Dictionary of Louisiana Creole

The contents of this website remain the intellectual property of the following authors: Albert Valdman, Thomas A. Klingler, Margaret M. Marshall, Kevin J. Rottet

• Warning: There has been no censoring of the data, including offensive language or racial slurs.
• Orthography: Entries use the modern Kouri-Vini Orthography; however, the examples retain their original orthography based on Haitian Creole from the book. There are also several examples written in a French Orthography; these have also been left as is in the book. Additionally, the acute (à) and circumflex (â) when used for stress, preterit, or disambiguation, have not been included separately (i.e., aren't used).
• There are several variants for certain sounds that have not been included in the variants for entries. Please use the variants in quotations in place of the others when searching for words with the following sounds:
  • use "s" for /s/ ← s, ç
  • use "è" for /æ/ ← æ, è
  • use "i" for /ɪ/ ← ì, i
  • use "an" for /ã/ ← an, am, en, em
  • use "on" for /ɔ̃/ ← on, om
  • use "in" for /ɛ̃/ ← in, im
• Parts of Speech abbreviation correspondences:
  • adj. = Adjective
  • adv. = Adverb
  • adv.phr. = Adverbial Phrase
  • art.def. = Definite Article
  • art.indef. = Indefinite Article
  • conj. = Conjunction
  • dem. = Demonstrative
  • det. = Determiner
  • det.poss. = Possessive Determiner
  • f. = Feminine
  • int. = Interjection
  • interr.phr. = Interrogative Phrase
  • m. = Masculine
  • n. = Noun
  • n.phr. = Noun Phrase
  • num.card. = Cardinal Number
  • num.ord. = Ordinal Number
  • onom. = Onomatopoeia
  • pl. = Plural
  • place n. = Place Name
  • prep. = Preposition
  • pron. = Pronoun
  • pron.indef. = Indefinite Pronoun
  • pron.refl. = Reflexive Pronoun
  • pron.rel. = Relative Pronoun
  • prop.n. = Proper Noun
  • ptcl. = Preverbal Particle
  • sg. = Singular
  • v. = Verb
  • v.aux. = Auxiliary Verb
  • v.cop. = Copular Verb
  • v.intr. = Intransitive Verb
  • v.mod. = Modal Verb
  • v.phr. = Verb Phrase
  • v.refl. = Reflexive Verb
  • v.tr. = Transitive Verb
• Sources abbreviation correspondences (post-1960):
  • gen = (BT + CA + NE + PC + ST)
  • AN = Ancelet 1994
  • BT = Bayou Teche, field data
  • CA = Côte des Allemands, field data
  • DC = Clifton 1980
  • DT 77 = Tentchoff 1977
  • GY = Guidry, Richard
  • HW = Hebert Wiltz
  • MO 60 = Morgan 1960
  • MO 69 = Morgan 1969
  • MO 72 = Morgan 1972
  • NE = Neumann 1985
  • PC = Pointe Coupee, field data
  • ST = Saint Tammany, field data
  Sources abbreviation correspondences (pre-1960):
  • BD = Broussard 1942
  • BI = Bienvenu 1933
  • BO = Bourgeois 1927
  • DU = Durand 1930
  • FO T# = Fortier 1895
  • FO 1887 = Fortier 1887
  • GC1 = Cable 1886a
  • GC2 = Cable 1886b
  • JR = Jarreau 1931
  • KB = Krehbiel 1962
  • LA = Lavergne 1930
  • ME = Mercier 1881
  • ME 90 = Mercier 1890
  • ME 91 = Mercier 1891
  • PE = Perret 1933
  • T# = Neumann 1987 Text # (T12–T17 are satirized Creole, use with caution)
  • TM = Marie Augustin
  • TN = Tinker 1935
  • TP = Trappey 1916
  • WO = Marguerite Wogan

Website created by William S. Morales.

