ Kari'na: tapara

→ Trió: tafra


kownusturu

Compound of kownu (“king”) + sturu (“chair”).

com+

Na ini a fisyun disi wi e si taki a kownusturu fu Yehovah de na tapusei fu den kerub-engel.

(Can we date this quote?), “„Mi kisi wan fisyun fu Gado””, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

In this vision we see that Jehovah's throne is above the cherubs.


boketi

owruyari boketi

a bouquet that is given to someone the day before their birthday


bakabana

→ Dutch: bakabana

Compound of baka (“to fry”) + bana (“plantain”).


koranti

Aukan: kolanti

→ Caribbean Hindustani: koraanti

→ Caribbean Javanese: kranti

Borrowed from Dutch courant, an archaic form of krant (“newspaper”). Compare Afrikaans koerant and Indonesian koran.


daguwesneki

Compound of daguwe (“boa constrictor”) + sneki (“snake”).


mamafoto

Compound of mama (“mother”) + foto (“city”).

Bakrakondre na a wan enkri kondre pe a tiri fu a kondre no de fu en mamafoto.


mangri

Borrowed from Dutch mager. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mindri, onfu, nangra, kwinsi.


pikinfinga

Compound of pikin (“small”) + finga (“finger”).


mindrifinga

Compound of mindri (“middle”) + finga (“finger”).


mindri

From English middle. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, nangra, kwinsi.

a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti

1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela, Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:

The middle of the river / that revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth


ketre

→ Saramaccan: ketè


wrokomati

Compound of wroko (“work”) + mati (“friend”).


fokofoko

Aukan: fuku fuku

Saramaccan: fuköfukö


dedewan

Compound of dede (“dead”) + wan (“one”).


krabu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: krabu

→ Caribbean Javanese: krabu

→ Saramaccan: kaábu


krabu

Borrowed from Dutch krabben (“to scratch”).


lontu

Borrowed from Dutch rond (“round; around”).


skapuloiri

Southern two-toed sloth (Choloepus Didactylus)


mirafroiti

Borrowing or calque from Dutch miereneter.

southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)


kuriaku

grey brocket (Subulo gouazoubira, syn. Mazama gouazoubira), of South America.


tamanwa

Probably from Portuguese tamanduá (“anteater”).

De Reuzenmiereneter of Myrmecophaga tridactyla, in Suriname bekend als de Tamanwa, was de afgelopen dagen nadrukkelijk in het nieuws.

2014, Radio Suriname, “Paramaribo Zoo: ‘Tamanwa is geen killer’”, in Nieuws-Suriname:

giant anteater (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla)


tigrikati

Felis pardalis
Felis pardalis#Translingual


bigisma

Compound of bigi (“big”) + sma (“person”).

Mi no ben kan tan arki den betiyesi tori fu Basedi, bika na bigisma no ben lobi te pikinnengre mofo e warsi na ini en tori efu den bradi den yesimama e arki.

I couldn't stay to listen to the ear-catching stories of Master Edi, because the old man didn't like it when children's mouths wandered into his tale if they had stretched their eardrums and were listening in.

Noiti no kosi kaiman mama, fosi yu abra liba, a so den bigisma koti den odo.

2003, Conjunto Pomos (lyrics and music), “No Kosi Kaiman”, in Kula Man:

Never curse the caiman's mother before you've crossed the river, that's how the old people recite their proverbs.

elderly, wise person; old man or old woman


fawaka

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


kakumbe

Aukan: kakumbe


mamanten

Aukan: mamanten


kruktutere

Aukan: kukutu tee

Compound of kruktu (“crooked”) + tere (“tail”). Saramaccan kúkútúlábu is likely a calque of this term.


no kosi kaiman fosi yu abra liba

no kosi kaiman mama fosi yu abra liba#Sranan_Tongo

Alternative form of no kosi kaiman mama fosi yu abra liba


Wrokomandei

Compound of wrokoman (“worker, labourer”) + dei (“day”).

compound+

May Day, Labour Day (the first day of May, a worldwide workers' holiday)


kunsu

Aukan: kunsu

Saramaccan: kúnsu

→ Kari'na: kunsu

A koensoe de na tapoe wan kisi na ini oso. Te sma kon, dan den kan sidon na tapoe a koensoe.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 20:


fugufugu

Omoe Mani abi wan dagoe, a foegoefoegoe.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 34:


kruktu

Aukan: kukutu


klapu

to slap (primarily on the face but also elsewhere)


edekrabasi

Compound of ede (“head”) + krabasi (“calabash”).


dreisabana

Compound of drei (“dry”) + sabana (“savanna”).


umapikin

Compound of uma (“woman”) + pikin (“child”).


winsi

Joe ben winsi joe kan njan mi no? Kande joe sa feni wan tra fowroe, ma a no mi.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 48:

You wish you could eat me, don't you? Maybe you will find another bird, but not me.


winsi

Alternative form of awinsi (“although, even if”)


te kakafowru kisi tifi

Literally, “when the rooster grows teeth”.


