aboma

Any of various other large constrictors, aboma.


fa

Short for a phrase such as fa fu yu? or fa a e go?


te

Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku

1984, “Nioni”, in Telefôn' mi koe mi koenoe, performed by The Exmo Stars and Boogie:

If you aren't able to carry a headpad / you shouldn't bother with a basket


te

→ Aukan: te

→ Saramaccan: té


ten

Atleba ten no sa de moro ini Sranan / Den bakra, den ben hori wi na baka / Den de bow den kondre kon na fesi / Meki wi e pina

1975, Mighty Botai (lyrics and music), “Sranang Kong Fri”, in Onafhankelijkheid (Srefidensi) Suriname:

The period of toiling will be no more in Suriname / The Dutch, they held us back / They built up their country successfully / Made us suffer


i

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


en

Third-person singular possessive determiner/pronoun; his, her, its


en

Third-person singular object pronoun; him, her, it


tutu

horn (bone outgrowth on the head of some mammals)


anu

>? Aukan: ana

money that is paid out to the participants of a kasmoni


plata

→ Aukan: paata

→ Caribbean Javanese: platah

→ Saramaccan: paáta


son

→ Saramaccan: sónu

From English Sun (from Middle English sunne, from Old English sunne (“sun; the Sun”)) or Dutch zon (from Middle Dutch sonne (“sun”), from Old Dutch sunna), both from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sóh₂wl̥.


boy

Alternative form of boi (official spelling)


pata

Dutch: patta


man

A man no ben man taki.


man

A man no ben man taki.

If you aren't able to carry a head pad / you shouldn't bother with a basket


dada

Probably from Ewe dàdá (“aunt”), Gen dadá (“aunt”)


law

Probably from Kongo kilawu, from Proto-Bantu *dadU.

Joe lau te moesi

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, page 22:

Di Paulus kaba taki gi ensrefi, Festus taki nanga wan tranga sten: „Yu e kon law, Paulus! Den kefalek sani di yu leri e law yu!”

2005, Nyun-Grontapuvertaling fu den Kresten Griki Buku fu Bijbel [New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures], Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 26, verse 24:

When Paul was done speaking up for himself, Festus said with a loud voice: “You lost your mind, Paul! The great things you learnt are driving you insane!”


spun

Spun no de.


mama

(figuratively, in compounds) origin, source, centre, basis


du

Probably from Ewe ɖú (“dance”), Fon ɖùwè (“dance”).


fri

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.


bow

wan sma di yu kan bow na en tapu

(figurative, with tapu) to trust, to depend on


flamingo

Borrowed from Dutch flamingo. (The bird that in English is known as flamingo is known instead as segansi.)

Eudocimus ruber
Eudocimus ruber#Translingual


mope

→ Dutch: mopé

Spondias mombin
Spondias mombin#Translingual


fan

Probably from Ewe ɸā́n (“clear, light”).


don

→ Caribbean Javanese: dong

→ Kari'na: don

→ Saramaccan: dón

Sranan odo: don no abi dresi.

Surinamese proverb: there is no medicine for stupidity.


Na liba e lon na a bigi se.


A man disi na wan bigidagu.


A de na oso.

Na liba e lon na a bigi se.


odi

Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, retrieved 2021-03-20:

Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, (that) he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.


historia

Learned borrowing from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía). Doublet of tori.


Sranan

Sranám-kondre da hási-tére: tide a wai so, tamara a wai so.

1855, Hendrik Charles Focke, Neger-Engelsch woordenboek [Negro English Dictionary], Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell:

Suriname is like a horsetail: today it's blown this way, tomorrow it's blown that way.

Now di Sranan e meki en biri / ala tra biri kan tan tiri

c. 1955, Eddy Vervuurt (lyrics and music), “Lied [Parbo-Mambo]”performed by Orkest Eddy Vervuurt and Big Jones:

Now that Suriname is making its own beer / all other beers can keep quiet

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty cotton tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

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

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!


oni

Apis mellifera
Apis mellifera#Translingual


odo

→ Dutch: odo


sa

From English shall or borrowed from Dutch zal.

A krabdagu taki: - Angri e kiri mi ba. A di mi si yu e nyan, ne mi kon.
Adyuku taki: - We san mi e nyan, mi no sabi efu yu sa nyan en. Na kasaba dokun mi tyari. Efu yu sa nyan en, dan mi sa gi yu.

1975, “Basya Adyuku koni”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 86:

The crab-eating raccoon said: 'I'm starving, brother. When I saw that you're eating, I came over immediately.
Adyuku said: 'I say, I don't know whether you'll [want to] eat what I'm eating. I brought cassava duckanoo. If you'll eat it, then I'll give it to you.

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come


sa

A saw (tool with a serrated blade, used for sawing).


smoko

to smoke (of tobacco and tobacco products)


bere

Aukan: bee

Saramaccan: bë́ë


abra

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi".

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy"


abo

eine Art Hirse, Babylonische Hirse genannt.

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

a type of millet called Babylonian millet.


lo

From English row, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”).

da somma no sabi va lo

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


lo

da boto habi aiti lo


lo

From English row, ultimately probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, *raigwō, *raih- (“row, streak, line”), from Proto-Indo-European *reyk- (“to carve, scratch, etch”).

der

Dem práni álla na wan ro

heute ist schon wieder eine andre Bande Neger angekommen.

Yet another gang of Negroes arrived today.

eine Heerde, ein Zug, Schwarm wilde Schweine.

(obsolete) herd, pack, a (a group of animals)


lo

fr:Journal des africanistes
fr:Société des africanistes
nl:Pieter Muysken

Probably from Ewe hlɔ̃ (“revenge; group of (maternal) relatives responsible for exacting revenge, clan”). Cognate of Saramaccan lɔ́, Aukan ló.


lo

Likely from English low, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“lying, flat, situated near the ground, low”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Doublet of lagi.

da grunn de lo


bana

Possibly from Anyi bana or from English banana or Portuguese banana, both possibly from Wolof banaana (“banana”). Cognate of Aukan baana.


brada

→ Dutch: brada


tra

da tarra sondeh mi no si ju


dun

Probably from Ewe dūn (“stare, unmoving gaze”).

Signifies astonishment, bewilderment, stupefaction


span

→ Dutch: no spang


todo

A nyan switi no todo.

With the particle no, used as an intensifier, particularly for switi.


aka

medium to large bird of prey; hawk, eagle, etc.


maka

Compare Jamaican Creole macca, Jamaican Creole macka.


wi

From English we. Compare Jamaican Creole wi.


bori

→ Dutch: borie

A ben de so taki wan dei mi mama ben bori okro.

2002, “A dei di mi bron misrefi”, in SIL - Languages of Suriname:


mofo

Aukan: mofu


oso

→ Dutch: osso

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-?
Proto-Indo-European *-s?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English houseder.
Sranan Tongo oso
From earlier hoso, from English house.


sonde

From English Sunday, equivalent to son + dei.


fu

Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], page 107:

Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?

used for marking the following verb as an infinitive to


baka

bakasey


agama

From a Gbe language; compare Ewe agama (“chameleon”).


asi

ace (playing card marked with "A", having one icon)


gitara

Borrowed from Dutch gitaar or from English guitar.


boda

Probably borrowed from Spanish boda or less likely from Portuguese boda.


suku

to search, to try to find, to look (for)


flet

From Dutch flit, a genericized use of the brand name FLIT.


unu

Borrowed from Igbo únù. Compare Bajan wunna, Gullah oonuh, Jamaican Creole unnu.


stari

Aukan: sitali

From English star. Likely a late borrowing, as st- typically simplifies to t- in words of English origin (see tan, tori, tiki).


meti

Aukan: meti


plafon

Borrowed from Dutch plafond, from French plafond.


iri

Probably a borrowing from Dutch hiel. The other creole languages have terms corresponding to bakafutu.


tiri

Borrowed from Dutch stil or from English still.


a

(copula) to be (used with a noun phrase as complement)


boyo

a sweet cake made of grated cassava (manioc) and cocos


foto

Aukan: foto

Saramaccan: fóto

From English fort and Dutch fort, both from Middle French fort (“strong”) .Originally, this word meant "fort" and specifically referred to Fort Zeelandia, but since Fort Zeelandia and Parimaribo are closely connected, the meaning was transferred to the later. Nowadays, it can refer to any town.

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe [Book of horrors]”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African negroes from negro-country. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

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

2022, “Moi les di yu kan leri fu Bijbel”, in Yehovah Kotoigi [Jehovah's Witnesses], Les 52: Wan bigi legre di de leki faya:

When he found out that Elisha was in the city of Dothan, he sent an army from Syria to capture him.

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 your 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.


blaw

Aukan: baaw

Saramaccan: baáu


swa

Compare Saramaccan suwá and Aukan suwa. Likely from English sour.


lawman

From the same root as law but with the suffix -man.


barba

Aukan: baiba

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, SIL, “Anansi nanga a ston san abi barba”, in Languages of Suriname, Sranan Tongo Library:


boi

(colloquial) thing (compare similar use of English guy)


santa

Borrowed from Portuguese santa or less probably Spanish santa.


kado

Borrowed from Dutch cadeau, from French cadeau.


uma

From English woman. Compare Antigua and Barbuda Creole English uman, Aukan uman and Krio uman.


soso

Possibly from Igbo sọ̀ọsọ̀ and Yoruba ṣooṣo.


soso

Kuljara va ju no habi bunne hudu, da buba soso

Your canoe doesn't have proper wood, it's just sapwood.


fru

Only used in the adverbial phrase wan fru wan (one by one).


koto

→ Dutch: koto


seki

Aukan: seke

Di a dagoe kisi meti a seki en tere.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 39:

When the dog gets meat he wags his tail.


doro

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.


doro

From Dutch door (“through”). The added verbal aspect possibly results from the relexification of words in Gbe languages that have both a spatial and a verbal aspect, compare Ewe ɖé (“towards, to; to reach, to arrive”) and Fon dò (“towards, to; to reach, to arrive”).


oli

Probably borrowed from Dutch olie (“oil”).

petrol (UK), gas (US), or another fuel used for motorised vehicles


kanari

violaceous euphonia
violaceous euphonia#English


gogo

Probably from Ewe agɔgó (“buttock”), Fon gògó (“buttock”).