5139 entries found

• éron No sources ( n. )
  1. Heron; héron. •eron blon
     n.phr. (PC); eron blan (CA; ST). Great white heron; espèce d’héron blanc. (subspecies of Ardea herodias ). Eron blon, pe pli gro k en zegre. A great white heron is a little bigger than an egret. (PC); Eron blan, sa eklo isi dan la Louzyann. The great white heron hatches here in Louisiana. (CA) •eron gri n.phr. (CA; PC). Gray heron; espèce de héron gris. Eron gri, li pli gro k en eron blan. The grey heron is bigger than the white heron. (CA) See examples
• érè No sources ( n. ) nérè CA
  1. Mistake, error; faute, erreur.
     Mo fe enn erè. Mo pa karkile byen. I made a mistake. I didn’t calculate right. (CA) ♦ Li konte onkò pou wa si li te pa fe enn erè. He counted again to see if he hadn’t made a mistake. (JR) See examples
• éshapé BT, MO 50, NE, ST ( v., v.intr., v.tr. ) shapé CA shap PC
  1. To escape, nun away; s’échapper, s’évader, se sauver.
     La sœl chòj i fo to fe, se gète li, paskœ to me li partèr, i va chape. The only thing you have to do is watch him, because if you set him down he will escape. (BT); Mo ti-fiy chape pou ale marye. My granddaughter eloped to go get married. (CA); Li te chape so mezon. He ran away from home. (ST) ♦ Asteur ein tout piti Macaque, qui té dans ein piti coin, chapé sans Bouki oua li. Now a tiny little monkey who was in a small comer escaped without Bouki seeing him. (FO T8) 2. To escape, fall, fall out; s’échapper, tomber. Na de lwazo, ye v onn dè pakongnen, pou ramase le pakonn, pou vyen sère. La li vyen poz on leu baryè, la pakònn-la chap andan ye bek, li tanm kote baryè. Safe li lèv la. There are some birds who go into pecan trees to gather pecans to hoard away. Then they come to rest on the fence, and the pecan falls from their beak. It falls beside the fence and it grows right there. (PC) ♦ Li fé si tan noâ mo bité auras pi, capoté dans trou laboue, laclé chapé dan mo lamin et calé dan pi! It was so dark out that I stumbled against the well, fell in a mudhole, the key escaped from my hand and fell into the well ! (T6)1. To escape (from); échapper (à). Mo krwa li pa chape li, chape boug-leu. I think she can’t escape him, escape that man. (PC); Li chape from prizon. He escaped from prison. (CA) 2. To drop; laisser tomber. •echape (so) piti v.phr. (BT). To have a miscarriage; faire une fausse couche. Se pitèt so do ki fe li echape se piti. It might be her back that made her miscarry. (BT) See examples
• éshofé BT, CA ( adj. )
  1. Afflicted with a rash, chafed; qui a une éruption.
     Lœ ti bebe te echofe. The little baby had a rash. (BT); Mo kilot ap frote apre mo janm. Mo vyen echofe ant mo janm. My pants are rubbing against my legs. I’m getting chafed between the legs. (CA) See examples
• éshél* No sources ( n. ) néshél PC léshèil PC néshèl NE léshèl CA
  1. Ladder; échelle.
     Li kite so nechel dèryè. He left his ladder behind. (PC); Sete tro ho pou mo trape. Me te gen pou monte an en lechèl. It was too high for me to reach. I had to get on a ladder. (CA) See examples
• éskran PC ( adj. )
  1. Crippled, lame; estropié.
     Li eskran. He’s crippled. (PC) See examples
• ésouflé CA ( adj. ) souflé CA ésouflé (ésouf) NE
  1. Out of breath; hors d’haleine, essoufflé.
     Mo marche vit e mo te soufle. I walked fast and I was out of breath. (CA); Ekon l arive don bwa-la, li te tou esoufle. And when he arrived in the woods he was all out of breath. (NE) See examples
• éspyoné CA ( v.intr. )
