'''Haitian Creole''' (''kreyol ayisyen'') is the one of the official languages of Haiti along with French and is spoken by by 8.5 million people in Haiti, which is nearly the entire population. It is also spoken by large Haitian communities in nearby Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cuba and French Guiana. It is based on 18th century French and several West and Central African languages with minor Spanish influence. 90% of Hatian Creole is based on French

Pronunciation guide

Creole pronunciation is very phonetic. If you can make friends with a Haitian who speaks English, he or she will usually be glad to help with your pronunciation.

Vowels

; e : /a/ as in aim ; e : /?/ as in leg ; ou : /u/ as in food ; i : /e/ as in bee ; o : /o/ as in toe ; o : as in saw

Consonants

; g : always hard, as in ''go'' ; j : /?/ as in '''j'''oke ; y : /j/ as in '''y'''ellow

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

; Hello. (''morning''): Bonjou. ('' '') ; Hello. (''afternoon''): Bonswa. ('' '') ; How are you? : Como ou ye? ('' ?'') ; Not bad. : Pa pi mal. ('' ?'') ; What is your name? : Koumon ou rele? ('' ?'') ; My name is ______ . : Mwen rele ______ . ('' _____ .'') ; Nice to meet you. : Mwen kontan konnen ou. ('' '') ; Please. : Souple. ('' '') ; Thank you. : Mesi. ('' '') ; You're welcome. : Merite. ('' '') ; Yes. : Wi. ('' '') ; No. : Non. ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''getting attention'') : Eskize-m. ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''begging pardon'') : Se pa fot mwen. ('' '') ; I'm sorry. : Mwen regret sa. ('' '') ; Goodbye : Orevwa. ('' '') ; Goodbye (''informal'') : Babay. ('' '') ; I can't speak kreyol. : Mwen pa pale kreyol. ('' '') ; Do you speak English? : Eske ou pale angle? ('' ?'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Ki moun isit ki pale angle? ('' ?'') ; Help! : Anmwe! ('' !'') ; Look out! : Atansyon! ('' !'') ; Good morning. : Bonjou. ('' '') ; Good evening. : Bonswa. ('' '') ; Good night. : . ('' '') ; Good night (''to sleep'') : . ('' '') ; I don't understand. : Mwen pa konprann. ('' '') ; Where is the toilet? : Ki kote twalet la? ('' ?'')

Problems

Numbers

; 0 : zewo ; 1 : en ; 2 : de ; 3 : twa ; 4 : kat ; 5 : senk ; 6 : sis ; 7 : set ; 8 : wit ; 9 : nef ; 10 : dis ; 11 : onz ; 12 : douz ; 13 : trez ; 14 : katoz ; 15 : kenz ; 16 : sez ; 17 : diset ; 18 : dizwit ; 19 : diznef ; 20 : ven, vent

; 30 : trant ; 40: karant ; 50 : senkant ; 60 : swasant ; 70 : swasenndis ; 80 : katreven, katrevent ; 90 : katrevendis, katreven-dis ; 100 : san

; 1000 : mil ; 2000 : de mil ; 5000 : senk mil ; 10,000 : di mil ; 100,000 : san mil ; 1 000 000 : milyon ; 1 000 000 000 : bilyon

Time

Clock time

; How long? : Pou konben tan?

Duration

Days

; Sunday : dimanch ; Monday : lendi ; Tuesday : madi ; Wednesday : mekredi ; Thursday : jedi ; Friday : vandredi ; Saturday : samdi ; Today : jodi a ; Tomorrow : denmen ; Yesterday : ye

Months

January Janvye

February Fevriye

March Mas

April Avril

May Me

June Jen

July Jiye

August Daou

September Septanm

October Oktob

November Novanm

December Desanm

Writing time and date

Colors

; black : nwa ; white : blan ; red : wouj ; green : vet ; blue : ble ; orange : oranj ; yellow : jon

Transportation

Bus and train

Directions

Taxi

; I need a taxi. : Mwen bezwen you taksi. ; Hey! Taxi! : Woy! Taksi! ; How much to go to ... : Konben pou ale ... ; Stop here, please : Rete isit, souple.

Lodging

Money

; How much does it cost? : Konbyen sa koute? ; Can I exchange euros/dollars/pounds here? : Mwen pve chanje ewo/dolar/lib si?

Eating

Bars

Shopping

; Do you sell ... : Eske ou vann .. ; Where can I buy ... : Kote mewn ka achte ... ; Too expensive : Two che ; I will give you ... : Si mewn ba ou ... ; OK! : Dako!

Driving

Authority