Saka nanga a gogo / dan wi e lolo nanga a baka

2003, Aptijt (lyrics and music), “Boeke (Radio Versie)”, in Boeke:


awari

Borrowed from an indigenous language; compare Kari'na aware, Trió aware, Wayana awale, Akawaio aware, Pemon aware, Ye'kwana yawade / dhawade, Lokono jaware, Yanomamö aware.


kari

Sranangron e kari un'

1959, “God zij met ons Suriname”, Henri Frans de Ziel, Cornelis Atses Hoekstra (lyrics), Johannes Corstianus de Puy (music) (overall work in Dutch and Sranan Tongo):

to list, to mention, to name one by one, to enumerate


sula

→ Dutch: soela

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like rainfall it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but the cloudburst will come


kel

→ Dutch: kill

Nana: Misi libi mi nanga tori foe Frits p'pa; efi mi prakseri fa mi lasi na beste ten foe mi libi, nanga na kel.

c. 1950, Sophie Redmond, “Datra Papa [A doctor's father]”, in Thea Doelwijt, editor, Kri, kra! Proza van Suriname [Kri, kra! Prose from Suriname], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1972, page 115:

Nana: Madam, let me be with the matter of Frits's dad. If I just think about how I waisted the best years of my life with that guy...

‘Blub, hik, sorry man, ei Arnie, pe y' ben de yongu, m' e suk' i no moer man; pe a meid Sastro de man, mi lob' a sma, yongu, wan f' den kel go vandoor nang' a sma k'ba natuurlijk. (...)’

1985, Paul Marlee, Proefkonijn, Paramaribo: Uitgeverij De Volksboekwinkel, →ISBN, page 99:

'Glub, hiccup, sorry, man, hey Arnie, where have you been, man, I've been looking all over for you; where's that girl Sastro, man, I love that girl, man, one of the guys already went off with her, obviously. (...)'


buru

desc

→ Caribbean Javanese: bulman, bulmang, buru

→ Dutch: boeroe

A white Surinamese person of Dutch descent, in particular a descendant of nineteenth-century agricultural settlers.


yuru

→ Caribbean Hindustani: yuru

→ Caribbean Javanese: yuru


kori

to flatter with the intention to cheat, kiss up


biri

Aukan: bii

Saramaccan: bíi

→ Kari'na: biri

Now di Sranan e meki en biri / ala tra biri kan tan tiri

c. 1955, Eddy Vervuurt (lyrics and music), “Lied [Parbo-Mambo]”performed by Orkest Eddy Vervuurt and Big Jones:

Now that Suriname is making its own beer / all other beers can keep quiet


tere

Aukan: tee

Di a dagoe kisi meti a seki en tere.


neki

Aukan: neki


taki

A krabdagu taki: - Angri e kiri mi ba. A di mi si yu e nyan, ne mi kon.
Adyuku taki: - We san mi e nyan, mi no sabi efu yu sa nyan en. Na kasaba dokun mi tyari. Efu yu sa nyan en, dan mi sa gi yu.

1975, “Basya Adyuku koni”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 86:

The crab-eating raccoon said: 'I'm starving, brother. When I saw that you're eating, I came over immediately.
Adyuku said: 'I say, I don't know whether you'll want to eat what I'm eating. I brought cassava duckanoo. If you'll eat it, then I'll give it to you.

Di Paulus kaba taki gi ensrefi, Festus taki nanga wan tranga sten: „Yu e kon law, Paulus! Den kefalek sani di yu leri e law yu!”

2005, Nyun-Grontapuvertaling fu den Kresten Griki Buku fu Bijbel [New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures], Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 26, verse 24:

When Paul was done speaking up for himself, Festus said with a loud voice: “You lost your mind, Paul! The great things you learnt are driving you insane!”


bradi

A bradi pasi.


bradi

Den no meki a pasi so bradi.


bradi

A bradi fu a pasi.


bradi

Den bradi a pasi.

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 pasi bradi.


mati

Aukan: mati

Ndyuka-Trio Pidgin: mati

→ Dutch: mattie

→ Kari'na: mati

Borrowed from Dutch maat and/or English mate.

(slang, euphemistic) woman in a lesbian relationship


kuli

Gwe yu skôyer! Mi no e trow nanga no wan kuli

1976, Suky Akkal (lyrics and music), “Kapharia Ke Leb”, in The Tropical Mood:

Go away, you beggar! I'm not going to marry a coolie

(derogatory, offensive) coolie; an Indian-Surinamese person, a Surinamese person of Indian descent.


susu

Probably a reduplication of English shoe.


huru

to have sexual relations with more than one person


tori

From English story. Doublet of historia. Compare Nigerian Pidgin tori.

Èn san na tori fu kokobe? Son tron wan man teigi yu wan sani yu no e bribi, ma a momenti a taki kokobe yu e bribi dirèkt.

2014, Roué Verveer, 4:23 from the start, in Buitenvrouw, Puuree/Roue Verveer:

And what's the deal with kokobe? Sometimes you don't believe something someone is telling you, but the moment they say kokobe, you believe it instantly.


tori

Aukan: toli

→ Dutch: tori


asema

Possibly from Fon azema (“vampire”), equivalent to ase + -man. Cf. Saramaccan azéma.

A vampire who has the appearance of an elderly person during the day and hides his or her skin at night when out for blood.


bubu

Probably from Kongo m-bùubu (“dread, something dreadful, darkness”). Compare Aukan bubu (“jaguar”) and Saramaccan bubú (“jaguar”).


kamra

Aukan: kambaa

Saramaccan: kámba

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kamra


bosi

From English buss, of uncertain origin. Compare southern German Bussi which may or may not be related.


bosi

Aukan: bosi

Saramaccan: bósi


dri

Borrowed Dutch drie or from English three.


feti

Wi sa feti gi Sranan


feti

→ Dutch: fittie


bogobogo

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promises to me and you / like rainfall it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With a cataract of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but the cloudburst will come


bron

Aukan: boon


musu

must, should (expresses imperatives or necessity)


beti

From English bite; sense “bait” possibly from or influenced by English bait (which is itself a doublet of bite).


bebe

Probably from Fon gbɛ̀gbɛ́-tín (“Pterocarpus tree”).


fiti

to fit (to have the right size and shape)


sker

Borrowed from Dutch scheren (“to shave”).


sker

→ Dutch: skeer

In marble games, having lost and being unable to pay marbles due to having ran out of marbles completely.


arki

Aukan: aliki

>? Saramaccan: háika


no

A nyan switi no todo.

A waran no hel.


strati

→ Aukan: sitaati, strati

→ Caribbean Hindustani: stráti

→ Saramaccan: sitááti


karton

Borrowed from Dutch karton, from French carton.


yesi

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”, 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.


-man

Person suffix, used to derive agent nouns from verbs as well as nouns for people characterised by a trait from nouns and adjectives.


heiman

very important person
very important person


eru

From earlier helu, probably from Fon ʁèèlú (“alas”).


brede

Aukan: beele

Saramaccan: bëë́ë

→ Kari'na: perere


karta

Borrowed from Portuguese carta or Dutch kaart.


sensi

(numismatics) cent (a subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit of currency, such as the former Surinamese guilder and the current Surinamese dollar)


tanta

Borrowed from Dutch tante. Cf. Aukan tanto.


doti

From English dirt, dirty and possibly Akan dɔte (“earth, clay, soil, dust”). Compare Jamaican Creole dutty.

da djari habi bunne dotti

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

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

Sonte prakseri de a neti / Mi tu ai trowe watra / A tapu na doti pe mi nanga yu / Pe mi nanga yu ben bosi, brasa

1974, Lieve Hugo (lyrics and music), “Blaka Rosoe”, in Lieve Hugo – King Of Kasèko:

There might be memories at night / Both my eyes shed tears / Onto the very ground where me and you / Where me and you kissed, embraced

Mi de go na mi dótti

1855, Hendrik Charles Focke, Neger-Engelsch woordenboek [Negro English Dictionary], Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell:

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 your 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.


basi

bark (of a tree), shell (of a nut or coconut)


spari

Porcupine River stingray (Potamotrygon hystrix)


piki

From English speak. Compare Jamaican Creole piik.


dosu

→ Lokono: dosu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: dosu


Aga

→ Dutch: Agga

The Hague (a city, the administrative capital of the Netherlands)


alen

From English rain. For the initial vowel, compare alata from English or Dutch rat and aleisi from Dutch rijs.

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come


kosi

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi".

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy"


tingi

→ Saramaccan: tíngi

Probably from Dutch stinken (“to stink”). Compare tori (“story”), from English story.