  1. To spy on; espionner.
     Li akroupi la-leu pou espyone sa onn ape parle pou. He’s crouched down over there to spy on what we’re saying. (CA) ♦ Yé pran espionnin é djetté tou ça ki té apé passé ou tou ça yé di. They began to spy and to watch all that was being done or said. (FO 1887) See examples
• éspésyalmon ST ( adv. )
  1. Especially; surtout, particulièrement.
     Mo parle kreòl espesyalmon avèk mo momon. I speak Creole especially with my mother. (ST) See examples
• éstonpé PC ( v.tr. ) léstonpé PC stonpé PC stanpé PC tonpé CA tanpé CA, ST
  1. To brand; marquer au fer chaud.
     Ye lestonpe lavach-sa-la, estonpe. They branded the cow. (PC) See examples
• éséyé BT, CA, NE ( v., v.aux., v.intr., v.tr. ) séyé gen ésé PC sèy PC séy NE sé BT aséy BT sèyé MO 60
  1. To try to; essayer de.
     Mo ja seye wa spèrik. I have tried to see spirits. (PC); Mo te don bwa ape seye sòrti don la plen. I was in the woods trying to get back out to the prairie. (NE); Li t ape seye travaye debout. Li te pa labitid. He was trying to work standing up. He wasn’t used to it. (CA) ♦ Roi Bangon sayé dévinin, li dit c'‘est ça et tout plein quichoge, li pas fouti dévinin. King Bangon tried to guess, he said it was this and that, he wasn’t able to guess. (FO T18)To try, make an effort; faire un effort, essayer. O li pa gen en fortun, mè li ha ede li-mèm, si seye. Oh, he doesn’t have a fortune, but he can get by, he makes an effort. (PC)1. To try; essayer. L ap eseye tou sa li kapab. He is trying everything that he can. (CA) ♦ Ein lote fois ma vini pou sayé mo la force avec vous, pasqué mo croi mo capab bimin vous. Another time I’ll come and try my strength with you, because I think I can beat you. (FO T3) 2. To try on (an article of clothing); essayer (un vêtement). M ap seye ròb-sa-la pou wa si li va. I’m trying this dress on to see if it fits. (CA) See examples
• éta MO 60, PC ( n. ) léta CA, PC néta MO 60
  1. State (in the USA); état (aux Etats-Unis).
     Sa kout enfòrtin. M mo pa gen sa. Sa fe leta e kou peye la balans. It costs a fortune. But I don’t have that much. So the state is going to pay the rest. (PC); Dan leta-sa-la blan e nwa mèl pa. In that state, blacks and whites don’t mix. (CA) ♦Mo revé qu’ein révolution té bouleversé la Louisiane et qué partout, dans tout l'Etat des zoffices yé prend controle. I dreamt that a revolution rocked Louisiana, and that everywhere throughout the state, offices were taking control. (T37) •lez Etaz-Uni prop.n. (PC); Letazini (CA). The United States; les Etats-Unis. Se keken ke rès dan Letazini e li parl pa kreol. It’s someone who lives in the USA and he doesn’t speak Creole. (CA) See examples
  2. State, condition; état, condition.
     ♦ C'est Compair Lapin qui mené moin dans nétat la, prend ga pou vous, commère Baleine. It’s Brer Rabbit who put me in this state, so be careful, Mother Whale. (FO T1) See examples
  3. Job; poste, emploi.
     Nouzòt ale oua pou gen en neta. We’re going to see about getting a job. (MO 60) See examples
• étajè PC ( n. )
  1. Etagere, (set of) shelves; étagère.
• étalon BT ( n. ) nétalon CA
  1. Stallion; étalon.
     Enn etalonn, ti peu pa gade tou lez etalon. Sa fe, si ti veu gade pour èlve, ti l koup pa. Tou lez òt, ti l koup. A stallion, you can’t keep all of your stallions. So the one that you want to keep for breeding, you don’t castrate. All the others you castrate. (BT) ♦ Pronn en chval ontye (en etalon) e f e li galope. Take an uncastrated horse (a stallion) and make him gallop. (BI) See examples
• étidyé CA, NE, PC ( v.tr. )
  1. To study; étudier.
     Li etidye ase pou gen en profèsyon. He studied enugh to have a profession. (CA) ♦ Pli vye-la parti o kolèj premyen, e li te kouri tidye la metsin... The oldest one left for college first, and he went to study medicine. (JR) See examples
• étoufé CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Etouffée; étouffée.