Mama Sranan

Na disi wawan de un trutru Manspasi: / firgit' fosten kodya, bigin opo pasi / fu meki mama Sranan waka go doro / pe toekomst de wakt' un, son opo na syoro, / wan dei di Sranan sa kon breiti, kon krin, / te nowan sa prefuru fu kosi un skin.

c. 1950, Albert Helman, Kot'singi [Tale-interrupting song], quoted in Adyosi / Afscheid, Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, published 1994, page 62:

This alone is our true Emancipation: / forget the cudgels of old, begin to open up roads / to allow Mother Suriname to march forward / to where the future awaits us, the sun rises at the shore, / a day that Suriname will rejoice, will be purified / when no one will dare to curse our skin colour.

Ini 1974 te kon miti a srefidensi foe Sranan (1975), a Doe-Theater pré: Libi Span ini na ati joe^([sic – meaning foe]) Sranan - wan totaal-theater-pré, pe singi, pokoe, dansi nanga pré moksi kon na wan, èn pe den someni koeltoeroe foe Sranan ben e begi foe a krakti foe Mama Sranan.

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 114:

In 1974 until the independence of Suriname (1975), the Doe-Theater performed: Life's Exciting in the Heart of Suriname - a total-theatre play where song, music, dance and theatre mixed together, and where Suriname's many cultures invoked the strength of Mother Suriname.

A national personification of Suriname as a woman or a mother goddess


nengre

Aukan: nengee

Saramaccan: në́ngë

From English nigger. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, mindri, kwinsi, nangra.

Businengre

someone from one of the groups of Maroons in Suriname


mofobuba

Compound of mofo (“mouth”) + buba (“skin”).

com+

Den gorogoro de leki wan opo grebi, èn den tongo e taki soso lei. Den mofobuba e kiri yu leki te wan takru sneki beti yu.

2002, Nyun, Suriname: Wycliffe Bible Translators, Roma [Romans] 3:13:

Their throat is like an open grave, and their tongues speak only lies. Their lips kill you like when an evil snake bites you.


lusumbe

From Dutch duizendbeen (now archaic, displaced by duizendpoot), cognate with Papiamentu lisimbein. For the l > d change, compare didon.

centipede (animal of the class Chilopoda)


broki

Aukan: booki

Saramaccan: boóki

→ Caribbean Javanese: broki

→ Caribbean Hindustani: broki

dock (a structure attached to shore for loading and unloading vessels)


apteiki

Aukan: aputeiki


Sneisikondre

Compound of Sneisi (“Chinese”) + kondre (“country”).


Sneisikondre

Compound of Sneisi (“Chinese”) + kondre (“village”), so named because the village sprang up around a shop run by a Chinese immigrant.


bruya

Possibly from Dutch brouilleren (“to confuse, to confound, to muddy”).


bruya

broeja, brojafasi. Unordnung.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:


bruya

→ Dutch: broeja, bruya


manspasi

Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’. / Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’. / Sensi manspasi kon, / uma no e teri man moro. / Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’.

c. 1957-1961, “Chapter 2. Folksongs (Religious Songs, Play Songs, Dance Tunes)”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, published 1975, →ISBN, page 64:

You should call women by 'those names'. / You should call women by 'those names'. / Since the emancipation came, / women don't respect men any more. You should call women by 'those names'.

a joe tanapoe lek kondre stonpopki / or' anoe a tap ede e sor keti koti / lek granman dede fafoedoe / arki joeroe e naki / jere n'apinti dron / tide a hondro jari manspasi / brok' a boei doro / di ankra joe kra/ djompo kon twist/ nanga den jongwenke / mindri / a bakafoetoe banja d'e pré

1968, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “Asadoe”, in Moetete, Paramaribo: Eldorado, page 30:

It's you who stands as a statue of the nation / holding your hand above your head and showing the broken chain / please add this translation if you can / hear the hour chime / listen to the apinti drum / today it's hundred years since emancipation / cleaved the shackle / that fixated your soul / jump up and come twist along / with the maidens / amidst / the dance for the dead that's being performed


pikinso

Compound of pikin (“little”) + so (“so, thus, like that”).


Manspasidei

Literally, “Emancipation Day”; compound of manspasi (“emancipation”) + dei (“day”).

Ef mi ben sab pe joe grebi de, / mi gran afo, di krodong tjari / kon na Sranan, / so farawe fjoe eegi doti, / biten tédei, Manspasidei / psa hondro jari di keti koti, / mi ben sa saka libi foto, / mi ben sa pari mi eegi boto / f'kon saka kiendie na joe sei.