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!


pingo

Borrowed from a Cariban language, ultimately from Proto-Cariban *pôinôkô; possible direct sources include Kari'na pyinko, poinko and Yao (South America) pingo.

wan lo pingo

white-lipped peccary
white-lipped peccary

Tayassu pecari
Tayassu pecari#Translingual


tabaka

From English tobacco and/or Dutch tabak, both from Spanish tabaco.

tabakka hati nussu

Kaptein sidǫ' tiri, dɛn a nyąm ala na nyąm baka. Na baka dɑti, a puri bɩgi pipa nąŋga Amer'ką tabaka, ɛn a bɩgɩn smoko te a i drųŋgu.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 240:

The captain sat down quietly, and again ate all the food. After that, he powdered a large pipe with American tobacco, and he began to smoke until he was drunk.

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi. Ala yuru wan pikin pisi tabaka ben e anga na en mofobuba. Mi ben e kari dati en ‘tabakaworon.’ Te a ben tan, dan a ben ari wan dampu fu na ‘lespeki tabaka.’ Nanga kosokoso a smoko e ari en srefi komopo na ini en gorogoro.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 254:

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end. There was always a piece of tobacco dangling from his lips. I used to call it his ‘tobacco worm.’ He was always puffing at his very strong tobacco. Coughingly, the smoke belched from his throat.

Blakaman e smoko blakatitei / bika na a moro bunkopu tabaka

1994, Albert Helman, Adyosi / Afscheid, Nijmegen: Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, page 64:

Black men smoke black shag / because it is the cheapest tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana tabacum#Translingual


grati

to slip (to slide unintentionally on a slippery surface)


dosi

cassava bread with a sweet cocos filling


paisa

From Caribbean Hindustani paisa, from Hindi पैसा (paisā) / Urdu پَیسَہ (paisa).

A wroko mi lobi ma a paisa no bun.

I like the job, but the salary isn't good.


futu

Aukan: futu

Saramaccan: fútu


munde

Adapted from English Monday, equivalent to mun (“moon”) + dei (“day”).


empi

→ Aukan: impi

→ Caribbean Javanese: èmpi

→ Kari'na: empi

→ Saramaccan: hémpi


hebi

→ Dutch: hebi


alata

From English rat or borrowed from Spanish rata, or less likely Dutch rat. For the initial vowel, compare alen from English rain and aleisi from Dutch rijs.


barki

Luku 'a sprɛ̨ŋki na yu fesi, ma no luku na barki na yu birmą ai̯.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 470:

Look at the mote on your face, but don't look at the beam in your neighbour's eye.

Owru foto ben abi hey skotu èn kofarliki bigi doro. Fu sroto den doro disi, dan den ben greni den na inisey nanga langa isri ofu brons barki.

1989 April 1, “Na pori fu wan nâsi [The destruction of a nation]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 41:

Old cities had high walls and huge gates. To lock these gates, they bolted them shut on the inside with long iron or bronze bars.


barki

Borrowed from Dutch bark or English barque.


barki

Borrowed from English bargain. Cognate with Saramaccan báíki.

Dagu nąŋga Tigri bɛn meki barki fō nyąm Krabita.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 186:

Dog and Tiger had made a bargain to eat Goat.


barki

→ Dutch: barkie

Unclear, possibly referring to one of the meanings above; compare French bâton (“stick; 10.000 French francs”), Spanish palo (“stake, stick, wood; mast; 1.000.000 in any currency”).

noncog

100 in any currency; (before 1865, obsolete) 100 Dutch guilders; (1865 to 2004, obsolete) 100 Surinamese guilders; (after 2004) 100 Surinamese dollars


bonu

ritual magic, used by a bonuman (medicine man)


aksi

From English aks (“to ask”), now obsolete except dialectally.


republiek

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch republiek.

ubor

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!

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.


saide

Pronunciation spelling of sanede (“why”).


kra

Lei̯si nąŋga mɔrsu meki yu 'kra gowɛ libi yu.

Laziness and nastiness caused your soul to leave you.

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty cotton tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

soul, spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a spiritual entity, representing the supreme creator Anana, who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living

dyodyo

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who acts as guardian of this or several individuals

yorka

soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual that can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner


skoro

→ Dutch: skorro

→ Wayana: sikoro


kasaba

Aukan: kasaba

Saramaccan: kasába

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kasaba

Borrowed from Dutch cassave, from French cassave, from Spanish cazabe, from Taíno caçabi.

A krabdagu taki: - Angri e kiri mi ba. A di mi si yu e nyan, ne mi kon.
Adyuku taki: - We san mi e nyan, mi no sabi efu yu sa nyan en. Na kasaba dokun mi tyari. Efu yu sa nyan en, dan mi sa gi yu.

1975, “Basya Adyuku koni”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 86:

The crab-eating raccoon said: 'I'm starving, brother. When I saw that you're eating, I came over immediately.
Adyuku said: 'I say, I don't know whether you'll want to eat what I'm eating. I brought cassava duckanoo. If you'll eat it, then I'll give it to you.


prei

Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], page 107:

Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?

(transitive, intransitive) to play (to be engaged in a game)

(transitive) to play (to let an audiovisual storage medium run)


feni

to find (to come across, possibly by searching)


lobi

Mi lobi yu.

a lobbi va trobbi somma

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

to love (to be inclined towards something), to like

Mi lobi fu go uku.


lobi

Aukan: lobi

Saramaccan: lóbi


sidon

Gado arki den begi fu sma di „saka sidon”, sma di ben „opo tanapu”, sma di ben „saka kindi boigi nanga en fesi go na gron” nanga sma di „saka kindi”

2016, “San Bijbel e leri?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:


dokun

Apocopic form of dokunu, possibly from Abé òdúkō (“dish of banana or tuber and sauce”), Twi Akan ɔ-dɔ̀kóno (“boiled maizebread”). Compare English duckanoo, English ducana.

bor

dokkunnu. Klössel (z.B. von Welschkorn, gelber Bananne, Pinda[)]

dokkunnu. Dumpling (e.g. of maize, yellow banana, peanut)

a sweet treat made of grated cassava (manioc) and cocos, wrapped in a banana leaf and then steamed


kaba

Di Paulus kaba taki gi ensrefi, Festus taki nanga wan tranga sten: „Yu e kon law, Paulus! Den kefalek sani di yu leri e law yu!”

2005, Nyun-Grontapuvertaling fu den Kresten Griki Buku fu Bijbel [New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures], Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 26, verse 24:

When Paul was done speaking up for himself, Festus said with a loud voice: “You lost your mind, Paul! The great things you learnt are driving you insane!”


kaba

Aukan: kaba, kaa

Saramaccan: kabá

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi.

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end.


bikasi

From English because, with the unrounded pronunciation of -au- common in many English dialects of the Americas, e.g. the pronunciation of because in the US:
 Audio (US): (file).


winti

winti, a Surinamese religious tradition based on practices from African religions


kondre

Wi mu' seti kondre bun

1959, “God zij met ons Suriname”, Henri Frans de Ziel, Cornelis Atses Hoekstra (lyrics), Johannes Corstianus de Puy (music) (overall work in Dutch and Sranan Tongo):


feryari

Borrowed from Dutch verjaren, cf. verjaardag.


skowtu

Aukan: sikowtu

Saramaccan: sikooútu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: skoutu, skotu

→ Dutch: skotoe

→ Trió: sikoutu


tyari

From English carry. Compare Jamaican Creole chai.

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.

Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku

1984, “Nioni”, in Telefôn' mi koe mi koenoe, performed by The Exmo Stars and Boogie:

If you aren't able to carry a headpad / you shouldn't bother with a basket

(transitive) to carry, to bear, to bring


switismeri

From switi (tasty, pleasant) + smeri (smell).


puspusi

Borrowed from Dutch poes, either a reduplicated borrowing or inspired by poes poes.


fesa

→ Dutch: fissa


Franskondre

France (a country in Western Europe and South America)


kerkisma

(Christianity) believer (religious person)


batra

Aukan: bataa

→ Kari'na: patere

bottle, jar (it can be made of glass, earthenware or plastic)


yorka

From Kari'na ijoròkan, ultimately from Proto-Cariban *ijoroko (“evil spirit”) with a suffix; compare Apalaí joroko, Trió joroko, Wayana jolok, Pemon iworok, Ye'kwana Odo'sha, as well as (from non-Cariban languages) Lokono jaloko.

spirit of the deceased; specifically, in the Afro-Surinamese winti belief system, a spiritual entity specific to an individual that can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner, retaining the individual's memories and personality

kra

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity that determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the human world


ambeyri

From Dutch handbijl (hand= hand + bijl= axe).


bribi

Mi no e bribi yu.


bribi

Aukan: biibi

Saramaccan: biíbi


lanti

Kwinti: lanti

Saramaccan: lánti

→ Caribbean Javanese: lanti

→ Trió: ranti

From Dutch land (“territory, territorial (colonial) government”).


wrokosani

Compound of wroko (“work”) + sani (“thing”).


tranga

Aukan: taanga

Saramaccan: taánga


yepi

Aukan: yeepi

Saramaccan: heépi

From earlier herepi, from English help or Dutch helpen. The initial y- may have originated from a glide in connected speech (compare yesi and yuru for a similar development) via the stages herepi (whence Saramaccan heépi) > *erepi > *yerepi (whence Aukan yeepi) followed by syncope of the intermediate syllable.


granman

Aukan: gaaman

Saramaccan: gaama

→ Dutch: granman

paramount chief of a Maroon or Amerindian tribe


grun

Borrowed from Dutch groen, from Middle Dutch groene, from Old Dutch *gruoni, from Proto-West Germanic *grōnī, from Proto-Germanic *grōniz.


grun

Aukan: guun

Saramaccan: guúun


wiwiri

From earlier wirri-wirri, probably from an African language.


dresi

To dress or treat a wound, or wounded person; to heal.


watra

Aukan: wataa

Saramaccan: wáta


sisa

From English sister or from Dutch zuster.


snekfisi

Compound of sneki (“snake”) + fisi (“fish”).


ka-olo

→ Dutch: kaolo


prakseri

Borrowed from Dutch prakkiseren (“to ponder”).


prakseri

desc

→ Caribbean Javanese: prakséri, plakséri


opete

Borrowed from Twi Akan ɔpɛtɛ (“vulture”)

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.


broko

(transitive, intransitive) to break, break down


keskesi

Contraction of kesikesi, probably from Ewe kèse (“monkey”).

collective name for several species of smaller monkeys

wedge-capped capuchin
wedge-capped capuchin#English

Cebus olivaceus
Cebus olivaceus#Translingual


keskesi

Contraction of kesikesi, possibly from Kari'na [Term?] and/or Lokono [Term?].