     To ja fe etoufe? Etoufe se ize pou fe. Have you ever made an étouffée? An étouffée is easy to make. (PC); Mo te gen en ta de lakeu krebis. Mo fe en etoufe d krebis. I had a lot of crawfish tails. I made crawfish etouffee. (CA) See examples
• étoufé BT, CA, PC ( v., v.tr., v.intr. ) toufé CA, MO 60, PC touf CA
  1. To stew, «smother» (regional cooking term meaning to cook in a covered pot); faire cuire à l’étouffée, à l’étuvée.
     To koup to fevi. To mèt sa dan chodyèr e de lagrès. To touf li byen, zongnon e tou. You cut up okra. You put it in a pot with grease. You smother it well with onions and everything. (CA); To netway sa epi to toufe sa. You clean it (i.e. the pigeon) and then smother it. (PC) •patat toufe n.phr. Stewed potatoes; pommes de terre à l’étouffée, cf. patat See examples
  2. To suffocate, smother; étouffer.
     Nòm-la etoufe piti-leu. The man smothered the baby. (PC)To suffocate, smother, choke; étouffer. Bebe-l e toufe. The baby is choking. (PC); Kan keken gen kikchoz dan so lagòrj, li toufe. When someone has something in his throat, he smothers. (CA) ♦ Li vini si pè le kriz prann li e li toufe. He became so afraid that he had an attack and choked to death. (JR) See examples
• étourno No sources ( n. ) tourno CA, PC touno PC
  1. Blackbird; merle.
     En touno ? Se jis en zwazo mo mo kònen, en gro zwazo nwa. A blackbird? That’s just a bird as far as I know, a big black bird. (PC); Enave en tourno dan bwa-la ke t ape chanté. There was a blackbird in the tree singing. (CA) ♦ Sitôt mo mené mo chapeau mo couri fermé mo la malle, et dandy, comme ein étourneau, mo descende coté la halle. As soon as I put on my hat I went to shut my trunk, and as spiffed up as a blackbird, I went down into the hall. (T37) See examples
• étranjé MO 60, PC ( n. ) létranjé CA
  1. Stranger; étranger, inconnu.
     Mo pa konne ye, non, ye etranje pou mon. I don’t know them, no, they are strangers to me. (PC); Li te en letranje e li i pou reprezante limèm devan lalwa. He was a stranger and he had to represent himself before the law. (CA) ♦ Et chaque fois maite la té pas la nétranger la té vini la maison. And each time the master was not home, a stranger would come to the house. (FO T20) See examples
• étrwa CA ( adj. ) étrwat PC
  1. Narrow, thin; étroit, mince, maigre.
     En moun ki etrwat, li pa gro, li mens. Aperson who is narrow, he’s not big, he’s thin. (PC); Se en ti chmen pou pase la. Se etrwa. It’s a small road to get there. It’s narrow. (CA) See examples
• étwal PC ( n. ) létwal CA, PC, ST twal PC nétwal ST
  1. Star; étoile.
     To fe patron sa t ole fe. Enan moun ti te kone fe li twal, fe la ling, koupe la etwal. You make a pattern as you want to. There are some people who make it in the shape of a star, or in a line. (PC); Letwal-ye ap briye aswar. The stars are shining tonight. (CA) ♦ To va prend in costume caouène, moin, mo sra zétoile du matin. You will get a turtle costume, and I will be the morning star. (T33) See examples
• étèrnwé PC ( v.intr. ) tèrni PC tèrné PC étènin PC, CA tèrnin CA étèrnin ST étèrné ST
