Trending Words on Jamaican Patwah

A black person (normally female) of light skin complexion

(patois) Yow! a wah da browning deh name?
(english) Hey! what is the name of that light skin girl?

schooler

Patois: Di skoolah dem nah act rite
English: The schoolers aren't acting right

l'm here

Mi deh yah means l'm here

Patois: Dem think mi did gaawn but mi deh yah same way
English: They think I was gone but I'm still here

Needle

(patois) Pass mi di neegle
(english) Pass me the needle

Look there

Patois: Ku deh! Yu nuh see a who dat?
English: Look there! Don’t you see who that is?

Asshole

Popular curse word commonly used throughout the Caribbean. It can take on a variety of meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For example, it can be used as a exclamation of shock(similarly to “f**k”), it can be used to refer to someone who is strongly disliked(similarly to asshole) or it can be used to refer to ones ass.

Patois: Yuh betta gi mi mi rasshole money if yuh know wah gud fi yuh!
English: You better give me my f**king money if you know what’s good for you!

A form of dancing originating in Jamaica, now most notably done in Ska/Reggae shows.

Patois: Yuh saw dat bwoy skanking to dis [riddim]?
English: Have you seen this boy dancing to the beat?

Everywhere I turn, I'm poked by torns

Everywhere I go, I encounter obstacles

those past time

Patois: Yuh memba dem time deh wen wi a did pickney an wi use to pretend leaf a did money?
English: Do you remember those past time times when we were kids and we’d pretend leaves were money?

God shall guide

Rastafarian phrase used to say farewell or good bye.

Patois: Bless up yuhself and Jah guide
English: Blessings onto you and may God guide you

Ludo

A board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls.

Patois: Yuh deh play loodi likkle more?
English: Are you playing ludo later?

Jamaican Patois (also known as “Patwa” or “Patwah”) is the language that is spoken by most Jamaicans. Jamaican Patois is a combination of an English based Creole language and West African based languages. Jamaican Creole came into existence as a medium for the slaves and their masters to communicate.

Patois: Mi know how fi chat patwah
English: I know how to speak patois