Aratinga solstitialis
Aratinga solstitialis#Translingual


kondreman

From kondre (“country”) + -man, or directly from English countryman.

Opo, kondreman un' opo!


sigara

Borrowed from English cigar or Dutch sigaar.


ede

Aukan: ede

Saramaccan: hédi


noso

Aukan: nosu

Saramaccan: núsu


noso

Compound of no + so. Perhaps a Calque of Dutch zoniet (“otherwise”).


tra fasi

Mi e si sani tra fasi.


tra fasi

Tra fasi no de.


pagara

Dutch: pagara

From Kari'na pagala. Cognate of Dutch pagaal. The meaning 'fire cracker string' was acquired because of the similar appearance to the basket in rolled-up form.

Anąnsi teki karu nąŋga alei̯si nąŋga asisi, a pɔti n'ɩn' na pagara.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits en Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 159:

Anansi took the corn, the rice, and the ashes, and put them in the basket.

reddish, quadrilateral water-proof basket with a lid, braided from reed-like strips of warimbo (Ischnosiphon gracilis) with leaves of palulu (Heliconia bihai) in between


adi

corn, clavus (painful hardened area of skin on the feet)


adi

Probably from Ewe and Fon aɖí (“native soap”), Gen àɖǐ (“lye”).

(obsolete) ash of dried banana leaves, used to make lye


dala

(numismatics) a coin or banknote worth 250 cents; a rix-dollar


gawgaw

Reduplication of gaw, or borrowed from the Dutch reduplication gauw gauw.


bigin

Aukan: bigin

Saramaccan: bigí


pikin

Borrowed from Portuguese pequenino, pequeno.


ondrobere

Compound of ondro (“under”) + bere (“belly”).


sabi

Aukan: sabi

Saramaccan: sábi

(auxiliary) to be able to (of learnt skills)


dagu

Aukan: dagu

Saramaccan: dágu


banku

Shortening of banknotu, from English banknote.


angribere

From angri (“hunger”) + bere (“stomach”).


blesi

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come


frak

Lanti kisi wan frak kragi.

The Government has received a lot of complaints.


Damsko

→ Dutch: Damsko


Anansi

From anansi, from Akan ananse (“spider”).

(mythology) Anansi (trickster spider in West African and Caribbean folklore)


kwata

red-faced spider monkey (Ateles Paniscus)


pinda

Aukan: pinda

→ Wayana: pinta

Saramaccan: pindá

→ Lokono: pinda

→ Caribbean Hindustani: pindá

→ Dutch: pinda

→ West Frisian: pinda

→ Trió: pinta

pinda. Erd-Pistacien, kleine Erdnüsse.

pinda. Ground pistachios, small peanuts.


gobi

Probably from Ewe gòó (“gourd, bottle”), Fon gò-ví (“small gourd, bottle”).


omu

Mi go na omu Sneisi / Fu go bai brede / Dan mi o poti botro gi en / Dan mi o poti kasi gi en

1982, R. Jie (lyrics and music), “Ommoe Snesie”, in Cynthia, performed by Conjunto Latinos:

I'm going to uncle Chinese / To buy bread / Then I'll put butter on it / Then I'll put cheese on it


buba

Aukan: buba

Saramaccan: búba

Compare Yoruba bùbá (“outer garment”), Baoule bui (“bark (skin)”), Kongo búuba (“outfit; small piece of cloth worn by a woman”), Mandinka bubá (“blouse”), Wolof buba (“garments”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Niger-Congo *-kwuba (“skin (bark, husk)”).

der

Pieri me na boeba, fo na ningre

1855 April 23, “De slavernij en hare gruwelen in Suriname [Slavery and its horrors in Suriname]”, in Algemeen Handelsblad, Amsterdam, page 4:

Ini mi dren mi ben syi / fa Srananman ben makandra / Ala buba ben kon na wan / Ke Masra, mi winsi a ben de tru

1985, “Mi Dren (I Shall Be Released)”, in Anne-Marie Hunsel (lyrics), Bob Dylan (music), Mi Dren (I Shall Be Released), performed by Anne-Marie Hunsel:

In my dream, I saw / how the Surinamese were getting along / All races had united / Oh Lord, I wish it were true

Kuljara va ju no habi bunne hudu, da buba soso

Your canoe doesn't have proper wood, it's just sapwood.


babun

Colombian red howler (Alouatta Seniculus)

(derogatory) a man of Hindustani descent


alanya

Citrus aurantium
Citrus aurantium#Translingual

Citrus sinensis
Citrus sinensis#Translingual


trobi

a lobbi va trobbi somma

to disturb, to harass, to pester, to tease


hori

Hori a f’furuman!

(transitive, intransitive) to keep (in a particular state)


bangi

From English bank or borrowed from Dutch bank.

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.


napi

Dioscorea alata
Dioscorea alata#Translingual


kragi

→ Aukan: kaagi

→ Saramaccan: kaági


blaka

→ Caribbean Hindustani: blaaka


blaka

Aukan: baaka


prodo

to dress up, especially in fashionable or ostentatious clothing


deinen

day name (ritual name of Ashanti origin, given to a child born on a given day of the week; e.g., Kwaku for a boy born on a Wednesday)


baksis

From English baksheesh, ultimately from Persian بخشش. Cognate of Dutch baksis.

extra amount (as a gift in addition to an amount bought)


botro

Aukan: botoo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: botro

→ Caribbean Javanese: botro


sabaku

Egretta thula
Egretta thula#Translingual

Bubulcus ibis
Bubulcus ibis#Translingual

Any of several small white egrets (Egretta alba, Egretta thula, Bubulcus ibis)


didon

Aukan: didon

From older lidon, from English lay down. For the l > d change, compare lusumbe.


gangan

Possibly reduplication of gan, from English gone.


angu

Probably from Fon àgun (“gruel”), Yoruba àgún (“gruel”). Cognate of Portuguese angu.

angu (firm porridge or cake made of maize flour)


kosokoso

Reduplication of koso, probably from Kongo kòso-kóso/Kongo kòsu-kósu/Kongo kòsula/Kongo kósúl-a, from Proto-Bantu *-koc-Ud- (“to cough”).

ju meki kossókossò tumussi

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi. Ala yuru wan pikin pisi tabaka ben e anga na en mofobuba. Mi ben e kari dati en ‘tabakaworon.’ Te a ben tan, dan a ben ari wan dampu fu na ‘lespeki tabaka.’ Nanga kosokoso a smoko e ari en srefi komopo na ini en gorogoro.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 254:

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end. There was always a piece of tobacco dangling from his lips. I used to call it his ‘tobacco worm.’ He was always puffing at his very strong tobacco. Coughingly, the smoke belched from his throat.


deiten

From dei + ten or directly derived from English daytime.


desko

From a shortening of Dutch discrimineren.


awo

mi pikin kali mi grangmamma "hem awò" : so srefi a kali mi grangtatta "hem awò" tu.

My child calls my grandmother "their great-grandparent"; likewise, they call my grandfather "their great-grandparent", too.

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African negroes from negro-country. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

Stanfaste, Stanfaste, na fas' fa y' e gro / mi kondre mu libi: net' lek' mi awo

1994, Albert Helman, Adyosi / Afscheid, Nijmegen: Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, page 64:

Globe amaranth, globe amaranth, the way you grow is / how my country should thrive: just like my ancestors


omeni

Alma: No wind isrefi op misi. Efi na vent abi so wan dikdoender, misrefi e kon jep joe smijt en na doro, nanga ala mi no lobi boemoei ini man en vrouw zaak.
Nana: Sortoe man en vrouw zaak, na omeni jari na smeerlap gowe libi mi.

c. 1950, Sophie Redmond, “Datra Papa [A doctor's father]”, in Thea Doelwijt, editor, Kri, kra! Proza van Suriname [Kri, kra! Prose from Suriname], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1972, page 115:

Alma: Don't get all worked up, madam. In case the guy starts throwing his weight about, I myself will come to help you throw him out, with all my dislike of meddling in husband and wife issues.
Nana: What kind of husband and wife issues, it's been so many years since the bastard left me.


omeni

→ Dutch: omin


sma

→ Dutch: sma

Contraction of suma, likely borrowed from English someone

a lobbi va trobbi somma

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

Mi tyant a sma kfalek ma a no wani gi en kari gi mi.

I'm hitting on him/her like mad but he/she doesn't want to give me their phone number.

da somma no sabi va lo

‘Blub, hik, sorry man, ei Arnie, pe y' ben de yongu, m' e suk' i no moer man; pe a meid Sastro de man, mi lob' a sma, yongu, wan f' den kel go vandoor nang' a sma k'ba natuurlijk. (...)’