  1. To sneeze; éternuer.
     Le e tèrni. He is sneezing. (PC); Mo santi piman. Sa fe mo tèrnen. I smelled pepper. It made me sneeze. (CA) ♦ ’Li froté so né avé so dé patte, pi li grouillé so zoreille, li temé é pi li assite. He rubbed his nose with both paws, then he shook his ears, he sneezed, and then he sat down. (FO 1997) See examples
• étònan No sources ( adj. )
  1. Surprising; étonnant.
     ♦ Mamrie, ga comme fumel là triste. Cé pa étonnan, répondit la bonne négresse, lapé pensé à so piti. ‘Mamrie, see how sad that female animal is.’ ‘It’s not surprising,’ answered the good black woman, ‘she’s thinking about her children.’ (ME) See examples
• étòné No sources ( v., v.tr. )
  1. To amaze, astonish; étonner, surprendre.
     ♦ Ça té si tellement étonné yé qué yé rété pou tendé et guetté. That surprised them so much that they stopped to listen and watch. (FO T1) —v. intr. To be surprised; s’étonner, être surpris. ♦ Li té étonnin oua li resté dire si longtemps. He was surprised to see it remain hard for so long. (FO T10) See examples
• évapòr PC ( v.intr. )
  1. To evaporate; évaporer.
• évèk CA ( n. )
  1. Indigo bunting; espèce d’oiseau. (Passèrina cyanea).
• évèk CA ( int. )
  1. Well; eh bien.
     Evèk, ena moun k ap tande mo parle kreyol avèk mo kouzin. Well, there are people who hear me speak Creole with my cousin. (CA) See examples
• ñòmñòm NE ( n. ) myanm-myanm CA
  1. Food; nourriture.
• ñòmñòm NE ( v.intr. ) myanm-myanm CA
  1. To eat; manger.
     Li t ape myanm-myanm. Sete bon. He was eating. It was good. (CA) See examples
• òg No sources ( n. )
  1. Ogre; ogre.
     ♦ To pas connin qué mo mari c’est in norgue, li mangé moune. You don’t know that my husband is an ogre, he eats people. (FO T16) See examples
• òktob PC ( n. ) oktòb CA, PC oktòbr PC
  1. October; octobre.
     Kan to fini plannte, to kanmans koupe dan òktob. When you finish planting, you start cutting cane in October. (PC) See examples
• ònœr* No sources ( n. ) lannœr CA, PC onnè PC
  1. Honor; honneur.
     Kon to di ‘se ne grès, sa se negres, ‘ se kòm si se kèkœn ki pa gen lannœr. When you say that’s a negress, it’s like that’s someone who has no honor. (PC) ♦ Faut quitté tout zonnair la yé, plus fréquenté moune qui coquin . You have to leave all of those honors, and no longer associate with scoundrels. (T31) •fe zonèr v.phr. To welcome the guests; accueillir les invités. ♦ Ma trouvé mo l'oncle à laporte apé reçoit moune et fé zonnaires la maison. I found my uncle at the door receiving people and paying the house’s honors. (T40) See examples
• òpéré MO 60, PC ( v.tr. ) opéré CA, PC, ST anmpéré PC opèré BT, PC
  1. To operate, perform surgery on; opérer.
     Mo ète opère pou mo kœr. I was operated on for my heart. (BT); Li te gen lapandisyon. Li te opere. He had appendicitis. He was operated on. (CA) See examples
  2. To castrate; châtrer.
     Opere en kochon oben en bif To castrate a pig or an ox. (PC); Si to pa opere en mal kochon, to pa kapab manje li. Lavyann san miske. If you don’t castrate a malé pig, you can’t eat it. The meat smells musky. (CA) See examples
• òrd BT ( n. ) lord CA
  1. Order (for goods); commande (pour des provisions).
     De grosri o Pon Bro la, kan ye te fe enn òrd, ptèt prann ye deu mwò. Grocery stores in Breaux Bridge, when they filled an order it might take them two months. (BT); Enave en kòmi magazen ki vini e pran to lord. There was a grocery clerk who would come to take your order. (CA) See examples