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

If I knew where yout grave was, my grand ancestor, whom forced labour / brought to Suriname / so far away from your own native soil, / early today, Emancipation Day / hundred years after the chains were broken, / I would have left the city, / I would have paddled my own boat / to come and kneel by your side.

Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day#English

Surinamese Emancipation Day, a national holiday in Suriname observed annually on 1 July


lontu-oso

Compound of lontu (“to confine”) + oso (“house”).


skowtu-oso

Compound of skowtu (“police”) + oso (“house”).


markusa

→ Dutch: markoesa

Borrowed from Kari'na merekuya and/or Lokono murukuya.


Doysri

Alternative form of Doisri (official spelling)


sanede

Univerbation of san (“what”) + ede (“head”), possibly influenced by Dutch uit welken hoofde.

univerbation

Oh ma fu sanede mi mu dede / gudu, ma fu sanede mi mu dede

1974, Lieve Hugo (lyrics and music), “Na Foe Sang Edè”, in Lieve Hugo – King Of Kasèko:

Oh but why do I have to die / darling, but why do I have to die


Republiek Sranan

Opo mi pikin, opo. J'o tron wan Stari. Wan Stari d'e brenki ini a Firmamenti. En m'o gi joe wan kondre. Wan heri kondre nanga foeroe libisma. En a kondre disi sa nen A njoen Republiek Sranan!

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 60:

Rise, my child, rise. You will become a star. A star that shines in the firmament. And I will give you a country. A whole country, with many people. And this country will be called: the new Republic of Suriname!

Republic of Suriname
Republic of Suriname#English

(rare, literary) Republic of Suriname (the official name of Suriname)


Doisri

From Dutch Duitser. Compare Japanese ドイツ (Doitsu, “Germany”).

Oh ma fu sanede mi mu dede / gudu, ma fu sanede mi mu dede / San de na kondre mi no feni ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Doisri mi no fanga ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Swego mi no sabi ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Bergi mi no kisi ete (sanede mi mu dede)

Oh but why do I have to die / darling, but why do I have to die / What is in the country I haven't found yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Germany I didn't catch yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Sweden[?] I don't know yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Belgium I didn't get yet (why do I have to die)


agersitori

From a + gersi + tori, “it-is-like story”. Biblical parables often start like, for example, “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king”, in Sranantongo “a Kownukondre fu heimel gersi wan kownu”.


siksiyuru

→ Dutch: siksiyuru

From siksi (“six”) + yuru (“hour”), called thus because they produce their strident “song” particularly at dusk, around six o’clock in the afternoon.

San ben libi, n'a singi fu den siksiyuru. / - Mi ben dape, Bato, gongote!

1975, Michaël Slory, “Koroni kawina [Coronie kawina]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 252:

What remained, was the song of the cicadas. / I was there, Bato, gongote!

A liba e dansi nanga den skwala fu a libi / siksiyuru e bari, den wiwiri e dansi / Prisiri ala pe, yu kan yere a grontapu singi a harmoni

2023, Humphrey Koulen (lyrics and music), “Na So Mi Wan Fu Syi Kresneti”, performed by Tarnaz Amarello:

The river is dancing with the waves of life / the cicadas are resounding, the leaves are dancing / Rejoicing everywhere, you can hear the earth singing the harmony

true cicada (any cicada of the family Cicadidae)


fowtow

From Dutch foto, reflecting the Northern Dutch phonetic realisation /ˈfɔʊ.tɔʊ/.


Pareisi

Paris (the capital and largest city of France)


katibo

Aukan: katibo

Saramaccan: katibo

Likely from Portuguese cativo (“slave”), ultimately probably from Latin captīvus. Compare Papiamentu katibu (“slave”).


daguwe

Synonym of daguwesneki (“boa constrictor”)


agidya

Probably from Ewe dzridzá (“hedgehog”), Fon àjijá (“hedgehog”).

Brazilian porcupine
Brazilian porcupine#English

Brazilian porcupine, Coendou prehensilis


Swiska

Ultimately from Middle High German Swīzer.

Na ini den jari 1772 kon miti 1777, wan kapten di den kari John Gabriel Stedman, ben teki prati na ini a feti foe makti den lowenengre na ini Sranankondre. A Ingrisman ben de kapten foe den matrosi foe Kononèl Fourgeoud, wan Swiska.

1968, R. Dobru, “A feti fu Gado Sabi [The war of Gado Sabi]”, in Moetete, number 2, Paramaribo: Eldorado, page 2:

In the years from 1772 to 1777, a captain called John Gabriel Stedman took part in the war to subdue the Maroons in Suriname. This Briton was captain of the marines of colonel Fourgeoud, a Swiss.


sebrefata

(dated, derogatory, offensive) scum, wretch, bastard


demokrâsia

Learned borrowing from Latin dēmocratia, from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokratíā).


berpe

Aukan: belipe


o-o

From earlier hoho, probably from Fon ʁóχò (“twin”).