1985, Paul Marlee, Proefkonijn, Paramaribo: Uitgeverij De Volksboekwinkel, →ISBN, page 99:

'Glub, hiccup, sorry, man, hey Arnie, where have you been, man, I've been looking all over for you; where's that girl Sastro, man, I love that girl, man, one of the guys already went off with her, obviously. (...)'

A sma di / dini tafra / a dei dati / ben sa de koloku, / Leonardo da Vinci, / mi pikinboitenwondru.

1991, Michaël Slory, “Kroboi. a paskanyanyan (Leonardo da Vinci) [Farewell. The Passover supper (Leonardo da Vinci)]”, in Ik zal zingen om de zon te laten opkomen [I will sing to make the sun rise], Amsterdam: Uitgeverij In de Knipscheer, →ISBN, page 130:

He who / waited upon the table / that day / will have been happy, / Leonardo da Vinci, / wonder of my boyhood days.

Together with the article a (“the”), used to refer to a specific but unnamed person.


nyan

From one or several West-African languages, ultimately from Proto-Bantu *nɲàmà. Compare Jamaican Creole nyam.

A krabdagu taki: - Angri e kiri mi ba. A di mi si yu e nyan, ne mi kon.
Adyuku taki: - We san mi e nyan, mi no sabi efu yu sa nyan en. Na kasaba dokun mi tyari. Efu yu sa nyan en, dan mi sa gi yu.

1975, “Basya Adyuku koni”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 86:

The crab-eating raccoon said: 'I'm starving, brother. When I saw that you're eating, I came over immediately.
Adyuku said: 'I say, I don't know whether you'll want to eat what I'm eating. I brought cassava duckanoo. If you'll eat it, then I'll give it to you.


nyan

Kaptein sidǫ' tiri, dɛn a nyąm ala na nyąm baka. Na baka dɑti, a puri bɩgi pipa nąŋga Amer'ką tabaka, ɛn a bɩgɩn smoko te a i drųŋgu.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 240:

The captain sat down quietly, and again ate all the food. After that, he powdered a large pipe with American tobacco, and he began to smoke until he was drunk.


drai

mi bere e drai

I am nauseous (literally: my stomach is turning)


ameti

From English ham#English or Dutch ham + meti (“meat”).


agida

Probably from Ewe adzidá (“drum”), Fon àgiɖá (“drumstick”).

(music) agida (a conical bass drum two to three metres long and 40-50 centimetres in diameter, the sound of which resonates in the ground and is used in the Afro-Surinamese Winti religion to communicate with snake gods; it is played with both hands, with the player using a drumstick in one hand)


betre

Likely from Dutch beter as English -er mostly corresponds with -a in Sranan Tongo (compare finga, bita, brada). The verb sense may derive from or have been influenced by sense 2 of beter (“not sick anymore; recovered from a disease”).

A moro betre you gwe.


betre

Aukan: betee

Saramaccan: bë́të


Gayana

From English Guyana, from an Amerindian language, probably Cariban or Lokono, said to be a word referring to the land's waters.


Sranantongo

Sranantongo na wan fu den Sranan tongo.
Sranan Tongo is one of the languages of Suriname.

Tide mamantin, wan bigi soema kon aksi mi, iffoe mie no kan taki wan pikien sani na ini Sranang tongo, bikasi alla soema no verstan alla sani fini fini.

1950 January 23, Gerard van der Schroeff, “Einde van de koloniale voogdij. (Radiorede van de heer G. van der Schroeff) [The end of colonial tutelage. Radio address by Mr G. Van der Schroeff]”, in De West, page 5:

This morning, an elderly person came to ask me if I could say something in Sranan Tongo, because not everybody understood everything in detail.


dobru

From English double or borrowed from Portuguese dobro.


naki

→ Dutch: nakkie


pipel

Possibly a learned borrowing from English people, possibly coined by Moravian Church missionaries.


papira

→ Caribbean Javanese: papirah

→ Wayana: pampira


bruku

→ Aukan: buuku

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bruku

→ Kari'na: puruku, puluka

→ Saramaccan: buúku


doksi

→ Dutch: doks


ankra

Aukan: ankaa

→ Caribbean Hindustani: ankra

→ Kari'na: ankara

→ Saramaccan: hánka


gwe

Mi bagasi gwe.


okasi

Alape, alafasi / sènses e gi / ontwikkeling okasi

2012 September 14, Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek, 00:09 from the start, in Trainingen, Statistiek Bureau, via YouTube, retrieved 2024-08-29:

Everywhere, in every way / the census provides / opportunities for development


poku

→ Dutch: pokoe


ploi

Borrowed from Dutch plooi (“crease, wrinkle”).


obia

Possibly from Awutu obire (“charm”) and/or Efik ubio (“charm to cause sickness or death”). Cognate of Aukan obiya, Saramaccan obia, and English obeah.


obia

Dan den poti den wisi fu kiri mi / Èn den poti den obia fu broko mi / Ma den lei, den no sa man

1977, Happy Boys (lyrics and music), “Veanti”, in Akoeba:

They even arranged charms to kill me / And they arranged charms to break me / But they're lying, they won't be able to


gorogoro

Probably from Kongo ki-kodi-kódi, from Proto-Bantu *-kodo (“throat, gullet”).


batyaw

→ Dutch: batjaw

Borrowed from Dutch bakkeljauw, from Portuguese bacalhau.


wagi

→ Dutch: waggie


apuku

Probably from Kongo m-púungu (“powerful fetish”). Cognate of Saramaccan apúku, Aukan ampukú.


buriki

Aukan: buliki

Saramaccan: bulíki


kabisi

Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia#Translingual

Lacinato kale (Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia)


kabula

→ Dutch: kaboela, kabula

A dance and music genre evolved from kaseko, characterised by sexually suggestive lyrics and dance movements.


nyun

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


Krvatkondre

Balkan Peninsula
Balkan Peninsula#English

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

Croatia (a country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe)


bonboni

Brazilian squirrel, Guianan squirrel (Sciurus aestuans)


angri

angri e kiri mi

I am very hungry (literally: the hunger is killing me)


busi

Aukan: busi


dusun

→ Dutch: doezoe

→ Saramaccan: dúsu

Wan dusun.


duku

→ Caribbean Javanese: duku

→ Dutch: doekoe


hilahila

Reduplication of *hila, from Dutch hele (inflected form of Dutch very)?


anansi

Borrowed from a West African language, e.g. Akan ananse.


granmama

Compound of gran (“grand, old, honorable”) + mama (“mother”).

com

mi grangmamma na mi awo

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi".

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy"

(historical) the oldest enslaved woman in a household or on a plantation


dyugudyugu

Den wortu disi ben e meki dyugudyugu.

Mi wefi no lobi a dyugudyugu na foto.

My wife does not like the crowdedness in the city.

Uproar, unrest, turmoil, commotion, crowdedness


dyugudyugu

John na wan dyugudyugu boi.

Uproarious, restless, troublesome, crowded


dyugudyugu

Heri dei den pikin ben e dyugudyugu so.

All day the children have been so restless.


beiri

Borrowed from Dutch bijl, from Middle Dutch bile.


strafu

Borrowed from Dutch straf (“punishment”), straffen (“to punish”).


sturu

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.


alenbo

From English rainbow, equivalent to alen + bo.


owktu

From Dutch ook + English too (from which latter also simple tu).


bromki

Aukan: boomiki

→ Kari'na: poromiki

Borrowed from Dutch bloemetje, diminutive of bloem.


kantoro

Aukan: kantoo

Saramaccan: kantoo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kantoro

→ Wayana: kantolo


trefu

→ Dutch: treef


froktu

→ Caribbean Javanese: fruktu

→ Saramaccan: fuúta


fowru

From English fowl or less likely borrowed from Dutch vogel.


baisigri

Aukan: baisigii

Saramaccan: baisígi

→ Kari'na: paisiki


asaw

From Kongo nzau, from Proto-Bantu *njògù.


kukru

Aukan: kukuu

From English cook room. The final nasal is absent in Sranan due to lack of stress (compare uma, lusumbe, kakumbe).


tumsi

Joe lau te moesi

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, page 22:


wroko

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-om
Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
Proto-Germanic *werką
Proto-West Germanic *werk
Old English weorc
Middle English werk
English workder.
Sranan Tongo wroko
From English work.

etymon

den e wroko tyen.

to process (to treat food or natural substances as a part of an industrial operation)


sroto

Owru foto ben abi hey skotu èn kofarliki bigi doro. Fu sroto den doro disi, dan den ben greni den na inisey nanga langa isri ofu brons barki.

1989 April 1, “Na pori fu wan nâsi [The destruction of a nation]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 41:

Old cities had high walls and huge gates. To lock these gates, they bolted them shut on the inside with long iron or bronze bars.

Efu yu kiri wansma, den o sroto yu.

If you kill someone, you'll get locked up.


srafu

Borrowed from Dutch slaaf, from Middle Dutch slave, from Late Latin sclavus.


gwenti

Borrowed from Dutch gewend, also compare gewoonte.


sekrepatu

Borrowed from Dutch schildpad (“tortoise, turtle”).


ayun

Aukan: ayun

→ Kari'na: ajunu, junu


kapelka

From Dutch kapel (now dialectal or archaic) with an ending -ka of unknown origin and function.


kandratiki

From English candlestick. Equivalent to kandra + tiki.


boskopu

Aukan: bosikopu

Saramaccan: bosikópu


pranasi

Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, retrieved 2021-03-20:

Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, (that) he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.


moismoisi

Reduplicated borrowing from Dutch muis. Compare Jamaican Creole musmus.