  2. Order, command; ordre.
     ♦ Vous connin que roi Canne avale té donné l'ordre qué li té pas oulé qué moune masqué yé en haut Mardi Gras. You know that King Carnaval gave the order that he didn’t want people to wear masks on Mardi Gras. (T40) See examples
• òrfelin PC ( n. ) òrfélin CA, MO 60
  1. Orphan; orphelin.
     Li se enn òrfeulen. He’s an orphan. (PC); Li pèrd so moman e so popa. Li en òrfelen. Ye sa gen pou mèt li dan lazil. He lost his mom and dad. He’s an orphan. They’ll have to put him in an institution. (CA) ♦ Quand Jean Malin té piti li té norphelin. When Clever John was a child he was an orphan. (FO T2) See examples
• òtòmobil PC ( n. ) tomobil CA òtòmòbil PC
  1. Car; voiture, automobile.
     Mo anbarke kan m ape monte andan tomobil. I board when I’m getting in the car. (CA) See examples
  2. Train car; wagon (dans un train).
     Mo voye li en ti TRAIN ke ye gen en ti TRAIN TRACK e ti tomobil-ye. I sent him a little train that had a little track and tiny cars. (CA) See examples
• œr CA, ST ( n. ) èr MO 60, NE, PC è CA, PC tè CA, PC lèr CA, NE lœr ST (z)œr ST zèr CA zè CA
  1. Hour; heure.
     ♦ Ye te met sa pou vent-katr è. They put that on for twenty-four hours. (LA) •œr deu tan n.phr. né de ton, enn è de tan, èn œ de tan, èn èr de tan, lèr-de-ton (NE); enn èr dè tan (PC). Hour; heure. Sa pran enn œr deu tan pou ale an vil. It takes an hour to get to New Orleans. (CA); Nou parle pou enn èr dè tan. We talked for an hour. (PC) See examples
  2. O’clock; heures.
     Ka boug-ye kouri da dezè a èn è, bon m e soti dan fon, dan mbwa. When the men go out to the fields at one o’clock, I come out of the woods. (PC); No gen en labar. Li ouv a senk-èr lez apre-midi ouchka dis-èr, onz-èr du swa. We own a bar. She (my wife) opens at five o’clock in the afternoon until ten o’clock, eleven o’clock at night. (CA); Sèt-èr senk. Five minutes after seven. (NE); Li deuz-œr dan lapre-midi ou du maten. It’s two o’ clock in the afternoon or in the morning. (ST) ♦ Konm de fèt a dizè ye kanmanse ye lakous. In fact, at ten o’clock they began their race. (JR) •dan le...œr adv.phr. Around X o’clock; autour de X heures. Ye rèste lamezon apepre uchka dan le katr œr. They stayed at home until about four o’clock. (BT); Dan lœ diz èr. Around ten o’clock. (PC) •kèl lœr li ye? exp. (PC); ki lé li ye? (PC); Ke lèr il e? Ki lèr li ye? (CA); Ki lœr li ye? (ST). What time is it? Quelle heure est-il? •on lœr adv.phr. (PC); an lèr (CA). On time; à l’heure. Li oura pou vini drwat on lœr. He hurried to get there on time. (PC); Li toujou an lèr. He’s always on time. (CA) See examples
  3. Time; temps.
     Li pa gen lèr pou vini. He doesn’t have time to come. (CA) See examples
• œrœ No sources ( adj. ) érèz PC
  1. Happy; heureux, content.
     Li te pa erèz . She was not happy. (PC) ♦ Yé vive héré comme poesson don dolo . They lived as happy as fish in water. (T7) See examples
• œrœzman CA ( adv. )
  1. Luckily, fortunately; heureusement.
     Li te pa gen kafe. Erezman li te gen dite. He didn’t have coffee. Luckily he had tea. (CA) ♦ Heureusement pou li ça té pas profond enbas lamaison ou Dié sé comment li sré sorti? Luckily for him it wasn’t very deep under the house, or God only knows how he would have gotten out. (T40) See examples