Trending Words on Jamaican Patwah

choosy

to be excessively particular, demanding or hard to please

(patois) Yu cyaan be too fenkeh fenkeh if yu waah a job right away
(english) You can't be too choosy if you want a job right away

Not everything that's worth eating is worth talking about

Not everything one hears should be repeated

Showing off

Somebody showing off something; mainly themselves. It is derived from the joining of the words brag and show off,

Patois: John braff wul nite ah di paati
English: John showed off all night at the party

called

Patois: Mi wish yuh did call
English: I wish you had called

friends

Patois: Mi an mi fren dem a guh
English: Me and my friends are going

Lord

Patois: Dear Lawd, please protect mi fram mi enemy dem
English: Dear Lord, please protect me from my enemies

Rastafarian

Slang expression used to refer to a persons that wears dreadlocks and is a Rastafarian

Patois: When did yuh become a rasta?
English: When did you become a Rastafarian?

What's wrong with them / What's their problem

Patois: Wah mek dem a luk pan mi, a wah duh dem?
English: Why are they looking at me, what's their problem?

A person who has little or no social graces or manners. Being a butu is completely independent of your social class. Professor Rex Nettleford once correctly said, "A butu in a Benz is still a butu."

Patois: "Look pon da gyal deh how she a c**k up har foot inna di people dem good-up good-up restaurant! She butu, eeh?
English: Look at that girl, why isn't her foot on the ground in the owners beautiful restaurant! She doesn't have any manners

Homeboy

Slang expression used to refer to a close friend. This term is usually preceded with “mi” as in “mi dupes”.

Patois: Mi and mi dupes a go a party tonite
English: Me and my homeboy are going to the club tonight

Good Night

Patois: Gud nite, weh yuh ah duh?
English: Good night, what are you doing?

Soldier

Ethiopian soldiers who fought and defeated Italian forces in the later part of the nineteenth century.

Patois: Wi ah gwaan chant fi di Niyabinggy tonight
English: We are going to chant for the soldier tonight