Any other mouse-like animal not closely related to mice


dringi

Aukan: diingi

Saramaccan: diíngi


Anitri

Borrowed from German Herrnhuter or Dutch hernhutter.

(Christianity) Moravian (adherent of the Moravian Brotherhood)


bonki

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bonki

Borrowed from Dutch boontje, diminutive of boon.


Dyu

Jew (adherent to Judaism; one who belongs to a Jewish (sub)culture)


Dyu

Den djoe di no ben teki na kristendom ben proberi foe drai na kaba foe den „laatste dé” foe na seti foe sani foe den ini Palestina. Ini 65 G.T. den ben opo meki oproeroe nanga den Romein granmasra. Disi ben abi leki bakapisi dati wan srefidensi djoe staat ben kon, di ben tan so wan féfi jari.

1981 January 1, “„Ini den laatste dé” — Sensi oten? ["In the last days" - since when?]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 4:

The Jews who did not take up Christianity tried to avert the end of the "last days" of their arrangement of things in Palestine. In 65 CE they rose up in rebellion against their Roman overlords. This had as a result that an independent Jewish state came into being, which remained for about five years.


krape

Likely of Amerindian origin, compare Old Tupi karambé. Cognate of Dutch krapé.

Chelonia mydas
Chelonia mydas#Translingual


pankuku

Borrowed from Dutch pannenkoek. Equivalent to pan + kuku.


faki

compartment, cell of a grid, box (e.g. a tick box)


wowoyo

According to Focke a contraction of *woyowoyo, a reduplication of woyo, an onomatopoeia. Compare Aukan wowoyo and Saramaccan wojowójo.


dungru

→ Aukan: dunguu

→ Saramaccan: dúngu

„[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.


waswasi

Reduplicated, from English wasp. Schumann and Focke still have forms corresponding to wasiwasi. Compare Aukan wasiwasi, Saramaccan wasiwási.


srudati

→ Aukan: suudati


afersi

From English affairs or borrowed from Dutch affaires, from French affaire.


swagri

→ Aukan: swagi

→ Caribbean Javanese: swagri

→ Saramaccan: suwági

Borrowed from Dutch zwager, from Middle Dutch swager.


segansi

From se + gansi, calque of Dutch zeegans.


skrifi

Aukan: sikiifi

Saramaccan: sikífi

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.

Mi no man leisi san skrifi ini a brifi.

I can't read what is written in this letter.


kapasi

→ Dutch: kapasie


bambusi

Borrowed from Dutch bamboes, older form of bamboe.


dya

Univerbation of de + ia, from English here. Compare Jamaican Creole ya.

a dea

Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja^([sic – meaning kom ija]) fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.

Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, [that] he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.


fiadu

→ Dutch: fiadu, fiadoe, viado, viadoe

From Portuguese bolo folhado, also spelled bolo fiado.

a sweet fluffy cake filled with rum-soaked raisins, almonds and succade


gagu

From Portuguese gago (“stutterer, stuttering”).


krakun

→ Aukan: kaakun

→ Caribbean Hindustani: krákun

→ Kari'na: karakuna


bereman

From bere (“womb, belly”) + -man (person suffix).


spuku

Borrowed from German Spuk (or alternatively from Dutch spook with subsequent influence from German).


bonkoro

A black person with a (relatively) light skin.


bobimofo

Compound of bobi (“breast, boob”) + mofo (“mouth”).


dyogo

Ɛn tɛ a kɩs' na mɔni, dą' a pɔt' 'a mɔni na ɩni wąn dyɔgo.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 424:

And when he got the money, he put the money in a jug.

A beer bottle with a volume of one litre.


drungu

Aukan: duungu

Saramaccan: döö́ngö


kromanti

magical, pertaining to rituals for summoning ancestral spirits


kromanti

Ma a dyuka, a tongo fu dyuka dati na kromanti a e taki.

1983, Aleks de Drie, Wan tori fu mi eygi srefi, Afdeling Cultuurstudies van het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Wetenschappen & Cultuur, page 122

But the Ndyuka people, the Ndyuka language that they speak is Akan.

the Akan language (spoken by enslaved people arriving from the Gold Coast)


kowsu

→ Aukan: kowsu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kausu

→ Kari'na: kosu

→ Saramaccan: köúsa


nangra

Aukan: nangaa

Borrowed from Dutch nagel. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, mindri, kwinsi.


akata

Probably from Kongo n-káta (“porter's pad”), from Proto-Bantu *-kata (“headpad”). Cognate of Saramaccan àkàtà.

Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku

1984, “Nioni”, in Telefôn' mi koe mi koenoe, performed by The Exmo Stars and Boogie:

If you aren't able to carry a headpad / you shouldn't bother with a basket


apresina

Aukan: apeesina

Saramaccan: apeesína


nyunsu

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


grebi

Aukan: geebi

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 your 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.

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.


dalèk

From Dutch dalijk, contracted form of dadelijk.

Mi e kon dalèk.

Dalèk dei o broko.


fruku

→ Aukan: fuuku

→ Saramaccan: fuúku


golu

(historical, numismatics) The Surinamese guilder (currency unit, abolished in 2004)

(historical, numismatics) The Dutch guilder (currency unit, abolished in 2002)


leri

Borrowed from Dutch leren (“to learn; to teach”).

bor+

Mi papa di ben e wroko na ini den mijn tu, ben leri mi taki a prenspari fu wroko tranga.

2021 May, “„Mi leri furu fu trawan!” ["I learnt a lot from others!"]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), retrieved 2024-04-09, pages 26-30:

My father, who used to work in the mines too, taught me that it's important to work hard.


bosu

(of animals) group, herd, flock, swarm, school


ingibarki

Tree of the species Licania heteromorpha.


bakba

Aukan: bakuba

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bakwa

Borrowed from Dutch bacove, from Portuguese pacova, from Old Tupi pakoba.


bakra

Aukan: bakaa

Saramaccan: bakaa

→ Dutch: bakra

From Efik mbakara or Ibibio mbakara. Compare Belizean Creole bakra, Jamaican Creole backra, Nicaraguan Creole bakra, Guyanese Creole English bakra, Igbo békè, English bakkra, English buckra, and Gullah buckra.

1757, minutes of the interrogation of Avontuur, quoted in: 2000, Margot C. van den Berg, "Mi no sal tron tongo". Early Sranan in court records 1667 - 1767, unpublished MA thesis, page 51

If my master had sent me to go to Tempatie, then I would have shown the Whites

evie mi massra ben sendie mi go na Tampatie dan mie sa ben Soria dem Backara

Kaka vo soo wan Bakkera!

1783-1785, Hendrik Schouten, “Een huishoudelyke twist [A domestic row]”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, page 194:

o! alla bakkra moesoe dédé toe

1833, Marten Douwes Teenstra, quoting Present, Bijzonderheden betrekkelijk den brand te Paramaribo, in den nacht van den 3den op den 4den september 1832 [Particulars regarding the Paramaribo fire, in the night of the 3rd to the 4th of September 1832], page 51:

Oh, all whites have to die [sometime], too.

Poti! fa mi habi sari na ini mi hatti, foe so wan moi pikien bakra.!

1858 May 16, W.E.H. Winkels, “Humoristische Snippertjes. (Uit de Portefeuille van den ouden Heer Furet.) XXXVI. DE WAARHEID op reis binnen de Kolonie Suriname. DE BLANKOFFICIER. [Humorous Snippets. (From the portfolio of the old Mr. Furet.) XXXVI. THE TRUTH travelling within the Colony of Surinam. THE PLANTATION OVERSEER]”, in Surinaamsch weekblad, Paramaribo: A.L.G. de Randamie, page 3:

Oh! How I have pity in my heart for such a handsome young white man!

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African Negroes from Negroland. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

Nanga da njoen smokoscipi voe bakrakondre mie de senie jou foe dem pikien bakra na Sint Nikolaas verjari die seksie Hondro nestie baskuto voe potie switie sanie na inie hesie mie sa senie moro.

1884 October 26, Algemeen Handelsblad (advertisement), Amsterdam, page 4:

With the new steamship to the Netherlands I'm sending you for the Dutch children, on Saint Nicholas's birthday, six hundred nests of baskets for putting sweets into[.] I'll send more soon.

Atleba ten no sa de moro ini Sranan / Den bakra, den ben hori wi na baka / Den de bow den kondre kon na fesi / Meki wi e pina

1975, Mighty Botai (lyrics and music), “Sranang Kong Fri”, in Onafhankelijkheid (Srefidensi) Suriname:

The period of toiling will be no more in Suriname / The Dutch, they held us back / They built up their country successfully / Made us suffer


bakra

Massera Ningre! condere draay, poespoessie jan sra, bakra oeman aksie man.

1840 July 17, Algemeen Handelsblad (classified advertisement), Amsterdam, page 3:

Black gentlemen! The country changes, a cat eats lettuce, a white woman requests a man. (The grammatical number of the nouns is ambiguous)


krutubakra

Den seni wan krage go na kroetoe-bakra foe boesi [...].

1917, Jac. van Ginneken, J. Endepols, “Twaalfde hoofdstuk. Het West-Indisch [Twelfth Chapter. The West-Indian Language]”, in De regenboogkleuren van Nederlands taal [The Rainbow Colours of the Language of the Netherlands], page 244:

They sent a complaint to the judge of the jungle


dorodoro

Reduplication of *doro, from Dutch door (“through”).


dorodoro

Reduplication of *doro, from Dutch door (“all the time”).


kufkaf

(slang, idiomatic) to fly into a rage; to go berserk; to freak out


taibere

cotton wraparound garment, specifically worn by women after childbirth in order to strengthen their abdominal muscles


Bakrakondre

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands#English

constituent countries
constituent country

Netherlands (The main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located primarily in Western Europe bordering Germany and Belgium)

Netherlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands (a country in Western Europe, consisting of four constituent countries: the Netherlands per se, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten)


kruyara

→ Dutch: korjaal

Kuljara va ju no habi bunne hudu, da buba soso

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

Your canoe doesn't have proper wood, it's just sapwood.

Joe si boenboen kroejara soengoe, kaba joe aksi iffi mi foetoe natti.

1874, W. Boekhoudt, Uit mijn verleden. Bijdrage tot de kennis van Suriname [From my past. Contribution to the knowledge of Suriname], Winschoten: J.D. van der Veen, page 95:

You saw full well that the canoe sank, now you ask me if my feet got wet.

curiara, dugout, hollowed-out canoe, pirogue


Fedi

Death, Grim Reaper (personification of death)


Mi na afu sensi, no wan man e broko mi

Literally, “I am a half cent, nobody can break me”. Minted until 1940, the half cent coin was the smallest denomination in circulation in Suriname and hence could not be divided into smaller units.

Nobody can break my spirit; nobody gets me down.


afèn

From Dutch affijn, non-standard form of Dutch enfin, from French enfin.


basya

Aukan: basiya

→ Dutch: bastiaan, basya

Maroon or Amerindian assistant village chief; the lowest tier in the hierarchy of tribal authority

Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], page 107:

Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?

(historical) enslaved person charged with overseeing work at a plantation and administering corporal punishment


head

mi na switi kontreki, te yu e gwe yu musu dray baka

Literally, “I am [like] a beautiful region, if you leave, you'll have to come back”.

Mi na switi kontreki, te yu e gwe yu musu dray baka.

I'm a beautiful region, if you leave, you'll have to come back.

I'm irresistible; you might think you can do without me, but you'll be drawn back to me

mi na switi kontreki, te yu dray yu sa kon baka


fa yu tan

Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, retrieved 2021-03-20:

Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, (that) he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.


fa a waka

→ Dutch: fawaka, faka


sortu

From English sort or borrowed from Dutch soort.

Sortu wroko yu e du?

2011, José Paulo Ribeiro, Rafael da Silva Oliveira, Wortubuku Sranantongo para brasileiros, FUNAG, page 178:


dyonko

Possibly from Twi Akan tɔ nko (“to fall asleep, to doze”)

a de siddom djonko

Effi à pré no wakka boen, / Ano meki ie las' ie bro, / Dink dan datti ie bin djonko / En à kon joe leki visjoen

1952, Paula Velder, transl., “Midzomernachtsdroom [Midsummer Night's Dream]”, in Michiel van Kempen, Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur. Deel IV. De geschreven literatuur van 1923 tot 1975 [A history of Surinamese literature. Part IV. Written literature from 1923 to 1975], Paramaribo: Okopipi, translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, published 2002, page 96:

If the play didn't go well, / didn't make you loose your breath, / just think that you were slumbering / and it came to you like a vision

A swit sewinti / d'e wai a branspen / te doro ini / sranan liba / e mek mi jeje djonko

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

The pleasant ocean breeze / blowing at Braamspunt / up onto / the Suriname river / makes my soul drowse

to slumber, to doze off, to nod off, to drowse


dyonko

Aukan: dyonko

Saramaccan: djönkö

→ Dutch: jonko

A dyonko e pase fu a wan anu go na wan tra anu, fu a wan mofo go na wan tra mofo.

2020 April 1, Stuart Rahan, “De corona-avondklok [The corona curfew]”, in De Ware Tijd, archived from the original on 2021-08-06:

The joint passes from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth.


okro

Aukan: okoo

→ Kari'na: okoro

Perhaps from English ochroe (alternative form of okra in the Caribbean).

A ben de so taki wan dei mi mama ben bori okro.

2002, “A dei di mi bron misrefi”, in SIL - Languages of Suriname:

Abelmoschus esculentus
Abelmoschus esculentus#Translingual


brudu

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃tóm?
Proto-Germanic *blōþą
Proto-West Germanic *blōd
Old Dutch bluot
Middle Dutch bloet
Dutch bloedbor.
Sranan Tongo brudu
Borrowed from Dutch bloed (“blood”).

etymon

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).


brudu

→ Aukan: buulu

→ Saramaccan: buúu


awege

Possibly from Edo awuekia (“impotent man”).

(dated, derogatory) male homosexual, effeminate man


libimakandra

Calque of Dutch samenleving, equivalent to libi + makandra.

in libimakandra / d'e pré kibridóeman, / den ipokrit! / ma ten sa kon / te kibri-sí-man-kandra / sa leti.

1977, Henri Frans de Ziel, Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 80:

In society / they act as manipulators in the shadows, / the hypocrites! / but the time will come / when the candle of the people who see hidden things / will ignite.


sopropo

Momordica charantia
Momordica charantia#Translingual

bitter melon, bitter gourd, the fruit of Momordica charantia


dyodyo

Possibly from Fon jɔtɔ (“personal ancestral guardian spirit”)

bor

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.

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

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

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

soul, guardian spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a male or female spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who, together with a counterpart of the opposite sex, acts as guardian of this or several individuals

kra

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living

yorka

soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual who can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner


bakru

Probably from Kongo ǹ-kúlu (“ancestors, the dead”), from Proto-Bantu *-kudu (“adult, senior”). Cognate of Saramaccan bakúlu (“lower god, dwarf ghost”), Aukan bakuú (“evil spirit”). Compare English baccoo

cog

An evil forest spirit represented as a ghost-like little man with a big head


masusa

Dutch: masoesa

Probably from Kongo ma-susa. Cognate of Saramaccan masisa, Aukan masusa.


Krowâsia

Possibly coined by a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation team, ultimately from Medieval Latin Croātia.

coinage

Nanga moni di sma poti na ini a Kownukondre zaal fonsu, hondrohondro Kownukondre zaal ben bow na ini Bulgaria, Krowâsia, Masedonia, Moldafia, Rosiakondre, nanga Serfia nanga Montenegro.

2003 May, “Wrokoman fu difrenti kondre na grontapu e bow Kownukondre zaal na ini wan tu kondre fu Europa [Workers of different countries of the world are building Kingdom Halls in some European countries]”, in Wi Kownukondre diniwroko, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 3:

With money that people put into the Kingdom Hall fund, hundreds of Kingdom Halls were built in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, and Serbia and Montenegro.

(rare, literary) Croatia (a country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe)


kokobe

Likely from Akan kokobe (“leprosy”). Cognate of Jamaican Creole cocobay; compare Haitian Creole kokobe (“to cripple; crippled, handicapped, maimed; a cripple”).

cog

tuberculoid leprosy
tuberculoid leprosy#English


kokobe

Èn san na tori fu kokobe? Son tron wan man teigi yu wan sani yu no e bribi, ma a momenti a taki 'kokobe' yu e bribi dirèkt.

2014, Roué Verveer, 4:23 from the start, in Buitenvrouw, Puuree/Roue Verveer:

And what's the deal with kokobe? Sometimes you don't believe something someone is telling you, but the moment they say 'kokobe', you believe it instantly.

Used to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement


satra

From Dutch zaterdag or from English Saturday.


mutyama

Probably from Kongo mukiama (“rainbow”). Cognate of Aukan muntyama.


krapa

Dutch: krapboom

Borrowed from Kari'na karapa and/or Lokono karaba. Cognate of English crappo.

The andiroba, crabwood tree, or crappo; Carapa guianensis

The African crabwood tree; Carapa procera


podosiri

Dutch: podosiri

Possibly from Aukan apodo (“Euterpe oleracea”) + siri (“seed”), a partial calque of Aukan apodo sii (“acai”), rebracketed as a (“the”) podosiri.

partial calque

Euterpe oleracea
Euterpe oleracea#Translingual

acai (the fruit of Euterpe oleracea, consumed as pulp, mousse, or juice)


gobogobo

Bambara groundnut
Bambara groundnut#English

Vigna subterranea
Wikispecies:Vigna subterranea

Bambara groundnut (the edible seed of an African plant related to beans, Vigna subterranea, which produces its seeds underground, like peanuts.)


head

yu kan kibri yu granmama, ma yu no kan kibri en kosokoso

Literally, "you can hide your grandmother, but you can't hide her coughing".

a lie has no legs (you can't get away with a lie; the truth will always come out)


wefi

From English wife and Dutch wijf, both from Proto-Germanic *wībą.


te yu mati barba e bron, yu musu nati di fu yu

Literally, "when your friend's beard is burning, you have to wet yours".

forewarned is forearmed
forewarned is forearmed#English

forewarned is forearmed (advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it)


a no babariman e broko pranasi

Literally, “it's not the noisy ones who destroy the plantations”. Refers to escaped enslaved people who stealthily returned to wreck plantations and free other enslaved people.

lit

A no Babariman de broko pranasi. Nicht die Schreier zerstören die Plantagen. (Geht auf die ehemaligen Buschneger-Einfälle^([sic])). Hunde, die beißen wollen, bellen nicht zuvor. - Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht.

1856, Heinrich Wullschlägel, Deutsch-negerenglisches Wörterbuch. Nebst einem Anhang, negerenglische Sprüchwörter enthaltend [German-Negro English dictionary. Containing, in addition to an appendix, Negro English proverbs], Löbau: J.U. Duroldt, page 304:

A no Babariman de broko pranasi. It's not the screamers that are destroying the plantations. (Goes [back] to the former Bush Negro incursions). Dogs that want to bite don't bark first. - Dogs that bark do not bite.

barking dogs seldom bite
barking dogs seldom bite#English


winti wai, lanti pai

Literally, “the wind blows, the government pays”.

Used to indicate indifference to good governance, prudent management of public assets, or civic engagement; whatever happens, the government will foot the bill; the individual need not take personal responsibility, because the state will do so


krarun

Cognate of Dutch klaroen, Spanish calalú, English callaloo, of either Amerindian or Bantu origin.

Chinese spinach, red spinach, Amaranthus dubius


gadofowru

→ Dutch: gadofowroe

Compound of gado (“God”) + fowru (“bird”).


pindadokun

Compound of pinda (“peanut”) + dokun (“duckanoo”).

pinda-dokkunnu. pinda-Käse


kapuwa

→ Dutch: kapoea, kapoewa

Borrowed from Kari'na kapiwa and/or Lokono kapoa.


manbitawiwiri

Compound of man (“male”) + bitawiwiri (“Cestrum latifolium”).


bitawiwiri

Aukan: bita uwíi

Saramaccan: bita uwíi

→ Dutch: bitawiri

Compound of bita (“bitter”) + wiwiri (“leaf”), referring to its bitter taste. First attested in 1740 as bita wirri wirri in the unpublished anonymous manuscript Ontwerp tot Eene Beschryving van Surinaamen [Draft of a description of Suriname].

Cestrum latifolium, the young leaves of which are eaten as a vegetable.

nl:Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek


srefidensi

→ Dutch: srefidensi

Coined by Surinamese poet Trefossa, equivalent to srefi (“self”) + -densi (“-ence”).

Vijfentwintig november / Sranan kisi wan manpikin / Fa a nen, fa a nen? / Srefidensi now / Vijfentwintig november / Sranan kisi wan umapikin / Fa a nen, fa a nen? / Srefidensi now

1975, Lieve Hugo (lyrics and music), “Srèfidensi”, in Wang Piepel, Wang Nation:

Twenty-fifth of November / Suriname will have a baby boy / What's his name, what's his name? / Independence now / Twenty-fifth of November / Suriname will have a baby girl / What's her name, what's her name? / Independence now

Srefidensi na foe wi allamala en dat ede joe VLEESPALEIS sa fri joe foe dem dirie metie prijs. Dies na a srefidensi bijdrage foe VLEESPALEIS djie din sranang oema.

1975 November 12, Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname (advertisement), page 4:

Independence belongs to all of us and that's why your Meat Palace will liberate you from high meat prices. This is Meat Palace's independence contribution to Surinamese women.

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.

(informal) Surinamese Independence Day, a national holiday in Suriname observed annually on 25 November


srefidensi

Den djoe di no ben teki na kristendom ben proberi foe drai na kaba foe den „laatste dé” foe na seti foe sani foe den ini Palestina. Ini 65 G.T. den ben opo meki oproeroe nanga den Romein granmasra. Disi ben abi leki bakapisi dati wan srefidensi djoe staat ben kon, di ben tan so wan féfi jari.

1981 January 1, “„Ini den laatste dé” — Sensi oten? ["In the last days" - since when?]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 4:

The Jews who did not take up Christianity tried to avert the end of the "last days" of their arrangement of things in Palestine. In 65 CE they rose up in rebellion against their Roman overlords. This had as a result that an independent Jewish state came into being, which remained for about five years.


kren

Poespoesi kren go na tapoe a bon. Bika winti no ben wai, a kisi wan fowroe na en foetoe.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 46:


Bergi

From Dutch Belg, ultimately from Latin Belgae.

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)

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 / 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)


Bergi

A settlement and former plantation in Brokopondo, Suriname


lantiberi

From lanti (“government”) + beri (“funeral”).

pauper's funeral
pauper's funeral#English


dragiman

From dragi (“bier”) + -man (person suffix).


kankantri

From English cotton tree, likely influenced by kankan (“sturdy, steadfast”).

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty kapok tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

Ceiba pentandra
Ceiba pentandra#Translingual


sibibusi

→ Dutch: sibibusi

Compound of sibi (“to sweep, the sweeping”) + busi (“forest, jungle”), said because the heavy rain is thought to sweep the forest clean like a broom.

compound

kon sibiboesi / wasi den someni katibo prakseri / foe wi go farawe / was den go / sibiboesi / kon / wasi sranan krin

1967, Jozef Slagveer, “sibiboesi [cloudburst]”, in Shrinivási, editor, Wortoe d'e tan abra. Bloemlezing uit de Surinaamse poëzie vanaf 1957 [Words that remain. Anthology of Surinamese poetry since 1957], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslektuur, published 1970, pages 53–54:

come cloudburst / wash our manifold slavery thoughts / well away / wash them away / cloudburst / come / wash Suriname clean

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come

cloudburst, sudden torrential tropical rainstorm


sabidensi

From sabi (“to know, knowledge”) + -densi (“-ence”).


amrabasi

Compound of amra (“gavel”) + basi (“a person in charge of something”).


pikinnengre

Compound of pikin (“small”) + nengre (“Negro; 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.

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.


no kosi kaiman mama fosi yu abra liba

/no ˈko.s(i)ˈkai̯.maŋ mːa ˈfo.s‿i ˈa.bɾa ˈli.ba/

Literally, “don't curse the caiman's mother before you've crossed the river”.

lit

So langa joe no koti abra liba, joe no moe kosi kaiman.

1874, Willem Boekhoudt, Uit mijn verleden. Bijdrage tot de kennis van Suriname [From my past. Contribution to the knowledge of Suriname], Winschoten: J.D. van der Veen, page 94:

As long as you haven't crossed the river, you shouldn't curse the caiman.

Ef joe wani kot' abra liba, joe no moe kosi kaiman mama.

1977, Albert Helman, editor, Cultureel mozaïek van Suriname. Bijdrage tot onderling begrip. [Cultural mosaic of Suriname. A contribution to mutual understanding.], Zutphen: De Walburg Pers, →ISBN, page 112:

If you want to cross the rivier, you shouldn't insult the mother of the caiman.

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

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

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

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi."

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy."

don't count your chickens before they're hatched#English

don't insult people who might hurt your interests; don't self-sabotage; don't count your chickens before they're hatched

no kosi kaiman fosi yu abra liba

don't curse the caiman before you've crossed the river


libisma

Compound of libi (“life, living”) + sma (“person”).


fotoman

A no de wan ferwondroe sani dati den Nazarethsma ben taki foe den fosten fotoman: „Pe a man disi kisi na koni dan nanga den krakti wroko disi?”

1985 September 1, “Kownoekondrebedinari ben teki na tjalansi [Kingdom ministers took on the challenge]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 4:

It's not a surprising thing that the people of Nazareth said of their former townsman: "Where then did this man receive this wisdom and these powerful works?"


temreman oso no abi bangi

Literally, “the carpenter's house doesn't have a bench”.

lit

the shoemaker's children go barefoot#English


temreman

Aukan: tembee man

→ Caribbean Hindustani: temremán

→ Caribbean Javanese: témbréman

From Dutch timmerman, equivalent to temre (“to perform carpentry”) + -man.

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.


dreiten

Compound of drei (“dry”) + ten (“time, period”).


alenten

Compound of alen (“rain”) + ten (“time, period”).


publiki

Likely a learned borrowing from Dutch publiek, from Middle French public, publique, from Latin pūblicus (“pertaining to the people”).

der

So langa da zonde va tarawan no dee publiki, a dee zonde va takki datti na den disi no habi van noode foe sabi. Kabà a dee publiki, effi da kroetoe ben gi wan vonnisi na datti tappo; offo effi wan sani ben passa na stratoe na publiki presi, foe iniwan soeman kan zie datti, ma a no noffo foe iniwan soema takki bikasi datti tokko kan dee falsi.

1822, P.A. Wennekers, Roomsch-Catholyke catechismus of kort begrip der Christelijke leering, in de Neger-Engelsche taal, voor de Kolonie Suriname, met de gebeden van den nooddoop, de morgen- en avondgebeden, zoo als die dagelijks voorgebeden worden in de R.K. Kerk te Paramaribo; met meer andere gebeden, litanien en gezangen [Roman Catholic catechism or brief comprehension of Christian doctrine, in the Negro English language, for the Colony of Suriname, with the prayers of emergency baptism, the morning and evening prayers as they are recited daily in the Roman Catholic Church in Paramaribo; with further prayers, litanies and hymns], Amsterdam: Wed. F.J. van Tetroode, pages 54-55:

As long as the sin of others isn't public, it's a sin to tell those who don't need to know. It's already public if the court gave a verdict upon it, or if something happened on the street in a public place for anyone to see it, but this is not enough for any person to talk [about it], because it can still be untrue.


Srefidensidei

Compound of srefidensi (“independence”) + dei (“day”).


Srefidensi

Alternative letter-case form of srefidensi


wagiman

porter (person who transports goods for a fee)


buler

Borrowed from Dutch boeler (“homosexual”).

Boi, yu na batiman, yu na batiman / fa yu kan kosi den lesbi yanda, yu srefi lobi man / Pusi, yu na batiman, we yu na bati-badman / fa yu kan kosi den buler, boi, dan yu sribi nanga man

2023, “BattyBadman”, in BattyBadman, performed by Poppe:

Boy, you're a batty man, you're a batty man / how can you insult the lesbians there, you yourself love men / Pussy, you're a batty man, I say you're a batty badman / how can you curse the faggots, boy, when you sleep with men


Dyako

From Dutch diaconessenhuis (“Protestant hospital”).

bor

Diakonessenhuis, a hospital in Paramaribo